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Christmas Past - Vintage Holiday Films Posters
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Rating:  -
Kino Video's lovely A CHRISTMAS PAST is for a limited audience who knows the names of Edwin S. Porter, Thomas Edison as a filmmaker, and D.W. Griffith when he was still doing short subjects. Over 121 minutes, it presents a nostalgic Currier and Ives-like Christmas in silent tales ranging from 1901 to 1925. The prints are flawless by any standards, and the music score includes violins and Christmas bells.
A HOLIDAY PAGEANT AT HOME (1901) runs 5 minutes and has kids presenting a little skit for Mom and Dad.
A WINTER STRAW RIDE (1906) should be called "A Winter Sleigh Ride". It runs 7 minutes and was directed by Edwin S. Porter for the Edison Corp.
A TRAP FOR SANTA (1909) is a 16 minute D. W. Griffith short about two kids trying to trap Santa in the middle of the night to see if he really exists. It has poignancy because a destitute father runs away from home and Mom plays Santa. But then Dad returns, and there are two Santas!
A CHRISTMAS ACCIDENT (1912) is a 15 minute Edison Corporation short, directed by Bannister Merwin. I think this is the one with wealthy and poor families living side by side, and the wealthy family doing something nice for the poor family at Christmas when a roast is delivered to the wealthy house.
THE ADVENTURES OF THE WRONG SANTA CLAUS (1914) has a father and a burglar fighting it out over who is the real Santa for a family. The burglar steals all the presents, and Dad goes after him in costume to have a happy ending. This is also a 14 minute one reeler from Edison.
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1905) is the first version of Clement Moore's famous story. It runs 7 minutes and was directed for Edison Corp. by Edwin S. Porter.
SANTA CLAUS VS. CUPID (1915) was written for the Edison Corp. by Alan Crosland (1927's THE JAZZ SINGER). This Christmas romance runs 16 minutes.
SANTA CLAUS (1925), ostensibly filmed with the real Santa at the real North Pole, focuses on Christmas Eve and delivering presents. But two children ask Santa what he and Mrs. Claus do the rest of the year. At 29 minutes, this is the longest film here and the most recent.
Finally, we have a 10 minute version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL from 1910 and the Edison Film Manufacturing Corporation. It is fun to see an attempt to tell the story in one reel.
A CHRISTMAS PAST will not be for everyone. But audiences excited by what I say about the contents should find it the ultimate Christmas Eve or Night treat. This is a long ago Christmas and quite exquisite.
Rating: -
As has been said in other reviews, this DVD (which I original saw on TCM as well) is a strange, moving, sometimes boring, but generally wonderful time-trip back to another era. (I still don't really get "Santa Claus vs. Cupid," but, hey, it doesn't bother me...)
I am one who thinks the music is haunting, strange--and perfect for this collection. It does add a touch melancholy to the procedings, but it works for me. Some of the most beloved Christmas songs are melancholy--look at "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" and "White Christmas"--looking back in memory, expecially of Christmases past, can definately involve a bit of that.
Rating:  -
This is one of those rare oppurtunities to see some obscure images from a time long, long ago. With the exception of perhaps one episode, most of the players are unknown people who gave their interpretation of a Christmas story. I felt like I was looking through a time machine, and the feeling of great nostalgia came over me. These are Christmas stories from the past presented by people who are long gone, but how much we have in common! I read some reviews that blast the soundtrack. I thought it was great and very appropriate. I especially enjoyed the use of Christmas bells, and think that the score helps add the feeling of nostalgia to this beautiful presentation. I ignored this title until catching it on TMC. If you enjoy silent films, this title is a must.
Rating:  -
I caught this on TCM before Christmas and taped it to first review before I considered getting the DVD. Be warned, this takes a lot of concentration and patience to view: rather boring in many parts, the sound track is useless (better, like a previous reviewer states, to play your own Christmas music, instrumental of course, while viewing), gets pretty interesting towards the end, though. Keep in mind that this was the days of filming when it was extremely raw and young, or young and raw, whatever, so "Christmas Past" is almost 100 years old, in part, and is quite different from the early color Christmas cartoons and silent video.
I'd buy this only if you keep an open mind (and eyes for that matter since it can lull you into a winter's slumber) and view it as a period piece. Silents can be great with the right music since the music adds or subtracts from the "feel" of the video as it does today.
I sure wish they'd put out "Cleopatra" (the 1912 version) silent which has a sound track (new) that is totally phenomenal (new music by Chantal Krevinzuk and Raine Maida). If you get TCM on your cable/satellite, checkout some of the silents on Sunday nights. You'll be surprised at how wonderful many of them actually are...especially the first "Cleopatra" with Helen Gardner. Exquisite! I was mesmerized.
Rating: -
Interesting movies from almost a century ago. But be warned. The muscial score leaves much to be desired. I prefer to turn off the sound and watch this DVD without sound, or I choose to play my own Christmas music selections in the background.
Nice movies. Naughty score!
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