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Christmas Film
Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, these films are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Many television networks, film studios, and production companies, such as cable television channels Hallmark and Lifetime, produce and release new Christmas-themed films every year during or around December, all with different variations of similar plots and themes. Additionally, films revolving around the Nativity story of Christmas are regularly produced such as '' The Nativity Story'' (2006) and '' The Star'' (2017). One film that has become the flashpoint for "Is this a Christmas movie or not?" debates is ''Die Hard'' (1988), with some viewing the film as a Christmas movie intertwined with an action genre setting or a film that is simply set around the Christmas and holiday season The Christmas season o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Trends In Christmas Movies Over Nearly A Century (1925-2022)
A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse (psychology), impulse for a short time period. Fads are Subject and object (philosophy), objects or behaviors that achieve short-lived popularity but fade away. Fads are often seen as sudden, quick-spreading, and short-lived events. Fads include fad diet, diets, clothing, hairstyles, toys, and more. Some popular fads throughout history are toys such as yo-yos, hula hoops, and fad dances such as the Macarena (song), Macarena, Floss (dance), floss and the Twist (dance), twist. Similar to habits or Convention (norm), customs but less durable, fads often result from an activity or behavior being perceived as Popularity, popular or excited state, exciting within a peer group, or being deemed "peer pressure, cool" as often promoted by social networks.Kornblum (2007), p. 213. A fad is said to "catch on" wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Three Wise Men
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies. Evolution of the Arabic digit The use of three lines to denote the number 3 occurred in many writing systems, including some (like Roman and Chinese numerals) that are still in use. That was also the original representation of 3 in the Brahmic (Indian) numerical notation, its earliest forms aligned vertically. However, during the Gupta Empire the sign was modified by the addition of a curve on each line. The Nāgarī script rotated the lines clockwise, so they appeared horizontally, and ended each line with a short downward stroke on the right. In cursive script, the three strokes were eventually connected to form a glyph resembling a with an additional stroke at the bottom: ३. The Indian digits spread to the Caliphate in the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Babes In Toyland (operetta)
''Babes in Toyland'' is an operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough, which wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a musical extravaganza. Following the extraordinary success of their stage musical '' The Wizard of Oz'', which was produced in New York beginning in January 1903, producer Fred R. Hamlin and director Julian Mitchell hoped to create more family musicals.Bloom and Vlastnik, p. 29 MacDonough had helped Mitchell with revisions to the ''Oz'' libretto by L. Frank Baum. Mitchell and MacDonough persuaded Victor Herbert to join the production. ''Babes in Toyland'' features some of Herbert's most famous songs – among them "Toyland", "March of the Toys", "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep", and "I Can't Do the Sum". The theme song "Toyland", and the most famous instrumental piece from the operetta, "March of the Toys", occasionally show up on Christmas compilations. The original production opened at the Grand Opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway from the 1890s to World War I. He was also prominent among the Tin Pan Alley composers and was later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). A prolific composer, Herbert produced two operas, a cantata, 43 operettas, incidental music to 10 plays, 31 compositions for orchestra, nine band compositions, nine cello compositions, five violin compositions with piano or orchestra, 22 piano compositions and numerous songs, choral compositions and orchestrations of works by other composers, among other music. In the early 1880s, Herbert began a career as a cellist in Vienna and Stuttgart, during whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Laurel And Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "sound film, talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer Marvin Hatley, T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats. Prior to emerging as a team, both had well-established film careers. Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions. Both had appeared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Babes In Toyland (1934 Film)
''Babes in Toyland'' is a Laurel and Hardy musical Christmas film released on November 30, 1934. The film is also known by the alternative titles ''Laurel and Hardy in Toyland'', ''Revenge Is Sweet'' (the 1948 European reissue title), and ''March of the Wooden Soldiers'' (in the United States), a 73-minute abridged version. Based on Victor Herbert's popular 1903 operetta '' Babes in Toyland'', the film was produced by Hal Roach, directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. There are two computer-colorized versions between The Samuel Goldwyn Company in 1991 and Legend Films in 2006. Although the 1934 film makes use of many of the characters in the original play, as well as several of the songs, the plot is almost completely unlike that of the original stage production. In contrast to the stage version, the film's story takes place entirely in Toyland, which is inhabited by Mother Goose ( Virginia Karns) and other well-known fairy tale char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Arthur Christmas
