A Christmas Story (1983)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Bob Clark

Writers:

Jean Shepherd (novel)
Jean Shepherd (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas...

Plot:

Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940's.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | BB Gun | School | 1940s | Lamp

Awards:

2 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Melinda Dillon	...	Mrs. Parker
Darren McGavin	...	The Old Man - Mr. Parker
Peter Billingsley	...	Ralphie Parker
Ian Petrella	...	Randy Parker
Scott Schwartz	...	Flick
R.D. Robb	...	Schwartz
Tedde Moore	...	Miss Shields
Yano Anaya	...	Grover Dill
Zack Ward	...	Scut Farkus
Jeff Gillen	...	Santa Claus
Colin Fox	...	Ming the Merciless (scenes deleted)
Paul Hubbard	...	Flash Gordon (scenes deleted)
Leslie Carlson	...	Tree Man (as Les Carlson)
Jim Hunter	...	Freight Man
Patty Johnson	...	Head Elf

Runtime:

94 min | USA:93 min (20th Anniversary)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Norway:7 (original rating) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

3159 W. 11th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Christmas Tree Films

Trivia:

An elaborate fantasy sequence - in which Ralphie joins Flash Gordon to fight Ming the Merciless - was filmed but dropped from the final cut.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the family is eating dinner on the day the Ralphie beats up Scutt Farkas, the bread plate on the table switches position from left of the pickle plate to the right.

Quotes:

Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Strange. Even something as momentous as the Scut Farkus affair, which it came to be known, was pushed out of my mind as I struggled to come up with a way out of the impenetrable BB gun web, in which my mother had me trapped.
Ralphie: Santa. Yeah, I'll ask Santa.
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Of course. Santa. The big man. The head honcho. The connection. Ha, my mother had slipped up this time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Elf (2003)

Soundtrack:

Peter and the Wolf

Just wonderful

Nostalgic tale of a Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) growing up in the 1940s (I believe). He wants nothing more than a Red Ryder Ranger Model Air Rifle (a BB gun for short) for Christmas but everyone tells him it will "shoot your eye out".

That's about it for plot but the film has sequences that every child (and adult) can relate to. My favorites: Ralphie's best friend getting his tongue stuck to a pole when he's dared to lick it; Ralphie accidentally swearing in front of his father; the bully that threatens Ralphie and his friends every day until Ralphie beats him up (in a GREAT scene); Ralphie's constant fights with his little brother (wonderfully played by Ian Petrella) and Billingsley and his brother being terrified by a department store Santa.

Also Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin are just great as the parents-- especially Dillon. She has one uproarious scene where she gets Petrella to eat by imitating a pig! This was totally ignored when it came out in 1983 but has slowly developed a cult following. It's now considered one of the best Christmas movies ever made--right up there with "It's a Wonderful Life" (which was also ignored at its release).

A charming, wonderful Christmas film. A 10 all the way!