Customer Reviews

Mr. Krueger's Christmas, 25th Anniversary, Starring Jimmy Stewart and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Additional Features Included "The Restoration" & "The Nativity"

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this wonderful film Jimmy Stewart is Willy Kruger, a lonely and aging widower, who lives in a basement apartment with his cat George. After finishing his work for the day as the custodian for the building, he ventures out on Christmas Eve to buy a tree. Returning home, he falls asleep listening to an LP by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, dreaming that he is conducting them in carols of the season. When he awakes, he finds some carollers outside his window and he beckons them to visit him offering hot chocolate but they leave after only one song. Willy then finds two tiny mittens left behind by Clarissa, the youngest of the carolling group, and he puts them on his Christmas tree. On their return for the mittens, Clarissa invites Willy to join them and her mum realizes that they really need a bass voice to fill-out their singing before finishing the evening with a turkey dinner.

Mr. Kruger's Christmas is a short movie that has captured superbly the spirit and true meaning of Christmas. Willy Kruger honors the tradition and his child-like excitement is contagious! He takes us on an amazing journey to Winter Wonderland where he drives a sleigh, helps decorating a giant Christmas tree and making a snowman, and conducts a choir. And while arranging the figures of his nativity, he finds himself in the manger for the very first Christmas. This is very emotional moment and the choice of "What Child is This" song for the scene couldn't be better! Willy apologises for not bringing a present, only to realise that this isn't important. He knees down and thanks the infant Jesus for always being there for him and gives Jesus his love -the most beautiful present of all!

Jimmy Stewart's performance as Mr. Kruger is breathtaking! His humility, his joy, his tears and his admiration of Jesus are genuine and deeply touching. He brings me to tears every time I watch the film. His profound message couldn't be more timely, because we are loosing it. We've become too practical, too materialistic, too inconsiderate and too ignorant, and we need to be reminded of the core values- love of country, love of family, love and taking care of the weak and helpless and most of all, love of God. And we need to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. It is not about eating, drinking and countless parties. Christmas is sacred- it is all about Love!

James Maitland Stewart was probably the best and most accomplished actor in history (See his biography on Wikipedia!) Behind the great man, indeed what made him so good (in every sense), I believe (unknown to his fans) was a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. Never did Stewart get to express his faith until 'Mr. Krueger's Christmas' at the end of his career. He stated that only one time was he ever offered a role that did not have sex, violence or profanity.

Julia Stewart (no relation to Jimmy Stewart), another 5 star reviewer, tells the story of 'Mr. Krueger's Christmas' so well that I'll not do that here. (If you love motion pictures, you should see all of Julia's film reviews! No one does it better.)

It was a life long dream of Jimmy Stewart to conduct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which he does in a dream sequence in the film. It was not in the script but in the filming of that part when he finished conducting, Stewart stands weeping as the cameras kept rolling and the Choir gives him a standing ovation.

The Nativity manger scene (another dream sequence) where Stewart expresses his love for the baby Jesus, I believe was Stewart's personal witness of his faith in Jesus Christ. He was interviewed by Johnny Carson soon after the film was made. Stewart wanted to tell about the film but Carson kept leading him away by asking questions about other things.

There are additional parts of the DVD that are obviously intended as publicity (some would say propaganda) for the Mormon Church. If you don't have a problem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, you don't have to watch the other parts. The film stands alone as a beautiful Christmas story and a fulfillment of Stewart's dream to conduct the choir plus giving him an opportunity in the manger scene to express his love for the Savior.

Included on the 25th Anniversary DVD is a 25 minute selection of Christmas Carols by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (almost worth the price of the DVD). If the Mormon choir is a problem, you don't even need to buy the DVD. You can see on Youtube the manger scene from the film which was Jimmy Stewart's last great performance.

See all of my Reviews. I write only about books, events, or motion pictures that have changed the course of history or unforgettable books or motion pictures that will totally change peoples lives.

A very great Christmas story with wonderful music. I believe very few persons today remember this on TV many years ago. I recalled it being shown but had no idea the title or year. Was very happy to find this and very pleased with obtaining it. Highly recommend it.

My Fiance introduced me to this movie about a year or two ago. We tried to get it at that time, but we were sent another movie instead. I'm glad to have found it on your sight at such a good price. It is a very good movie. If you have never seen it, I would recommed it to all.

Jimmy Stewart's portrayal as Mr. Krueger is one of his best performances and comes late in his career. He touches you with this character as never before. You will take a new look at life: and love.

I watched this movie many, many years ago and was so touched by it. Jimmy Stewart is a favorite, Christmas is a favorite and dear older people are favorites. It is filled with true holiday spirit and I hope you keep a hankie close by.

I had this program on VHS but after 20 years it had started to degrade. I was pleased to be able to buy it in DVD format as it is not played on TV anymore.
Great Christmas item, ranks with the best Christmas shows (Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, Holiday Inn and the like).

came early and was a great gift ... thank you !! It brought the true spirit of Christmas to their home.

Mr Kruegers Christmas is film short that really teaches one the meaning of the season. Everyone should see this at least once it will not only warm your heart, but it also captures the true meaning of goodwill toward men.

Being a huge Jimmy Stewart fan, I was surprised to find this movie that I'd never heard of before. Upon watching it, I was very disappointed in the real lack of story. It was all very predictable. Mr. Stewart was wonderful in his portrayal, but given that Mr. Stewart was older there really wasn't much given to him to develop as a character for Mr. Krueger. Filming, costumes, music, etc. are all excellent as one would expect with a Morman produced video. I was surprised to see that the musical performances by the Morman Tabernacle Choir were all taken from other recordings, and I had already seen these songs in annual Christmas productions. So nothing new here. However, if you want a "feel good", charming - lots of cute kids, horse drawn sleighs, Utah snow and smiling people, you may enjoy this DVD.

The Restoration doesn't really have anything to do with Christmas, but rather is a dramatic depiction of Joseph Smith's spiritual search. The Nativity seems to have been filmed on a movie set with full costumes and animals and everyone speaks in a language that might be Aramaic or a form of Arabic. I don't really know. Both of these are visually strong short films.