What's the best holiday movie on Netflix Instant?

November 26, 2011 11:30 AM

What are the best Christmas/holiday programs available on streaming video? I'm especially thinking Netflix, but things available on Hulu, Amazon, etc. are also welcome!

So, of course I did a search for "Christmas" on instantwatcher.com, which turned up a few good classics (Miracle on 34th Street) and a lot of awful-sounding dreck. And since Netflix doesn't use "holiday" or "Christmas" as a tag/category, it's hard to search for this type of program without already knowing what it's called. Help me find more good stuff, please!

Feature films, TV specials, and quality holiday episodes of TV series are all welcome. My taste in Christmas media is pretty broad; favorites include A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Ref, It's a Wonderful Life, and Dolly Parton's "A Smoky Mountain Christmas". Sentiment is fine, as is cynicism, as are over-the-top camp and so-bad-it's-good.

posted by mskyle to media & arts (16 answers total)

Benji's Very Own Christmas Story on hulu is maybe more in the dreck category, but we thought it was good for a laugh. It was nominated for an Emmy in 1978, so there's that...
posted by vytae at 11:44 AM on November 26, 2011

Watching A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart (and Dominic West) is a holiday tradition around here. Stewart apparently played Scrooge on stage pretty frequently, and I think he does a pretty good job of conveying loneliness and bitterness without going too over the top.
posted by jquinby at 12:16 PM on November 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, rats - I just checked and it doesn't show as available for streaming. Sorry. :(
posted by jquinby at 12:19 PM on November 26, 2011

For anyone who doesn't mind Youtube links, there's Disney's old Christmas compilation special, "From All of Us to All of You," later repackaged as "A Disney Channel Christmas" in the '80s. It's criminal that Disney acts like it never existed, although it seems to be big on TV in Scandinavia.

Also, MST3K's "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians."
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 12:36 PM on November 26, 2011

The 1967 version of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" is up on YouTube; I've been wondering for a while if it somehow went public domain since it's been up for several years and hasn't been yanked yet.
posted by bcwinters at 12:39 PM on November 26, 2011

Stewart apparently played Scrooge on stage pretty frequently, and I think he does a pretty good job of conveying loneliness and bitterness without going too over the top.

Actually, Stewart did a pretty awesome one-man production of A Christmas Carol in which he played all the parts himself. When I was a Trek-loving teen in the early '90s, the audiotape of said show was one of my most prized possessions.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:37 PM on November 26, 2011

Also, MST3K's "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians."

Also, MST3K's other insane holiday-fantasia, "Santa Claus."
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:40 PM on November 26, 2011

Nutcracker: The Movie. A great version of the classic ballet, with art direction by Maurice Sendak. (Netflix)
posted by anastasiav at 2:07 PM on November 26, 2011

The Twilight Zone episode "The Night of the Meek" is one of my favorite Christmas episodes of any TV series.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:42 PM on November 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks guys! Lots of good suggestions, I will be sure to check them out!
posted by mskyle at 6:59 PM on November 26, 2011

If you've never seen The Ref, it's hilarious. Not a christmas movie per se, but deifinitely Christmas related in a dysfunctional family way. A must see every Christmas for me. (and hell yeah Dennis Leary)
posted by cross_impact at 7:40 PM on November 26, 2011

Doh. DVD only. Sorry. (but worth a rent though. really.)
posted by cross_impact at 7:40 PM on November 26, 2011

Oh, I own The Ref! It will be watched, no fear.
posted by mskyle at 5:35 AM on November 27, 2011

The excellent adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather is on Netflix streaming. Very literally every person I've shown it to has loved it.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 8:34 AM on November 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

These aren't great quality, but worth watching, I think:

A Muppet Family Christmas is one of my favorites.

Alastir Sim reprised his role as Scrooge in this animated, Chuck Jones-produced short of A Christmas Carol. It's pretty surreal.

Disney's 2009 adaption of A Christmas Carol is currently streaming on Netflix. It's not bad, though a bit over-the-top.
posted by girlmightlive at 7:16 PM on November 28, 2011

Last Christmas I spent way too much time watching Christmas episodes of old tv shows. Some I remember: Alf, Mr. Bean, Silver Spoons (with a young Joey Lawrence), Facts Of Life, Charles In Charge, Dougie Howser, He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special, and Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas.
posted by vagabond at 3:02 PM on November 29, 2011 [2 favorites]