Christmas Story



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In 2009 Rhino Records released a soundtrack album for the film on CD. This release contains no spoken dialogue from the movie, only clips from the original score by Carl Zittrer and Paul Zaza, a version of "Silent Night" by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the music for the deleted Flash Gordon sequence. The tracklisting is as follows:
  1. "Bob's Major Award" (title card music)
  2. "Jogging to School"
  3. "Black Bart Bites the Dust"
  4. "Meeting of the Minds"
  5. "And They're Off!"
  6. "Truth or (Triple Dog) Dare"
  7. "Jingle Bells"
  8. "He Had Yellow Eyes"
  9. "A Chip Off the Old Block"
  10. "When Things Seem Hopeless..."
  11. "Feet, Do Your Stuff!"
  12. "Ralphie's Brilliant Idea"
  13. "Ming the Merciless"
  14. "Don't Look Back"
  15. "Sleigh Bells"
  16. "Ralphie's Revenge & the "F" Word"
  17. "Joy to the World & Silent Night"
  18. "The Bumpus Hounds Make Their Rounds"
  19. "Glorious, Beautiful Christmas" (closing credits music)
  20. "Silent Night" - Mormon Tabernacle Choir 

    Release and reception

    Initially overlooked as a sleeper film,[14] A Christmas Story was released a week before Thanksgiving 1983 to moderate success, earning about $2 million in its first weekend.[15] Vincent Canby's mostly negative New York Times review[16] echoed the more common response. Roger Ebert suggested the film had only modest success because holiday themed films were not popular at the time.[17] The film would go on to win two Genie Awards, for Bob Clark's screenplay and direction.[17]
    By Christmas 1983, however, the film was no longer playing at most venues, but remained in about a hundred theaters until January 1984.[4] Gross earnings were just over $19.2 million.[15][18] In the years since, due to television airings and home video release, A Christmas Story has become widely popular and is now an annual Christmas special. The film was originally released by MGM. Turner Entertainment Co. acquired rights to the film due to Ted Turner's purchase of MGM's pre-1986 library. Subsequently, Time Warner purchased Turner Entertainment, and currently owns the film.
    Over the years, the film's critical reputation has grown considerably and it is considered by many to be one of the best films of 1983.[19][20][21] Based on 44 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 89%, with an average score of 8.4/10.[22]
    On December 24, 2007, AOL ranked the film their #1 Christmas movie of all time.[23] IGN ranked the film the top holiday-themed movie of all time.[23]
  21. AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs - Nominated[24]
  22. AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
    • "You'll shoot your eye out." - Nominated[25]
  23. AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated[26]

Broadcasting and release

Television

The film first aired on television on HBO in 1985, and quickly attracted a growing following. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the film began airing quietly on SuperStation WTBS and Superstation WGN.[27] From 1988–1992, the film had a short-lived tradition of airing on Thanksgiving night (or the night after Thanksgiving) to open the holiday television season. In 1988, then-fledgling FOX aired the movie the night after Thanksgiving.[27] In 1989–1990, TBS showed it Thanksgiving night, while in 1991–1992, they aired it the night after.[27]
Turner Broadcasting, now a part of the TimeWarner umbrella of cable networks, has maintained ownership of the broadcast rights, and since the mid-1990s, aired the movie increasingly on TBS, TNT and TCM. By 1995, it was aired on those networks a combined six times on December 24–26,[27] and in 1996, it was aired eight times over those three days.[27]
Due to the increasing popularity of the film, in 1997, TNT began airing a 24-hour marathon dubbed "24 Hours of A Christmas Story," consisting of the film shown twelve consecutive times beginning at 7 or 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve and ending Christmas Day.[27] This was in addition to various other airings earlier in the month of December. In 2004, after TNT switched to a predominantly drama format, sister network TBS, under its comedy-based "Very Funny" moniker, took over the marathon. Clark stated that, in 2002, an estimated 38.4 million people tuned into the marathon at one point or another, nearly one sixth of the country.[4] TBS reported 45.4 million viewers in 2005,[28] and 45.5 million in 2006.[29] In 2007, new all-time ratings records were set,[30] with the highest single showing (8 p.m. Christmas Eve) drawing 4.4 million viewers.[30] Viewership increased again in 2008, with 8 p.m. Christmas Eve drawing 4.5 million viewers, and 10 p.m. drawing 4.3 million,[31] and 54.4 million total.[32] As of 2009, the film had been shown 250 times on the Turner family of networks.[32]
In 2007, the marathon continued, and the original tradition was revived. TNT also aired the film twice the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend (November 25). In 2009, the 24-hour marathon continued on TBS, for the 13th overall year, starting at 8 p.m. eastern on Christmas Eve.[33]
In 2009, the film aired on TBS during a 24-hour marathon on Christmas Eve. The first viewing at 8 p.m. Eastern on December 24 earned a 1.6 rating (18-49) and beat the major broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX).[34] In 2010, the marathon averaged 3 million viewers, up 2% from the previous year, ranking TBS as the top cable network for the 24-hour period. The 10 a.m. airing on December 25 was seen by 4.4 million viewers, and the 8 p.m. airing on December 24 was close behind with 4.3 million viewers.[35]

Subsequent and earlier works

A sequel involving Ralphie and his family, titled My Summer Story (alternate title It Runs in the Family), was made in 1994. With the exceptions of Tedde Moore as Ralphie's teacher (Miss Shields) and Jean Shepherd as the narrator (the voice of the adult Ralphie), it features an entirely different cast. A series of television movies involving the Parker family, also from Shepherd stories, were made by PBS, including Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss(1988), The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski(1983), The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters(1982), and The Phantom of the Open Hearth(1976).
Another sequel, A Christmas Story 2 was released straight to DVD and Bluray[36] in 2012 and directed by Brian Levant. It was filmed in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.[37]
In 2000, an authorized stage play adaptation of A Christmas Story was written by Philip Grecian and is produced each Christmas season.[citation needed]
In November 2012, "A Christmas Story, The Musical," based on the film, opened on Broadway. Written by Benj Pasek and Joseph Robinette, the musical opened to positive reviews.[38] It ends its run on December 30, 2012.[39]

Home releases

  • Betamax (1985)
  • VHS (1984, 1985, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000)
  • Laserdisc (1985): pan & scan
  • Laserdisc (1993): Delux letterbox edition
  • DVD (1997, reissued by Warner Home Video in 1999): fullscreen, includes original theatrical trailer
  • DVD (2003) 20th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition DVD (2003): Widescreen; includes cast interviews, audio commentary, and featurettes.
  • HD DVD (2006)[40]
  • Blu-ray (2006)[41]
  • DVD (2008) Ultimate Collector's Edition: Metal tin case features the same 2003 two-disc special edition, but includes special memorabilia.[42]
  • Blu-ray (2008) Ultimate Collector's Edition: Metal tin which features the same 2006 Blu-ray disc, but also includes a strand of Leg Lamp Christmas lights.[43]
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