Christmas Movies on Maori TV

Maori TV’s Christmas movies line-up is a mix of the festive, the inspirational, the classic and the funny, with two of the highlights being the HD broadcasts of the vintage musicals West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof.

Here’s the full line-up:

LOST CHRISTMAS (December 18, 7.00)

BAFTA-nominated urban fairytale set in Manchester. A series of tragic events that blight a young boy’s life are reversed one Christmas Eve, giving him and those around him the happy ending that they were destined to have. Eddie Izzard, Larry Mills, Jason Flemyng. (2011)

MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM (December 18, 8.45)

An intimate portrait of the making of a modern icon: Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Idris Elba, Naomie Harris. (2013)

THE SEAGULL (December 19, 8.30)

Adapted by Tony-winning playwright Stephen Karam from Anton Chekhov’s classic play. When friends and family gather for a weekend in the countryside, a tragicomedy unfolds. Everyone is caught up in passionately loving someone who loves somebody else! Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Corey Stoll, Brian Dennehy. (2018)

BLIZZARD (December 24, 7.00)

A charming holiday story complete with skating, Santa, elves and talking reindeer. A young girl’s aunt tells her the tale of an ice skater and an enchanted reindeer. Voice of Whoopi Goldberg (Blizzard); stars Christopher Plummer (Santa) who passed away, age 91, in February this year. (2003)

SCROOGED (December 24, 8.40)

A modern take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. A selfish, cynical television executive is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past. Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Robert Mitchum, John Forsythe. (1988)

GET SANTA (December 25, 6.30)

It’s down to a father and son to save Christmas after Santa Claus crash-lands his new sleigh, loses his reindeer and ends up in jail. Together, they must find Rudolph, befriend the elves, break Santa out of prison and outrun the dad’s tyrannical parole officer. Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kit Connor. (2014)

THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS (December 25, 8.20)

Imagines the journey that Charles Dickens took to create Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other classic characters from A Christmas Carol. Dickens mixed real life inspiration with his vivid imagination to conjure up a timeless tale, forever changing the holiday season into the celebration we know today. Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer. (2017)

CHARLOTTE’S WEB (December 26, 7.00)

Some pig! A young girl named Fern (Dakota Fanning) rescues a runty piglet and names him Wilbur. Fearful he’ll be slaughtered for food come winter, Wilbur hatches a plan with a special spider who vows to save his life. Voices of Julia Roberts as Charlotte; Oprah Winfrey as the female goose, Gussy; and Steve Buscemi as Templeton, the rat. (2006)

WEST SIDE STORY (December 26, 8.45)

Coinciding with the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s 2021 version. Bagging a total of 10 Oscars, this adaptation of Leornard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking Broadway musical stars Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as young lovers caught between warring New York gangs. (1961)

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (December 31, 8.30)

Norman Jewison’s adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical is set in Ukranian ghetto village Anatevka. Israeli actor Topol repeats his London stage role as the milkman whose equilibrium is constantly challenged by poverty, prejudicial attitudes of non-Jews and the romantic entanglements of his five daughters. (1971)

LITTLE WOMEN (January 1, 7.00)

American coming-of-age historical drama based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868-69 two-volume novel of the same title. Tells the story of the March family: four daughters and their mother who live in New England during the Civil War years. Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst. (1994)

THE DEATH OF STALIN (January 1, 9.00)

This audacious comedy is a bitingly funny takedown of bureaucratic dysfunction performed to the hilt by a sparkling ensemble cast. When tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin drops dead, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle. Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale. (2017)