''Arthur Christmas'' is a 2011 animated Christmas comedy film directed by Sarah Smith who co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Baynham, and starring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley Jensen. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Aardman Features and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film is Aardman's second computer-animated feature film after 2006's ''Flushed Away''. The film tells the story of Santa Claus' family as one of his sons works to deliver an overlooked bicycle to a little girl in Trelew, Cornwall, England before Christmas morning. Following the under-performance of ''Flushed Away'', DreamWorks Animation did not renew its partnership with Aardman. In April 2007, Aardman signed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures. Originally titled ''Operation Rudolph'', the project was first announced in 2007. Aardman spent 18 months on pre-production on the story and design in the UK bef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Apartment
''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray, with Ray Walston and Edie Adams in supporting roles. The film follows an insurance clerk (Lemmon) who, in hopes of climbing the corporate ladder, allows his superiors to use his Upper West Side apartment to conduct their extramarital affairs. He becomes attracted to an elevator operator (MacLaine) in his office building, unaware that she is having an affair with the head of personnel (MacMurray). ''The Apartment'' was distributed by United Artists to widespread critical acclaim and was a commercial success, despite controversy owing to its subject matter. It became the 8th highest-grossing film of 1960. At the 33rd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for ten awards and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Lemmon, MacLaine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Annie (1999 Film)
''Annie'' is a 1999 American musical comedy drama television film from '' The Wonderful World of Disney'', adapted from the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin, and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on the 1924 ''Little Orphan Annie'' comic strip by Harold Gray. It is the first remake and the second film adaptation of the musical following the 1982 theatrical film starring Aileen Quinn, Carol Burnett, and Albert Finney. It was directed by Rob Marshall, written by Irene Mecchi, and produced by Walt Disney Television, Columbia TriStar Television, Storyline Entertainment, and Chris Montan Productions. It stars Kathy Bates, Alan Cumming, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Victor Garber, Andrea McArdle, and introducing Alicia Morton in her film debut as the titular character with supporting roles by Lalaine, Danielle Wilson, Sarah Hyland, Erin Adams, Nanea Miyata, and Marissa Rago. ''Annie'' premiered on ABC on November 7 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Alvin And The Chipmunks (film)
''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' is a 2007 American Live-action animated film, live-action animated jukebox musical comedy film directed by Tim Hill (director), Tim Hill from a screenplay by Jon Vitti and the writing team of Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi. It is the first installment in the Alvin and the Chipmunks in film, live-action film series of Alvin and the Chipmunks. The cast includes Jason Lee (actor), Jason Lee, David Cross, and Cameron Richardson, while Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney voice the titular Chipmunks. The plot follows chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore), who move in with struggling songwriter Dave Seville after losing their home. When Dave discovers their singing talent, he introduces them to JETT Records executive Ian Hawke, whose plans threaten the chipmunks' newfound family dynamic. Development began in 1997 when Ross Bagdasarian Jr. expressed interest in creating a live-action film. The project saw multiple changes before it was off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Almost Christmas (film)
''Almost Christmas'' is a 2016 American Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by David E. Talbert and starring Kimberly Elise, Mo'Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Gabrielle Union, Keri Hilson, Jessie Usher, Danny Glover, Omar Epps, John Michael Higgins, D.C. Young Fly, and Romany Malco. The film follows a dysfunctional family that comes together for the holidays for the first time since their mother's death. Principal photography took place during November and December 2015 in Covington, Georgia. The film premiered in Los Angeles on November 3, 2016 and was theatrically released in the United States on November 11, 2016 by Universal Pictures. It received mixed reviews and grossed $42 million. Plot Walter Meyers is a retired automotive engineer who lost his wife Grace 10 months earlier. Now that the holiday season is here, he invites his four grown children and the rest of the family to his house for a traditional celebration. Walter knows that if his daughters Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temperament. A musician who specializes in piano is called a pianist. There are two main types of piano: the #Grand, grand piano and the #Upupright piano. The grand piano offers better sound and more precise key control, making it the preferred choice when space and budget allow. The grand piano is also considered a necessity in venues hosting skilled pianists. The upright piano is more commonly used because of its smaller size and lower cost. When a key is depressed, the strings inside are struck by felt-coated wooden hammers. The vibrations are transmitted through a Bridge (instrument), bridge to a Soundboard (music), soundboard that amplifies the sound by Coupling (physics), coupling the Sound, acoustic energy t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
