Rating: 
Summary: Great movie!What are people thinking.
Review: This is a great holiday classic for people who remember what being a kid during Christmas was like. If you are looking for deep meaning or messages to live by go elsewhere this movie is just plain fun.There is no actual profanity spoken in this movie just nonsense words that imply cursing. This movie is PG which means that if you have children under 13 there may be things that you don't want them to see or hear. So you may want to watch it before them instead of assuming that it is a young childrens movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Special Edition soon to come...
Review: There. I've finally ensured that this title will be available in a widescreen special edition. Any time I break down and finally buy a DVD of a favorite film which seems to refuse to break into special edition form, within 12 months, it happens. I did this with Holy Grail, Evil Dead 2, and Wallace and Gromit.
As I view it now, I find this edition to be very viewable. It looks better than it does on TV every year. It is clear and I see no compression artifacts. Sound is fine, although monaural. I would like to see it widescreen, fully restored, with commentary or retrospective interviews. It surprises me to know that the original laserdisc presentation was, in widescreen (1.66:1). Why they didn't carry this over to the DVD is beyond me.
As others have written, I give this movie 5 stars and the presentation drags it, kicking and screaming, to 3. I'll write a new reivew review in a year's time once it goes SE.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Film Ruined By Horrible DVD Transfer
Review: A great film COMPLETELY RUINED by a DVD that does not offer the option of viewing the film in it's original widescreen format. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and now Warner Bros. has made me not want to buy the DVD because they were too stupid to realize that you see MORE OF THE FILM when viewing it in the original theatrical format---WIDESCREEN, in other words. Technicians have to cut off the sides of the film and enlarge it to give it that square, full-screen format.
Rating:
Summary: The ubiquitous Christmas movie.
Review: As a movie, this gets 5 stars. It so accurately and comically depicts the wonder of Christmas for a child that it has become the favorite holiday movie for many families (not to mention basic cable, where it runs ad nauseum every year). The DVD transfer is one of the worst I have seen, however. The picture quality is at times wavy, blurred, and grainy, and the sound quality is substandard at best. In addition, Warner has until now only offered the DVD in full screen format (although a widescreen version is scheduled for Christmas 2003). That will be the version to own.
Rating:
Summary: "You'll shoot your eye out! You'll shoot your eye out!"
Review: The 1983 film, "A Christmas Story", quickly became a holiday classic as viewers fell in love with its witty prose as narrated by Jean Shepherd (1921-1999), who wrote the novel upon which the film is based: "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash". The film begins weeks before Christmas in the city of Terre Haute, Indiana circa 1934. A young Ralph 'Ralphie' Parker (Peter Billingsley) stares through the glass of a storefront window at the local department store to see what he wants most for Christmas, a Red Rider Be-Be Gun, and ponders the quandary of how to convince his parents to buy him one. He leaves various clues in the house for his parents to find about how wonderful and necessary the be-be gun is, but when his mother (Melinda Dillon, who received Oscas nominations for her roles in the 1977 film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the 1981 film "Absence of Malice") asks him what he wants for Christmas during breakfast one morning, Ralphie excitedly blurts out, "I want an official, Red Ryder, Carbine-action, 200-Shot, Range Model, Air Rifle". His mother responds, "No, that's too dangerous. You'll shoot your eye out." Ralphie is crushed at hearing the common adult "prejudice" against the be-be gun, but decides upon finding another tactical means of persuasion. At school, Ralphie's teacher, Miss Shields, (Tedde Moore) assigns his class to write a Christmas theme. Most of the students are not happy with the assignment, but Ralphie sees this as another golden opportunity to bolster the superiority of the Red Rider be-be gun as the ideal Christmas gift. He writes what he believes will be regarded a masterpiece, but when Miss Shields returns his theme, Ralphie is shocked to see a grade of "C+". To add insult to injury, Miss Shields writes in red ink, "You'll shoot your eye out!" For Ralphie, the universe is coming apart at the seams and it leads to one of the film's many subplots: a fight with the bully Scut Farcus (Zach Ward). Throughout the first half of the film, Ralphie, his younger brother Randy (Ian Petrella) and his two friends Flick (Scott Schwartz) and Schwartz (R.D. Robb) are terrorized by Scut Farcus and his toady Grover Dill (Yano Anaya). Upon receiving a C+ for his prized theme, Ralphie's rage empowers him to mercilessly beat upon the unexpecting Scut Farcus and to express his Red Rider frustration in a torrent of obscenities (don't worry, they're unintelligible). Fearing a severe punishment from his father (Darren McGavin, well-known for his characterization of Carl Kolchak in the 1972 TV-series "The Night Stalker"), Ralphie & Randy tearfully wait for their father to return home from work; but their mother plays down the fight in a conversation with him to Ralphie's relief. Ralphie's father is a fascinating character in the film with several great subplots: his unintelligible expressions of frustration with the neighbor's uncontrolled pack of dogs and struggles with their failing furnace, and