Simply Perfect

Absolutely Fantastic

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Considering we were in the birth of the cinema, this does a decent job of portraying at least part of the classic poem. It begins with Santa preparing, getting the reindeer ready, and finishing a couple toys. Cut to a big multi-generational family, getting the kids ready, stockings hung, kids in bed, and so on. The kids have a nurse so they must be wealthy. When a little guy stirs them up, a pillow fight ensues, quite a dramatic effect. The plot can't get any more simple, but it showed off the technology of the time.

What a delightful nostalgic gem from Christmas past. I could just feel the excitement and wonderment this film would have brought to audiences of 1905, especially the children. This Edwin S. Porter directed film for the Edison Manufactoring Company is very well done for it's time and follows the poem, Twas The Night Before Christmas nicely. With appealing scenes of Santa feeding his reindeer, making toys in his work shop and looking over his who's been naughty and nice list, these enchanting scenes further the magical story. We also see a family, with the children anticipating the arrival of Christmas morning too excited for sleep, having a pillow fight in their beds. For antique toy collectors this film is for you, as Santa leaves a wonderful assortment of beautiful toys, and he even provides the Christmas tree !!. Whoever played Santa was a perfect choice, he looks like the Santa from the old postcards of the time and he charms all the more with a terrific close-up wishing all a Merry Christmas to close the film. I really appreciated watching this purely enjoyable very early silent film, that still captures the imagination. There are several postings of this film on YouTube, watch and be delighted.

It is the night before Christmas, and an always-busy Saint Nicholas is outside in the snowy fields of the North Pole feeding his beloved reindeer, before returning to his workshop to place the finishing touches on his toys for the children. Meanwhile, the children in their homes are excited about his imminent arrival, carefully hanging their stockings above the fireplace and retreating to bed with no hope of ever falling asleep with such excitement in the air. The children feign sleeping as the nanny passes their bedsides, suddenly springing to their feet as soon as she departs, before ducking back under the covers when she returns to check out what all the commotion is. Observe how the youngest daughter deviously initiates a frenzied pillow fight among all the siblings, before sneaking off to observe the spectacle from safer quarters. Throughout all the action, the intertitles recite extracts from Clement Clarke Moore's beloved 1823 poem, 'A Visit From St. Nicholas,' upon which this film is based.The extended model shot that forms the centrepiece of the film shows Saint Nicholas' reindeer prancing over the mountain tops, before taking off into the open air, and coming to a halt on the rooftop of the children's home. Though perhaps inferior to the stunning model work of George Méliès in his "Le Voyage à travers l'impossible / The Impossible Voyage" (1904), this elaborate shot nonetheless involved a lot of tireless work from all involved, and retains much of its original charm.After descending the chimney, Saint Nicholas empties the contents of his sack onto the floor, waves his arm once, and the room is miraculously transformed, a huge, beautifully-decorated Christmas tree and a multitude of presents now decorating the room. Just as Saint Nicholas disappears into the chimney again, the children and their parents stride into the room, the children's eyes suddenly widening at the sight of all these gifts. To be young again, eh? More than a century after it was originally produced, 'The Night Before Christmas' remains every bit as magical as it must have been in 1905.

This film was made by Edwin S. Porter for Edison in a style consistent with "The Great Train Robbery", though not containing quite as many setups. It is loosely based on Clement Clark Moore's original poem, and only includes brief snatches from the text in the form of titles. The opening scenes are short and deal with Santa's activities at the North Pole, as he feeds hay to his reindeer, works with his elves and updates his "list". Then it cuts to a rather long scene in a household with several children getting ready for Christmas and being sent up the staircase to bed. The most remarkable sequence in the film follows, as it consists of an elaborate turntable diorama portraying Santa, reindeer and sleigh traveling from the North Pole's icy wastes to the bright lights of the city. Some of the reindeer seem not to gallop quite consistently, but it is still an amazing achievement for a 1906 film. Then, in a scene well-known via an oft reproduced still, Santa is seen on rooftop, dropping his sack into the chiminy and going down it himself. The next scene is set in the same household as before, with Santa installing presents, stockings, decorations; he even puts up the tree! (This is followed by a title which is either misplaced or once led to scene which is now missing). The title is followed by another long scene where the children run down the stairs, open presents, jump around and generally involve themselves in the merriment and joy of Christmas. The film closes with a close-up shot of Santa with the caption "Merry Christmas To All." While "The Night Before Christmas" is not cut of quite the same ground-breaking cloth of the "The Great Train Robbery", it is still immensely charming as an early Christmas film, and the diorama constructed for Santa's journey is quite an impressive special effect for this era.