Nope.
It's actually a Thanksgiving movie. Well, almost.
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'hoop dreams"
"marley & me"
popular posts / most comments
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fran to bud: "shut up and deal"
a fan's notes by joe baltake devoted to movies neglected and mostly misunderstood
hits per page view ~ 2,000,000
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about this site, a collection of movie-fed daydreams...
Life is simply one grand excuse to watch movies and then sit around and think about them. While my education was honed by reviewing films for Gannett, Tribune, McClatchy, The News Corporation and Knight-Ridder, my personality - or rather my taste - was shaped largely in my old neighborhood movie theater and on my parents' living room floor. Watching movies. And falling in love with the unacclaimed. Passionately.
(the passionate moviegoer ® is a registered trademark)
(the passionate moviegoer ® is a registered trademark)
welcome
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"Blog looks fabulous, just what the net needs: less about Michael Mann, more about Delbert Mann!"
--dave kehr/reports from the lost continent of cinephilia
"There is no better evidence of Joe's passion than his subject matter, defending and remembering the more obscure titles from cinematic history. No matter how much you think you might know about movies, odds are you will learn of new ones if you check out Joe's site."
--edward copeland/ on film
"Joe ... devotes himself to those myriad neglected figures and movies seemingly left by the roadside in our societal rush toward cultural amnesia. Whether he is trying to find the source of Jack Lemmon's quicksilver appeal or understand Vincente Minnelli's valedictory films or express just why we miss Jack Carson, Joe is consistently thoughtful and knowledgeable without being ponderous."
--moira finnie/skeins of thought
"The title The Passionate Moviegoer is not an exaggeration. Joe is the real deal, covering films that have been overlooked for far too long."
--roger ebert
"Philly lives, Joe! Love your blog!"
--dave kehr/reports from the lost continent of cinephilia
"There is no better evidence of Joe's passion than his subject matter, defending and remembering the more obscure titles from cinematic history. No matter how much you think you might know about movies, odds are you will learn of new ones if you check out Joe's site."
--edward copeland/ on film
"Joe ... devotes himself to those myriad neglected figures and movies seemingly left by the roadside in our societal rush toward cultural amnesia. Whether he is trying to find the source of Jack Lemmon's quicksilver appeal or understand Vincente Minnelli's valedictory films or express just why we miss Jack Carson, Joe is consistently thoughtful and knowledgeable without being ponderous."
--moira finnie/skeins of thought
"The title The Passionate Moviegoer is not an exaggeration. Joe is the real deal, covering films that have been overlooked for far too long."
--roger ebert
"Philly lives, Joe! Love your blog!"
--joe dante/trailers from hell
"Joe's blog is notable for his crisp, stylish writing and is dedication to promoting obscure and lesser-seen films."
*********Awards**********
'hoop dreams"
~ joe baltake accommodation: first place for commentary / Society of Professional Journalists / 1995
“For his strength as a storyteller, pulling powerful imagery with smooth transitions into a tapestry of opinion, observation and dialogue, his voice resonating throughout his reviews."
"marley & me"
~joe baltake accommodation: performing animal welfare society ( PAWS) / 1995
"for his sensitive coverage of animal use in films in a column on the mistreatment of animals, both simulated and real, on screen."
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popular posts / most comments
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- how to marry a millionaire / 30 comments
- thoroughly modern millie / 30 comments
"north by northwest"
and eight decades later...
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quote unquote
- jean cocteau said of film, "Etonnez-moi!" ("Astonish me!")
passion posts / joe's favorites
- ashby's the landlord
- cinema obscura
- claire & patrick & fred & ginger
- daryl chin
- diary of a mad housewife
- greg kinnear
- guard brothers' SPDR spot
- huston's annie
- indelible moments
- les critiques de cinéma: anton, addison et les autres
- lonergan's margaret
- marley & me
- pierce brosnan
- schlesinger's biffle & shooster
- stephanie von buchau
- wilder's "the apartment" / the film that defines me
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- henry miller said, "This film is alive and it speaks to me."
each and every single post / the complete passion archive
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- e.l. doctorow said, "I like movies, but I hate the culture of movies..."
cinéssentials
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pauline kael said, “Great movies are rarely perfect movies”
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fran to bud: "shut up and deal"
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5 comments:
So true!
Good point, Joe, but the film actually covers both holidays. Still, Thanksgiving movies are rare and it would be nice to include this one among them.
I agree with Brian, the film traverses two holidays. That said, I think the TV stations that air "Miracle" every year should start showing it on Thanksgiving day and not wait until Christmas.
I watch this every year with my family on Thanksgiving. I couldn't be with them this year, so we had a quote-off. My mom would text me a favorite line from the movie and I would text her back the next big one. Aka I've seen this film way too many times!
Miracle on 34th Street is, as your fans confirm, a holiday season movie, not a strictly Christmas movie. Of course, the entire premise of the movie questions — and sweetly answers — the actuality of Santa Claus. It has been part of my life for so many years, I cannot remember when I first saw it. But it is the primary reason I bought a VCR when they came on the market, long before DVRing. “Miracle” was often scheduled to air at an ungodly hour or at a time when it was impossible to see so I bought it in VHS and still screen it every year.
As essential as “Miracle” is, it is not the first Christmas season movie I was. That honor belongs to another Christmas season spanning movie, an oldie and my wittiest and sweetest favorite: The Man Who Came to Dinner. As you noted, though, I screen them close to Thanksgiving. Both movies are essential to properly begin my parade of Christmas favorites, which I own and watch (in VHS) in this order, typically.
Christmas in Connecticut
A Christmas Story
The Santa Clause
Holiday Affair
Holiday Inn
The Holiday - obviously a recent addition
A Christmas Carol - the Alistair Sims version
The Bishop’s Wife - Loretta Young, Cary Grant, David Niven (and another charmer with Monty Wooley)
White Christmas - usually the concluding movie because of its sentimentality, memories of my father, and the song White Christmas.
Two other films are in my library and sometimes I watch them, but not always: Elf and It’s a Wonderful Life. Will Ferrell is cute in Elf, but I have to be in the mood for his brand of zaniness. Bob Newhart’s wonderfully dry, droll appearance helps a lot. Then there’s IAWL. Frank Capra’s saccharin opus is iconic yet I can’t say it genuinely entertains me. Mostly watch this one, if I do, because of some need to check off a mental list of Christmas films, staying on the Nice list, I suppose.
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