his winning of a "major prize". Ralphie's mother isn't too thrilled with her husband's "major prize" since it is a tall plastic lamp in the shape of a woman's leg wearing a black-lace stocking that he proudly displays in front of their livingroom window; but a mysterious and unexplained accident changes the sitation. Other subplots in the film include Ralphie's "Little Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Ring", Ralphie assiting his father change a flat tire with unforeseen consequences, Schwartz challenging Flick to stick his tongue to a frozen flagpole to see whether it will get stuck, the discovery of Chinese turkey and the frequent overheating of inadequate electrical fuses and outlets in the Parker's home. Jean Shepherd's narration throughout the film binds all of the many subplots into a coherent whole that continues to delight viewers of all ages to its timeless humor and realism. Though the film itself gets 5 stars, DVD quality is far less than it what it could have been, as other reveiwers have remarked. The DVD is full-screen instead of widescreen and there is little bonus material offered. I highly recommend to Warner Studios that this film be digitally remastered in widescreen format and include additional bonus material, such as a biography of Jean Shepherd. Though the DVD quality is low for "A Christmas Story", the film itself is well worth the purchase of the full-screen DVD. This is a film that can be enjoyed at any time of the year, but especially during the holidays. Watch and see whether Ralphie will ever get his beloved, official, Red Ryder, Carbine-action, 200-Shot, Range Model, Air Rifle!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful!
Review: Since it's initial release back in 1983 I've seen this film at least a dozen and a half times. And I've loved it each time. With a wonderful somewhat laconic voiceover narrative by author Jean Shepherd (upon whose stories the movie is based) and terrific performances by Darren McGavin, young Peter Billingsley and Melinda Dillon, this is an immensely funny and even touching movie--with well-realized, wildly imaginative scenes (school bullies, getting a kid to eat, the father's love for an outrageously ugly leg-lamp won in a contest). There is something in which to take new delight with every viewing. Instead of the usual sappy, saccharine stuff that gets aired during the Christmas season, here's a movie with zest and bite. This is a film that uses its source material wonderfully well and succeeds in every way. Celebrate the season with glee and take in A Christmas Story.
My highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: If I could, I'd give it no stars
Review: What is this junk? How can so many people think it's so cute and funny and consider it a classic? It's just about a whiny child who wants a gun for Christmas, and just about every adult tells him he'll "shoot his eye out"! That's the 1940s' equivalent of a child asking for a violent video game such as the Grand Theft Auto series and parents saying, "you'll end up shooting your next door neighbor" in today's world! How can you call "A Christmas Story" a classic if it's a hypocrisy of today's standards? Yes, entertainment's entertainment. Movies are supposed to be fantasy road trips that takes us away from real-world problems for 90-or-so minutes. But I think movies tend to have a deeper meaning that is often hidden behind the superficial eye candy and storyline.
Rating:
Summary: Can't get better
Review: C'mon, you don't already own this? Where have you been? There is a reason TNT plays this continuously all Christmas week and best of all, you never get tired of it. Great, Great buy!!!
Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC CHRISTMAS FILM treated poorly!
Review: This is an ALL-TIME CLASSIC FAVORITE of mine. Being a film-purist (MA in cinema studies--my shameless plug), I do not say this lightly. 10-stars for the movie and 1 star for the DVD. Read on: This is "liquid literature", i.e., literature on film. This is one of the few instances in filmdom where voice-overs are not only used properly, but are motivated by the film's style, disposition, and character. Form definately dictated the function of voice-over on this one, as should always be the case. Hearing Jean Shepherd's (author) voice-overs alone justifies the price of this DVD. But ALL aspects are flawlessly executed: writing, director's tone, acting, texture/mood created by lighting, sets, ensemble cast (the children's performances match those achieved by Spielberg in ET), etc ... Darren McGavin sunk personal resources into this project as a "labor of love," and we are blessed, for what a tragedy to filmdom had this film never been realized. However, DVD itself is a disappointment. It is full-screen, not widescreen. I echo the comments made by previous users. This film is worthy of a complete digital remastering, both visually and aurally, and released in widescreen. I'd gladly pay a special price for such a classic edition of this timeless treat. These technical setbacks would not matter on a less-important work. But treating this film as a "cheapie knockoff for a fast buck" angers me. C'mon! Let's see a "Special Edition" that remasters this genius in widescreen with all the special features and goodies and technical consideraions properly implemented!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie that will make your holiday
Review: This is hands down the best Christmas movie. This is the single reason why I most look forward to the holiday season. The way Ralphie daydreams about things such as the Red Ryder BB gun and his theme paper is hillarious, along with other scenes that you just have to see. Heck, that's why it comes on TV for 24 hours straight starting on Christmas Eve.
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