Customer Reviews

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever [VHS]

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Based on the children's novel by Barbara Robinson, with teleplay by the author of the book (hurray!), this video remains true to the book by the same name. A local church is doing the Christmas pageant for Christmas, and the family of 6 unsupervised, undisciplined children decide to get involved. They bully the other children so that they will get the main roles. Everyone is worried that this will be the WORST Christmas Pageant because the Herdmans are involved. The mother, played by Loretta Swit (MASH), shows patience and diligence, with unending hope that the whole thing will have a great ending. Despite the fact that I've been reading this book aloud to my elementary school students for years, I ended up in tears during the scene where Imogene discovers what Mary is all about. Definitely, OWN this video if you love what Christmas is really about!

The Herdmans are the worst kids ever! They cuss, they smoke, they torture animals and people. AND they want to be in the church Christmas pageant, even though they have never heard the story of Christmas. This movie truly captures the true meaning of Christmas. See Faruza Baulk as a little girl as she narrates the story. I highly recommend reading the book first. It's a fast and easy read. It makes the movie SO MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE.

One of the great Christmas movies. The Herdman's really can teach you the true meaning of Christmas. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!!

I was more than a little surprised when I discovered that there had been a film version of Barbara Robinson's beloved short story AND that (even more surprising to me) the only attempt to bring it to film was made 20 years ago...this year.

Since I have always loved the book (and make a point to read the story every Christmas), I put my $20 down on the cyber counter...without thinking...and purchased a copy. The DVD arrived in the mail today and as soon as I possibly could, I sat down to watch it...

Hmmmm...what can I say? Yes...I know...the movie was made in the 80's, and for television no less. BUT even with that in mind, I was still a little dissappointed with the production.

I agree with other reviewers that the acting was for the most part, quite excellent...but first rate performances were not enough to offset the second rate quality of the film itself, which had a faded, almost murky feel so common with television shows in the 80s (as I watched, I swear to you, images of "Little House on The Prairie" kept flashing before my eyes)...

Would I have purchased the DVD if I had known what I was going to see? The answer is: NO...I wouldn't have. Perhaps it's true that some stories just can't be translated to the screen. Or maybe, more true to the point, it's just that most people do not love this story as much as I do, and therefore are not interested in putting some real money behind it (and give it the production it deserves)...

We have a ka-zillion film and stage versions of "A Christmas Carol" out there...will someone please make JUST ONE more adaptation of this not-as-popular holiday classic...a film version that I can truly give five stars for...

FIVE STARS because to date, it's the only adaptation on Barbara Robinson's book, MINUS TWO STARS because the film production was so unworthy of such a great story...

This has got to be one of the funniest Xmas stories ever. Where else can you find a gang of pre-homicidal teenagers living in a garage? And, they want to put on the school play? Nice. (...) It's a really good book too. Read the book first before you see the movie, you'll thank me later according to the prophecy.

This made for ABC television special is a pretty faithful adaptation of Barbara Robinson's short book (80pp) of the same name The Best Christmas Pageant Ever [BEST XMAS PAGEANT EVER] [Mass Market Paperback]. Loretta Swit (of TV's M*A*S*H* fame) is the headliner of this film. She does a great job as the woman who has to take on the job of directing her church's annual Christmas pageant when another woman has an accident and can't do it. She bucks up and marches in to take on the task, but she didn't count on the Herdmann children showing up.

The Herdmanns were a gaggle of 6 completely unruly unsupervised kids that terrorize their school and town and all the kids in it. When they volunteer to be the 6 main characters in the pagent none of the other kids dare speak up, so there Loretta Swit is, saddled with the Herdmanns as Joseph, Mary, the three wise men, and the Angel of the Lord, only they don't know ANYTHING about the real Christmas story.

Just imagine what you would have thought if you were hearing the Christmas story for the first time!

This film is well worth watching. Of course, some of the acting leaves a bit to be desired, but I have to say that my favorite characters are Jackson Davies who plays Loretta Swit's husband and the youngest Hermann, Gladys.

The movie has plenty of comedic moments, but more importantly it shows that no matter what a child's background may be, there is an innocence there even though it may be masked by layers of dirt and bruises.

A solid 4-star offering!

This made for TV movie based on the book by Barbara Robinson does not feature the best actors or technical credits. In fact, some of the actors appear to be amateurs and the film, shot in Canada, was probably done on a barebones budget. But if you are the kind of viewer that can look beyond these shortcomings and you would enjoy a Christmas themed film with a deeper message than most of the typical irreligious holiday fare, then you may appreciate this movie. Second, because the story is set in a time significantly different from our own (although not that long ago), it provides some thought-provoking commentary on where we are headed as a society.

The story is a cheerful comedy about the annual Christmas program at a typical small town/small-city church. The most feared family of young troublemakers in the community, the six Herdman siblings, take it into their heads to start attending Sunday School because of the free food. As a result, they hear about the upcoming Christmas pageant and decide they want all the major roles--Mary, Joseph, the three Wise Men and the lead angel. The other children are so frightened of them that they don't try for these parts themselves, leaving the lead roles to the Herdmans. The Herdmans turn out to be completely ignorant of the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus. Their ignorance of the Bible and their rough ways make everyone in the church fear that the pageant will be a riotous failure. But the Herdmans hear the Christmas story with fresh ears and open hearts, transforming the routine and humdrum Christmas pageant in the process.

There is a profound and very old truth at the heart of this story--that it is often the social outcasts and misfits who best appreciate the coming of Jesus that is celebrated at Christmas. They are the ones who recognize their need for a Savior, as they are not self-satisfied and complacent because of their abilities, achievements, wealth, education and activities. Everyone except for the Herdmans are too familiar with the Christmas story, to the point that they miss its real meaning. But because the Herdmans catch a glimpse of the real wonder and power of the birth of Jesus, the Christmas pageant is transformed for the entire church.

My daughter was in a children's theater production of this drama. Many of the children in her play were like the Herdmans in one regard---they were not familiar with the basic Bible stories, including the Nativity. What has changed since this story was written is that it has become the norm for families to not attend church and to raise their families in complete ignorance of the Bible, whether as a religious text or simply one of the great foundational writings of human history. This development makes the story dated in that less viewers appreciate, let alone understand, the contrast between the Herdmans and their neighbors. Skipping the obvious question of what Biblical illiteracy means for our society, I am at least comforted by the record of the Herdmans. Perhaps more people in our day will hear the Christmas story with honest interest and open ears, considering whether or not the baby Jesus came into this world for their benefit.

This is a very good book. You have to read it. It has
a ton of of funny parts. My favorite part is were Gladys ran up
behind the sheperd and yelled,'' hay unto you a child is born!'' It's the best book I ever read.

I absolutely love this movie. We used to read the book and watch the movie every year in grade school. It's a nice story that is a break for the same ol' every day Christmas story.

I loved the book by Barbra Robinson when I read it and I thought the movie was just as good!It is pretty funny,esspecialy when Gladys yells,"Hey!Unto you a child is born!".I love that part!I highly reccomend this film for any person that likes movies that are funny,shows a good point,an has a great lesson!