A Child's Christmas in Wales

This movie was produced by PBS. It was filmed on location in Wales. Along with White Christmas and A Christmas Story, this has become a family viewing tradition. It is sometimes hard to acquire a copy. I would recommend adding this to your family collection.

This warm, heartfelt production first aired more than 30 years ago and was sponsored by McDonald's at the time. We were utterly enchanted when we saw it back then, and were happy that we had recorded it on VHS so we could watch it every Christmas over the ensuing years. When it finally became available on DVD we jumped at the opportunity to own it in much finer format than VHS, and have continued to watch it every Christmas since then. Filmed in a seaside Welsh town, it has an air of purity and authenticity that takes the viewer right into the scene and keeps you there until the end. The story line is elegant and guileless in its simplicity. In my opinion the genius of this production is its ability to transport the viewer across an entire century into a past that no longer exists, and to enable us to get into the mind of one small boy in a way that we seldom experience. It is impossible to find any major fault with this timeless masterpiece written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the early 20th century. We have given this DVD to many friends as a Christmas gift, and every recipient has shared with us how deeply touched they were to see it. The DVD was unavailable for a number of years until very recently, so we purchased 3 more copies to give to younger generations in our family who would probably not see it otherwise. There is no way to give this wonderful story and production the credit it truly deserves. Highly recommended!

Wonderfully narrated by Denholm Elliott, this beautiful film, "A Child's Christmas in Wales," delves into the richness of Dylan Thomas' prose. Gorgeous cinematography of the coastal Welsh village and surrounding landscape vividly brings to life this classic Christmas tale. Dylan Thomas' 1955 poem, originally written for radio, is meant to be savored on a chill winter's night, and nostalgically portrays a simpler time, with a child's special imagination. On Christmas Eve, kindly grandfather "Old Geraint" (Elliott) shares stories about his Christmas past with his beloved grandson, Thomas (a perfectly elfin Mathonwy Reeves). The narrative poetry will pull you in: "All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged, fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hand in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting on the rim of the carol-singing sea..."True to Thomas' story, the film delightfully describes a Useless Present: "a celluloid duck that made, when you pressed it, a most unducklike sound, a mewing moo that an ambitious cat might make who wished to be a cow..." I have heard black and white cow-cats like that, who poke around the ground with their little faces, eating grass and moo-mewing.This film can enrich and inspire your family traditions during the holidays. To further savor the story, we also have the book, A Child's Christmas in Wales. You also might want to try another lyrical film: The Secret of Roan Inish. Enjoy!

Just ordered this classic to replace our well-loved, worn-out VHS version. Our boys grew up with “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” as an annual tradition, played often during tree-trimming and always on Christmas Eve, with angel chimes burning and swirling around. Our traditional Christmas Eve gifts were snow globes, and each boy (now young men) have impressive collections.I didn’t realize until watching this movie how many of my family’s other Christmas traditions came from our Welsh background: the crackers/silly paper crowns, the “useful” presents, the lead soldiers, the burning of the plum pudding, etc. Now we are blessed that our eldest and his wife have invited us to share their 14-month-old twins’ first screening this year, and that our youngest wants to share his new wife’s first screening with us.For many, this film is slow...some of our extended family roll their eyes when we bring it up every year. But for those who feel a kindred spirit in tradition, please let it grow on you. Dylan Thomas has a magical way with words and is quoted beautifully by Denholm Elliot (who played Coleman in another favorite, “Trading Places.”) The slow pace of the film reminds me of Mr. Rogers’ approach to life...savor it. The music is traditional, lovely, and will stir your soul. Savor and enjoy!

This review is for the Hen's Tooth DVD. We paid extra for the Hen's Tooth DVD. I am not sure whether it is better quality than the other, less expensive DVD that is offered. On the newer TV screens we had to select another picture format to get the best viewing. Back in the 1980's I recorded on video this made for Public TV movie. It was a delight to watch. Over the decades my home video lost it's color etc. Finally I went searching for this movie on DVD and found it on Amazon. The one we purchased was, I believe "new old stock" because it was still in the original plastic wrapper. The color was good and the sound fine. This story is so warm, funny, and nostalgic that it is a joy to watch year after year.

The DVD arrived promptly. It will replace an old VHS version of this movie so that we can enjoy our annual tradition for years to come without worry that the old tape will break, or that the antiquated VHS player leaves us for good! The picture quality is average, as I suspect the original is as well (comparing the VHS and YouTube versions). It's what we expected and we're happy with the product.

I was given this previously on a home recorded video by a friend. When I saw the dvd was available I quickly bought it from Amazon (but the price has rocketed since then!!!). It is a magical, tradtional, refreshing film which I would recommend to anyone - always watch at this time of the year and it never fails to delight. Love the Dillon Thomas prose - bit of culture in these days for a change.

A nostalgic story of a Christmas of the past with no TV or radio; only a maiden aunt warbling through a sad song with snow falling if you wished it and someone to tuck you into bed with remembered dramatic stories from the past. The lilting alliteration of Dylan Thomas' story about the town and its people carries the story along: boys getting into mischief and the ever-sleeping uncles following dinner on Christmas Day who need waking up with a bang from a paper bag. An evocative, tender and sometimes humorous movie. Beautiful scenery and acting. The rating speaks for itself.

My mother loves this film and has been looking for it for ages so was very please with the present. But then due to region issues it did not work in her player. Make sure you have a multi region player if your in the UK.

This is a special Christmas treat for our whole family - we really enjoyed it and it will certainly be a keep sake.