The House Without a Christmas Tree | 
 enlarge | Director: Paul Bogart
Actors: Jason Robards, Mildred Natwick, Lisa Lucas, Kathryn Walker, Alexa Kenin
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.99
Buy New: $6.49
You Save: $6.50 (50%)
New (43) Used (8) Collectible (2) from $6.49
Rating:  124 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: PARD843314D
UPC: 097368433144
EAN: 0097368433144
Theatrical Release Date: December 3, 1972
Release Date: October 16, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
Tell A Friend
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/16/2007 Run time: 75 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
The loss of a loved one is never easy and memories often make the holiday season especially difficult. Addie (Lisa Lucas) lost her mother when she was very young and, while she sometimes yearns for her mother, she is a happy well-adjusted ten-year old who wants nothing more than to have a Christmas tree in the living room. Addie's father (Jason Robards) absolutely refuses to have a Christmas tree in the house, but offers no explanation for his stubborn resolve which leads Addie to question his motives and his love for her. It falls to Addie's Grandmother (Mildred Natwick) to explain that her father is still immersed in grief over the loss of his wife and that the memories of Christmases past are simply too painful for him to endure. When Addie wins a tree at school, her father is enraged by both the presence of the tree in his home and the idea of his family accepting charity. Only by opening a line of communication and sharing their feelings and memories with one another can Addie and her father reconcile their differences and begin to understand one another. Set in 1964, this 1972 made-for-television special feels like a stage play with sets and scenery that evoke the essence of an age-gone-by. The message, of course, is timeless. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 119 more reviews...
I love this movie November 27, 2008
VJVB
I have this movie on VHS, and I love it!! I watch it every year at Christmas time. I was not born till 1958, but I love this time era this movie is set in. If you have not had the privilege of seeing this movie, do not hesitate to purchase this to add to your movie library in your home.
One of my faves November 24, 2008
Miglets (Hackettstown, NJ USA)
Maybe not the best known Christmas show, but one I remember watching on TV when I was young. A good story & a peek into a time most of us only hear about in stories. A classic in my house. :)
Wonderfully Nostalgic! October 8, 2008
Julie Guenter
This is one of my favorite Christmas movies from my childhood. It was shown annually on television for several years and I tried never to miss it. Having a copy of it on DVD is great. If you haven't seen this one, you are really missing out. It is a very "Christmasy" experience. I mean, it just has that "feel" of years past (it took place in the 40's). The little girl in the movie, Addie, lives with her Grandmother and very moody father (Jason Robards), who refused to let her have a Christmas tree because he has never gotten over the grief of losing his wife (Addie's mom) after Addie's birth. That's all I'll say for now (don't want to ruin it for you), but it is very good.
A gem--don't miss it. September 24, 2008
Brent Carleton
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is a quiet dignity here--missing from many Christmas programs, a dignity bolstered by the superb mise en scene of a mid west Christmas in 1946, a time in America of self sufficiency, a time when the body politic did not blame the government for natural disasters or acts of God, and a time when people still presumably were able to save "six thousand dollars" on a limited income.
The domestic focus here, on a 10 year old bespectacled girl named Addie who lives with her widowed father and paternal grandmother amply demonstrates not only these characteristics but the small pleasures (which can dwarf expensive pleasures) of that day and time: of an extra quarter for the movies, sewing one's own costume for the Christmas pageant, baking cookies, buying a gift for the schoolteacher at the local pharmacy, and most importantly, erecting a Christmas tree to celebrate the birth of the Christ child.
What's refreshing here is the refusal of the script to sugar coat, and it is the undeniable sadness of a man bereft of his deceased wife, which casts a pall over the entire household that constitutes both the stories subtext and its principal conflict.
The cast is superb! The youngster playing Addie avoids the fatal cuteness that afflicts many child actors, and delineates a character of both gumption and vulnerability. Who can not smile over the way she conceals a crush on a school mate by claiming all she admires about him are his new cowboy boots? Jason Robards Jr. is just as good here as he was in a "Thousand Clowns," and his taciturnity does not prevent our more than once glimpsing into his broken heart.
And Mildred Natwick! What a treasure she was. It is her performance you may savor most of all, a woman of love and compassion, but one firmly grounded by the limitations of this life, who has that seasoning, that sense of recollection that the years bring to the best of us, and which is known as wisdom.
And a special accolade to the young actress playing the schoolteacher, who also contributes a memorable job, (and who also does the voice over during the prologue it sounds like).
The production design team does excellent work here, and is to be commended on snowy mid-Western exterior locations which beautifully match the school and domestic interiors, (with hook rugs, Eastlake settees, cabinet radios and an engraving of Millais' "The Angelus") which will bring back warm memories of all those who shared in that place and time.
This is family entertainment in the best sense--genuinely moving without an ounce of schmaltz.
One of the Best Christmas Videos Ever Made August 25, 2008
Bill Kinney (Williamsburg, KY)
I remember watching this every Christmas on television as a kid growing up. It took me many years to find it on video, but I am so glad I did! It is one of the best Christmas programs ever made. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is as big a Christmas "fan" as I am. You will cherish this for a life time.
|
|
|
