A Wonderful Time for Classic Film

Coventry Telegraph

Santa is coming and bringing with him lots of Christmas movies to keep the festive spirits from flagging. Here are some on the best stocking fillers on offer right now.

It's A Wonderful Life DVD

The annual reissue of Frank Capra's life-affirming 1946 fable is now available as the colourised version on DVD and both black-and- white and colourised on Blu-ray.

James Stewart stars as suicidal family man George Bailey, who ponders a life without his beloved wife Mary (Donna Reed) and children, but is thankfully saved by guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers). "You see George, you've really had a wonderfullife," says the spirit. "Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?"

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (2 Disc Collector's Edition) (PG), DVD

Jack Skellington, the causecelebre of Hallowe'en Town, hatches a scheme to replace Santa Claus as the figurehead of Christmas.

Extras include new director commentary, "Nightmare" haunted mansion tour, Tim Burton's original poem, deleted storyboards, deleted animations, animation tests, behindthe-scenes featurette, storyboard to film comparison of the town meeting sequence,gallery of concept art and character designs, posters, Tim Burton's early films Vincent and Frankenweenie and theatrical trailer.

Irving Berlin's White Christmas (Special Edition) DVD

Re-Release of Michael Cu 1954 festive favourite, starring Bing Crosby (right) and Danny Kaye as talented song-and-dance men Bob Wallace and Phil Davis.

They rise to fame in the notoriously cut-throat world of show business and, as winter beckons, they join forces with sister act Betty and Judy Haynes (Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen) and head for Vermont, only to discover that their old army general runstheir inn and the establishment is in dire financial straits.

Perhaps Bob, Phil and their lady friends can cure the economic woes with Irving Berlin songs including Blue Skies, Count Your Blessings Instead Of Sheep, Sisters and the iconic title track.

Scrooge DVD

Welcome reissue of the classic 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Alastair Sim as curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge, who doesn't care a jot for the festive season and pays his clerk Bob ratchit (Mervyn Johns) ttance.

Estranged from his nephew Fred (Brian Worth), Ebenezer prepares to spend another Christmas alone, only to be visited by three ghostly guides who promise to show the miser his past, present and future.

In so doing, the spectres force the old coot to re-examine his life and to offer help to Bob, whose son Tiny Tim (Glyn Dearman) is gravely ill.

Holiday Inna (Special Edition) DVD

Irving Berlin's wintry musical features the classic song White Christmas and stars Bing Crosby as performer Jim Hardy.

He is left broken-hearted when his fiancee Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) leaves him for best friend Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire).

Escaping to Connecticut, Jim transforms a farmhouse into the all- singing, all-dancing Holiday Inn - a rural retreat open 15 nights a year, where dreams sometimes come true. For poor Jim, history begins to repeat itself when Ted turns up unexpectedly,having been jilted by Lila, and falls in love with his friend's new sweetheart Linda (Marjorie Reynolds). Extras include film historian commentary and archive audio comments by Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and John Scott Trotter.

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