Midnight Clear
The Best!
It's Christmas in the final days of the second World War, which finds a single squad of Americans encountering a single squad of Germans in the countryside. Â The Germans want to surrender, but it has to look like they fought hard and resisted the Americans. Â The Americans agree to create a fake struggle and then take the Germans into custody. Â But when the fake scuffle occurs, tragedy intervenes: Â A lone G.I., who was left out of the planning of the fake scuffle, assumes the battle is real and intervenes, firing his weapon and killing one of the Germans, who, of course, immediately feel betrayed, and return fire.
 The film is essentially about a small, slender, moment of peace, being destroyed by the momentum of war.  Stars a number of individuals that would later become famous, including Ethank Hawke, Gary Sinise, Kevin Dillion, and Peter Berg.  It's a Christmas present turned into a bit of a nightmare.  Overall, a well done made for television film.
Joyeux Noelle
The Best!
One of the best war films about the first World War is Joyeux Noelle, a film about Christmas amidst the trenches, which, as you might imagine, is fairly grim. Â A few soldiers savor sips from a flask. Â Another reads a letter from home. Â A few others share a smoke. Â All of them shiver in the freezing cold and dread the next barrage of attacks. Â And then, something amazing happens, an impromptu spontaneous peace suddenly occurs on the battlefield, and soldiers from opposing armies come out and meet, and shake hands.
 Soon, instead of firing at one another, they're playing soccer in the snow.  What makes this all the more amazing is that this isn't a Hollywood screenwriter's imagination at work; this is based on a real-life true story, one that was repeated multiple times all up and down the stretch of trenches.  And, of course, making friends with the enemy changes everything.  This is a rare film that seems to excel both, at gruesomely re-creating the conditions of war, but also existing as a heart warming tale of the Christmas spirit.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
The Best!
David Bowie stars in this strange joint British / Japanese production about the relationship between four men in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the second World War set at Christmas.  The four leads are two British prisoners of war, and two Japanese soldiers, and between them, are a complex labyrinthine of emotions:  There's anger, friendship, physical attraction, love, and hate.  Often, many of these emotions at once, as these men begin to strike a real-life friendship, while also stuck in opposing roles.
 The film's setting during Christmas does provide a surreal quality to life in a prisoner of war camp.  (Click here for the Best and Worst Prisoner of War movies.)  It's certainly one of the stranger war films that's ever been made, and a largely forgotten one, but it's also one of the rare "Christmas" themed war films.
The Worst!
Gene Kelly stars in this tepid, and lame film, which aspires towards both romance and espionage. Â A U.S. pilot returns to Germany to thank the family that sheltered him from the Nazis after his plane was shot down, only to learn to find that the family was destroyed by an errant American air strike and the sole surviving daughter - who he quickly begins to romance - hates Americans for killing her family.
 This romance is complicated by a friendship with a man who is spearheading a resurgent Nazi movement.  It was probably a silly and stupid film, barely worth the effort of watching it, back in 1953 when it was new.  Now days, well, there's simply no reason to waste your time.
The Worst!
Last year's Monuments Men was a serious disappointment. Â Much of the film was set during Christmas and the holidays, which was supposed to provide a sort of lonely gauze to the film: Â Soldiers abroad, alone and separated from their families during the holidays. Â Unfortunately, the film provided no characters to care about, and a disjointed narrative that begged for some excitement. Â There's one Christmas relevant scene when Bill Murray's character plays "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas," a record that's been sent from home.
 The scene is supposed to fill the viewer with emotion, but the scene is as flat as the rest of the film.
The Best!
It's Christmas in the final days of the second World War, which finds a single squad of Americans encountering a single squad of Germans in the countryside. Â The Germans want to surrender, but it has to look like they fought hard and resisted the Americans. Â The Americans agree to create a fake struggle and then take the Germans into custody. Â But when the fake scuffle occurs, tragedy intervenes: Â A lone G.I., who was left out of the planning of the fake scuffle, assumes the battle is real and intervenes, firing his weapon and killing one of the Germans, who, of course, immediately feel betrayed, and return fire.
 The film is essentially about a small, slender, moment of peace, being destroyed by the momentum of war.  Stars a number of individuals that would later become famous, including Ethank Hawke, Gary Sinise, Kevin Dillion, and Peter Berg.  It's a Christmas present turned into a bit of a nightmare.  Overall, a well done made for television film.
Joyeux Noelle
The Best!
One of the best war films about the first World War is Joyeux Noelle, a film about Christmas amidst the trenches, which, as you might imagine, is fairly grim. Â A few soldiers savor sips from a flask. Â Another reads a letter from home. Â A few others share a smoke. Â All of them shiver in the freezing cold and dread the next barrage of attacks. Â And then, something amazing happens, an impromptu spontaneous peace suddenly occurs on the battlefield, and soldiers from opposing armies come out and meet, and shake hands.
 Soon, instead of firing at one another, they're playing soccer in the snow.  What makes this all the more amazing is that this isn't a Hollywood screenwriter's imagination at work; this is based on a real-life true story, one that was repeated multiple times all up and down the stretch of trenches.  And, of course, making friends with the enemy changes everything.  This is a rare film that seems to excel both, at gruesomely re-creating the conditions of war, but also existing as a heart warming tale of the Christmas spirit.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
The Best!
David Bowie stars in this strange joint British / Japanese production about the relationship between four men in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the second World War set at Christmas.  The four leads are two British prisoners of war, and two Japanese soldiers, and between them, are a complex labyrinthine of emotions:  There's anger, friendship, physical attraction, love, and hate.  Often, many of these emotions at once, as these men begin to strike a real-life friendship, while also stuck in opposing roles.
 The film's setting during Christmas does provide a surreal quality to life in a prisoner of war camp.  (Click here for the Best and Worst Prisoner of War movies.)  It's certainly one of the stranger war films that's ever been made, and a largely forgotten one, but it's also one of the rare "Christmas" themed war films.
The Worst!
Gene Kelly stars in this tepid, and lame film, which aspires towards both romance and espionage. Â A U.S. pilot returns to Germany to thank the family that sheltered him from the Nazis after his plane was shot down, only to learn to find that the family was destroyed by an errant American air strike and the sole surviving daughter - who he quickly begins to romance - hates Americans for killing her family.
 This romance is complicated by a friendship with a man who is spearheading a resurgent Nazi movement.  It was probably a silly and stupid film, barely worth the effort of watching it, back in 1953 when it was new.  Now days, well, there's simply no reason to waste your time.
The Worst!
Last year's Monuments Men was a serious disappointment. Â Much of the film was set during Christmas and the holidays, which was supposed to provide a sort of lonely gauze to the film: Â Soldiers abroad, alone and separated from their families during the holidays. Â Unfortunately, the film provided no characters to care about, and a disjointed narrative that begged for some excitement. Â There's one Christmas relevant scene when Bill Murray's character plays "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas," a record that's been sent from home.
 The scene is supposed to fill the viewer with emotion, but the scene is as flat as the rest of the film.