November 18, 1983
A Christmas Story is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, with some elements from his 1971 book Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters. It stars Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, and Peter Billingsley. Widely considered a holiday classic in the United States and Canada, it has been shown in a marathon annually on TNT since 1997 and on TBS since 2004 titled "24 Hours of A Christmas Story," consisting of 12 consecutive airings of the film from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day annually. It is the third installment in the Parker Family Saga.
A Christmas Story was released on November 18, 1983, and received positive reviews from critics. Filmed partly in Canada, the film earned two Canadian Genie Awards in 1984. In 2012, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The film spawned three sequels. The first, entitled My Summer Story (originally released as It Runs in the Family), also directed by Clark, was released in 1994. The second, entitled A Christmas Story 2, was released straight to DVD in 2012. A third sequel, entitled A Christmas Story Christmas, was released on HBO Max in 2022 and features most of the original cast returning.
Storyline[]
The film is presented in a series of vignettes, with narration provided by the adult Ralphie Parker. As a 9-year-old boy in 1940, all Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. Ralphie's desire is rejected by his mother, his teacher Miss Shields, and a disgruntled Santa Claus at Higbee's department store, all of whom give him the same warning: "You'll shoot your eye out".
On Christmas morning, Ralphie receives some presents that he enjoys but is disappointed not to find the rifle among them. Ralphie's father ("The Old Man") directs him to one last box hidden in the corner, which proves to contain the rifle. Ralphie eagerly hurries outside to try it out, but when he shoots at the metal target he has set up, the BB ricochets and knocks off his glasses. Ralphie accidentally steps on and breaks the glasses while trying to find them; he makes up a cover story about a large icicle falling and hitting him in the face, which fools his mother and keeps him from getting in trouble.
That night, Ralphie goes to sleep with the gun by his side, as his adult self reflects that it was the best Christmas present he had ever received or would ever receive.
Also See[]
Movie Trailer[]
- A Christmas Story (1983) (Trailers)
Sound Effects Used[]
- Hollywoodedge, Alarms High PitchedS TE012603
- MGM Roar (Heard once in the logo.)
- Sound Ideas, JUMPING BEAN
- Sound Ideas, RICOCHET - CARTOON RICCO 06 (Heard once in a dream sequence.)
- Sound Ideas, RICOCHET - CARTOON RICCO 07
- Sound Ideas, RICOCHET - RICCO AND WHINE 04