Rankings
The Festive Films That Stay With Us
Ten Christmas films we would put in front of any thoughtful adult, ranked by how well they hold up on the fourth viewing rather than the first.
How we rank
Every December, lists of "the best Christmas movies" reappear with the same titles in a slightly different order. Most of them are built on affection. Ours is built on a harder test: if a friend who has never seen the film asked us whether it was worth two hours of a winter evening, would we say yes without hedging?
We weigh four things. Performances, because the season tempts filmmakers into broad sentiment and only real acting survives it. Emotional texture, meaning whether a film allows sadness, irritation and loneliness alongside the joy. Seasonal atmosphere, the sense that December actually matters to the story. And rewatch value, the quiet discovery of new details on repeat viewings. Scores are out of ten and reflect our editorial view, nothing more.
- 9.6
The Apartment (1960)
An insurance clerk lends his flat to executives for their affairs, and falls for the elevator operator one of them is using. Wilder sets the crisis on Christmas Eve, and the office party is the bleakest in film history. Lemmon and MacLaine play two people who have quietly accepted being treated badly; watching them decide not to is one of cinema's great pleasures. It won Best Picture, and it has aged better than almost anything else on this list.
- 9.4
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Too often summarised by its ending. For most of its running time this is a film about a man watching his ambitions die one obligation at a time, and Stewart, just back from the war, plays George Bailey's despair with frightening conviction. The joy of the final scene is only earned because the film has been so honest about the bridge.
- 9.2
Carol (2015)
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt. A shopgirl and a wealthy, divorcing woman meet over a toy train in a Manhattan department store in the early 1950s. Edward Lachman's grainy 16mm photography makes winter feel like a held breath. Romance for adults in every sense.
- 9.0
The Holdovers (2023)
Our lead recommendation for a reason. Its 1970s texture is not a gimmick; it suits a story about people who feel left over from their own lives.
- 8.9
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
The Ekdahl family Christmas in Uppsala that opens the film is the most abundant holiday sequence ever shot. What follows is darker, a story of grief and a cruel stepfather, but the generosity of that opening never quite leaves. Watch the longer version if you can give it an afternoon.
- 8.7
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Three homeless people find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve in Tokyo. Kon's film is a farce built on coincidence, and it openly admits it; underneath is real tenderness for people the city refuses to see. Animated, but certainly not for children.
- 8.6
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The original of what later became You've Got Mail. Lubitsch understands that a shop at Christmas is a place of anxiety: wages, stock, the fear of losing your job. The romance is lovely because it grows from that worry.
- 8.4
Die Hard (1988)
Yes, it counts. A separated husband crosses a continent to try to fix his marriage at a Christmas Eve party. Rickman's Hans Gruber remains the gold standard of elegant villainy, and the film's craft is still astonishing.
- 8.3
Remember the Night (1940)
Preston Sturges wrote this story of a prosecutor who takes a shoplifter home to Indiana for the holidays. Stanwyck is extraordinary. Few people have seen it; everyone should.
- 7.9
Scrooged (1988)
A cynical television executive gets the Dickens treatment. Messy and manic, but Murray's final, unhinged plea to the audience is sincere enough to make you wonder whether he meant it. We think he did.
Honourable mentions
Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Stanley Kubrick's strange, nocturnal marriage drama, dressed in more fairy lights than any film in history. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Shane Black's wisecracking Los Angeles noir. Klaus (2019), a handsome animated origin story that adults will enjoy as much as children. And Little Women (1994), whose wintry March household is reason enough to revisit it.
Disagree? Good. Write to the Winter Desk and tell us what we left out.