Seven best Christmas films on Now TV

Billy Bob Thornton and Brett Kelly in Bad Santa

(Image credit: OutNow)

published 5 December 2016

Christmas is synonymous with food, drink and of course, film. In between food hangovers and small talk with the extended family, what better way to get in the spirit than a classic movie from the vault? Here's our selection of the finest festive fun from the Now TV catalogue.

Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Taking a break from serious dramas such as A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13, Ron Howard decided to try his hand at something a little more festive, culminating in 2000's adaptation of Dr Seuss's story of The Grinch, who famously hates Christmas. Due to its minimalist picture-based source material from 1957, the story had to be embellished for the purposes of the film, with the title role performed with characteristic gusto by Jim Carrey. The film went on to take $345m at the box office, making it the second-highest grossing Christmas film of all time, behind Home Alone.

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Bad Santa takes on Christmas in a somewhat less wholesome manner. It's a rude, crude and altogether more hedonistic approach to the festive season. With a cutting, delightfully misanthropic performance from the ever-excellent Billy Bob Thornton, along with the late greats Bernie Mac and John Ritter, Bad Santa tells the story of a miserable, alcoholic conman and his partner in crime, who pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. Not your average festive fare for the family, but certainly one to watch for the adults.

With schmaltzy set pieces and an overload of Christmas iconography, we're dipping into guilty pleasure territory with 1954's White Christmas. Celebrated crooner Bing Crosby oozes charisma in the lead role as a former war-time entertainer, with Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney providing excellent back-up in what The Times describes as "the cinema equivalent of an inappropriate festive snog under the mistletoe - you know you probably shouldn't enjoy it but you just can't help yourself".

Director Tim Burton's trademark macabre vision is arguably at its best in The Nightmare Before Christmas, which follows Jack Skellington, a resident of Halloween Town who stumbles through a portal to Christmas Town and decides to get in the festive mood. The film has achieved cult status among film-lovers with its mix of festive imagery and dynamic dialogue. This is a beautiful, funny and lovingly crafted Christmas film that nobody can resist.

Few festive films come close to the benchmark set by It's a Wonderful Life upon its release in 1946. Smart, funny, sad and with just the right amount of sentimentality, it has become an annual fixture for families across the globe who marvel in its deft direction, bittersweet story and wonderful star performance from James Stewart. He plays a despairing businessman saved by a guardian angel who shows him what life would have been like had he never existed. For all those who haven't seen it, expect tears aplenty.