Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

2karl- the prophecy has come to pass there would come to a chosen one once upon a time long time ago a toymaker was given amazing powers and was chosen to live in the north pole with elves to deliver gifts all over the world this is the origin story of the big man him self thus Santa clause the most beloved of legends came to pass Santa clause and his wife Anya and patch played by Dudley more live happily in the north pole but because patch is a futurist and likes to stream line but his plan goes hay wire so he leaves for new York where he meets a ruthless but dangerous toy maker bz this is john litgow he likes money and ticks patch into trying to take over from Santa at Xmas Santa finds out his plans and with two children he has befriended over the years and a few sick reindeer out of action Santa mounts a rescue plan as patches car plane over heats with his lolly pop magic so with magic on hand and patch looking for help this magical movie has the spirit of Xmas alive in everyone my 144 film review at 1hr4mins 7/10 this is saw in the cinema

sddavis63 You would think that it would be difficult to make a movie about Santa Claus that's absolutely lacking in charm - and yet everybody from Ilya Salkind who produced this to Jeannot Szwarc who directed it to David and Leslie Newman who came up with the story pulled that off magnificently. I suppose that just because it's a Christmas movie and people are more warm-hearted at this time of year it's going to get some kind reviews, but really - this was awful. It's totally charmless, and has a meandering, often pointless story and bland performances all around.First - it bears no resemblance to any legend of Santa Claus that I've ever come across. I suppose coming up with a fictional story about a fictional character isn't really a crime, but at least it should be enjoyable - and it should (sort of, somehow) make sense. Here, Santa (David Huddleston) is a kind man who takes toys to children on Christmas Eve apparently hundreds of years ago who's essentially drafted by elves to become Santa. Some sort of elf- prophecy, apparently. We have an interminable hour or so of virtually no importance at all (but full of awful "elf-puns") until we get to what the story was supposed to be about, and then it's kind of ho-hum. In the present day, one of Santa's elves (played by Dudley Moore) gets discouraged, leaves the North Pole and teams up with an evil toy manufacturer (John Lithgow). Chaos ensues, bad things happen, Santa has to save the day. Yadda, yadda, yadda. And along the way there's a poor, homeless boy whom Santa takes pity on (while apparently ignoring all the other poor, homeless children, who don't get rides in the sleigh and a trip to the North Pole) and an orphan who lives in a big house and has lots of stuff and whose uncle happens to be the evil toy manufacturer.You know how it will all turn out. Santa will save the day. Too bad he couldn't save this movie. (2/10)

Michael_Elliott Santa Claus (1985) * (out of 4) A Christmas favorite to many, this 1985 film starts off with a kind man and his wife being approached by some elves to become Santa Claus. Shortly afterwards we see how Christmas has changed and an elf named Patch (Dudley Moore) comes up with an assembly line to make toys quicker. When they fall apart Patch decides to head out on his own and ends up with a crooked toy maker (John Lithgow).SANTA CLAUS is a film loved by many so I guess I will embrace the hate mail and being called a Grinch by saying that I thought it was pretty darn awful on many levels. I think the biggest problem is the direction, which I found to be really bad as there's no style or flow to the picture. Another major problem is the screenplay, which is all over the place and I found each and every scene just to drag itself out. Even the sequence showing how Santa came to be just ran too long.The biggest offense here is that there's not an ounce of life, energy or laughs to be found. I was really shocked at how plain and bland the Moore elf was as there's just nothing fun about the character. Moore is pretty lifeless in the role and even Burgess Meredith doesn't get much to do. David Huddleston is good as Santa and he's about the only good thing. Lithgow is rather annoying in his part.SANTA CLAUS will find much support from people but I'm not one of them.

Matt Kramer This is a big-budget Christmas movie that has both considerable charm and glaring weaknesses, but hopefully this review can help potential viewers understand the film (and its oddities) a little better. The main thing to understand is that the film is basically two movies in one. There is almost literally a split in the middle of the movie, effectively separating the first half from the second half.The first half of the film is a quaint, heartwarming depiction of the origins of Santa Claus and his wife Anya- how they came to the North Pole, fulfilling an ancient prophecy from the elves, and various origins of famous Christmas associations (such as the boy who prompted Santa to start the "Naughty and Nice" list).The second half of the film all but ignores Santa and heartwarming feelings and becomes a zany slapstick comedy involving one of the elves (Dudley Moore) and his dealings with a dastardly businessman (John Lithgow) who schemes to take over Christmas.The curious aspect of a feature film with two distinct parts to it might be slightly jarring to the viewer, especially since both halves of the movie differ so much in tone. If you think of it, however, as like watching two different episodes of a television show, it might help to ease the feeling of unevenness.In short, this is a movie where the ingredients are more entertaining than the actual plot. David Huddleston and Judy Cornwell are very nice as the traditional Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and the North Pole toy shop is how you always imagined Santa's workshop to be. Wonderful John Lithgow is completely hilarious as the comically villainous B.Z., and he pretty much steals the show in the second half of the film. But many questions about Santa Claus are neatly answered in this movie (such as how the reindeer fly and how Santa is able to fly around the whole world in just one night).It's a Christmas movie that both works and doesn't work, but there are many ingredients- the cozy Christmas feel of the first part and the zany comedy of the second- that make for satisfying holiday viewing, and might enhance a Christmas movie collection, as long as you just sit back and let the ingredients of the film carry you through.