Product Details

• Actors: Katherine Borowitz, Kari Väänänen, John Turturro, Noah Emmerich, Minna Haapkyla
• Directors: Juha Wuolijoki
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: ANCHOR BAY
• DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009
• Run Time: 76 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002ECJZ76
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,060 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Christmas Story" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Video Description

From KIDS FIRST!: This feature debut by Finnish director Juha Wuolijoki is a wonderfully believable story about the unique journey of the young boy who becomes Santa Claus. Raised by an entire village after he loses his family, he is passed from one family to the next every Christmas day. The English dub of the film has lip synch issues but truly, the quality of this production is so outstanding that this aspect is easily overlooked. The cinematography, sets and costumes are outstanding and suitable for the time. Santa's voice over makes this story a heart-felt retelling of a diary about a young man's life. This makes a nice addition to any family holiday collection. KIDS FIRST!® Child Juror Comments: "I would watch it over again, probably during the holiday season with my family. My friends would enjoy it as well. It is very believable. The story is very sad at the beginning: Nicholas' family went to take his younger sister to the doctor and never made it; they were lost and died in the snow and ice. Nicholas was left without a family and because not one family could take on the responsibility of raising a child, the entire village helped raise Nicholas. That was cool. I also liked the photography. It made me feel as if I was in the fishing village. I liked how Nicholas made toys for the other kids, even when he was a kid himself. It made me tear up, feel good and happy. I liked seeing a real reindeer." 78 min.; Ages 5-12.

Product Description

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG
•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 76 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Santa, from boyhood to legend, November 1, 2009

By 

P. Mann (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Story (DVD)

This Finnish film tells the story of Nikolas, who, as a young boy, is orphaned. The villagers, not knowing what else to do, decide that a different family will provide Nikolas his home for a year, and each Christmas, Nikolas will move to the next family. During this process, Nikolas begins carving wooden animals and other toys to repay his friends' kindness, and he leaves these gifts outside the recipients' doors on Christmas.

At one point, a local carpenter, Iisakki (the wonderful Finnish actor Kari Väänänen), discovers Nikolas's ability with carving and convinces the village that he should take Nikolas in. Gruff and bitter at first, Iisakki insists that Nikolas refer to him as "Master" and treats the boy as a servant. Eventually, though, Iisakki warms to the boy, and they develop a caring relationship as Nikolas continues his gift-giving.

The film is wonderful to look at, shot as it was in Finnish Lapland, and there is little to prevent fairly young children from enjoying the film. The film is rated PG because of "mild thematic elements and brief smoking," according to the MPAA. The thematic elements, I presume, are primarily the elements that make Nikolas an orphan (the deaths of his parents and young brother). The smoking refers to pipes that several of the characters have.

DVD extras include a "making of" featurette (in Finnish with English subtitles) and the film's trailer (in English). The film is in English with no option for the original Finnish language, and there are no subtitles available for the feature.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tired of the commercial Santa? Share this origin story with your family., December 15, 2009

By 

Jared Castle (Roseburg, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Christmas Story (DVD)

(What's this?)

Most people will skip this Finnish holiday film, dubbed in English, searching for something more familiar, something less challenging. That's a mistake.

This is an excellent family film about the origin of Santa Claus. This film transcends the commercial image of Santa and grounds him in a loving story that isn't afraid to make you cry.

The word "classic" is used too often to describe holiday films, each of lesser and lesser quality. Hollywood has a lousy record when it comes to holiday films over the past decade. For example, The Santa Clause 3 The Escape Clause (2006), Deck the Halls (2006), Christmas With the Kranks (2004), Surviving Christmas (2004), and, most recently, Santa Baby (2007) and Four Christmases (2008). And that doesn't count other holiday lumps of coal starring Tom Arnold, Kelsey Grammer and Matthew McConaughey.

My point is that this film, with its snowy lush cinematography and original storyline, isn't without its flaws. However, you will come away feeling inspired by the result, rather than feeling cheated once again by another made-for-TV plot, lame acting and sophomoric humor.

Jen Johans' review for Film Intuition does an excellent job of capturing what makes this foreign film so special. The following excerpt nicely sums up why you should give the movie a chance:

"However, despite its melancholic opener and general audience reluctance to foreign films, this uplifting PG-rated movie is one I urge parents to seek out to offer a new alternative to the primarily commercial approach of Santa Claus movies.

"A beautiful work filled with the ingredients that make our classics including A Christmas Carol, Nutcracker and other holiday movies so endearing, director Juha Wuolijoki's Story also garnered prestigious accolades in time for its DVD debut including a seal of approval by The Dove Foundation and an All-Star honor by the well-respected Kids First! Coalition for Quality Children's Media."

Rating: Four stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Story, December 6, 2009

By 

E. K. Moseley (AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Christmas Story (DVD)

(What's this?)

Christmas Story by Katherine Borowitz; was a very good family film. I enjoyed it very much. I hope others can too.