Nothing says Christmas like a BB gun
There are few things in this world of ours that makes me so darn happy to be alive. My family is the first (always the first). The smell of Christmas cookies is clearly the second. The third, because I’m a simple man, is the 24 hour viewing of A Christmas Story, which is now a family tradition.
Been living under a rock for sometime? Well, let me recap what you’ve missed.
Ralphie is a kid with a dream. His dream is to be the proud owner of the Red Rider BB Gun. An object of desire he’s been wanting for sometime, but has been thwarted mainly because his parents, his teachers and even Santa himself believes that he will shoot his eye out. Determined to prove them wrong, Ralphie strives to not only make a good name for himself before Christmas, but also to convince the powers that be that the BB gun isn’t something to be feared; rather it’s something to be embraced.
While the sequel wasn’t a classic, the first go at this movie based on the book Jean Shepherd novel was certainly an instant classic. It gave one kid’s day to day struggle with his only true desire in his life that would mean happiness. Through his betrayal of Little Orphan Annie’s club, to his torture from the bully Scut Farkus, there’s nothing else in Ralphie’s life that is worth a damn. This story is more than a BB gun, it’s capturing the true capitalistic spirit of Christmas nowadays where one object of importance consumes children. It’s not a bad thing at all, it’s just this is what every kid goes through at least once (or multiple times) in their life during the Christmas season. It’s always that one true thing that defines that particular Christmas. The brilliance of this film is how well Peter Billingsley (Ralphie) captures this so darn perfectly. He plays the innocent hero, the struggled soul who conquers all to achieve his ultimate goal.
His supporting cast reinforces the plight of Ralphie, by not only standing in his way somehow, but entertaining on the way there. His mother catches him cursing. His father, the curser of the family, wins a leg lamp that puts the parents’ relationship in jeopardy. His brother is constantly in his way. His friends are more supportive to their needs than his own. This movie has a solid story built underneath a frame of moments that make it an instant Christmas classic. Certainly not Frag-gily.
Overall, there’s nothing wrong with A Christmas Story. It has every element of a perfect Christmas classic and isn’t boring regardless of how many times it is shown.
It’s gonna be a Blu-Blu-Christmas….
Blu-ray breathes life into this nearly 30 year-old film. It looks sharp as a tack and makes you appreciate HD. It’s not the most perfect transfer by any means, but it certainly does the job. Now, the lacking part of this package is the audio. I thought my speakers were fooling me, but as I read the back of the Blu-ray packaging, the audio comes in a 1.0 channel? That’s mono. I received the center channel during the movie and only center channel. Again, I thought it was me, but I guess not. That’s a bit of underachieving, unless the couldn’t get it right before it was released. Sounds good through that one channel though.
Now, generally there isn’t much to the packaging, but the packaging for A Christmas Story Ultimate Collector’s Edition is quite impressive. You get the Blu-ray in a tin container with a variety of cookie cutters and…. wait for this… a string of leg lamp lights. You read that correctly, LEG LAMP LIGHTS. You better believe that they are going on the tree this year. Not a finger!
As for the features that are included in this Blu-ray, you get the following:
Commentary with Peter Billingsley and director/ co-writer Bob Clark
· Original readings by Jean Shepard, author and voice narrator of A Christmas Story
· Documentary: Another Christmas Story
· Featurette: Get a Leg Up
· Featurette: A History of the Daisy Red Ryder
· Triple Dog Dare Interactive Trivia
· Decoder Match Challenge
· Hidden “Presents”
· Original theatrical trailer