The Four Horsemen Of Hallowe'en
Being as how I am of the generation for which the television was babysitter, friend and teacher it's no surprise that every holiday's traditions include watching certain movies, tv shows or specials at least once in the season. For me there are four cinematic harbingers of Hallowe'en that I absolutely must watch before Oct. 31 or the holiday may as well be called off. First is the movie Halloween (and I capitulated and left out the apostrophe just because it's not technically part of the movie's title, but I'm adding it in this aside just for the heck of it. Wait for it... ' ) the very first slasher movie I ever saw. A hallmark moment in any young man's life. I watched it on Hallowe'en night the first year that I thought I was too old to go trick or treating. I watched it in secret in my parent's bedroom while my mom took my brother on the rounds and my father was busy at the front door. It was on broadcast television and edited to pieces, but it still traumatized me completely. I loved it!
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is the second of the Hallowe'en must-sees and is kind of a no-brainer. If you haven't seen this at least once in your lifetime then you're gonna go to Hell when you die! That's not my idea, it's God's! He's a big "Peanuts" fan.
I first saw the Disney version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in school of all places and it's still the only useful thing that the educational system ever did for me. I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself and immediately had to go and read the book that the cartoon was based on. While I discovered that the book wasn't as Tom & Jerry slapsticky as the cartoon it still became a fav read. Not only do I have to watch the Disney version of the story every year, but I will also watch any other version of it that shows up on television, no matter how crap it may be. The Headless Horseman is just a perfect mood setter for the holiday.
The last of the four is another Disney 'toon, the classic Donald Duck short Trick Or Treat which, through the magic of YouTube and the generosity of the person who originally took the time to upload it, I present for you now. With what appear to be Swedish subtitles thrown in at no extra cost-
2 comments:
I'm really enjoying your blog. I'm doing a similar Halloween countdown, and while I've been posting about my viewing habits this year, I haven't gotten around to a post on what I think would make the perfect Halloween viewing marathon. Oddly three of your choices match up with my own. Which ones? You'll have to stop by and see in the coming days.
I look forward to returning.
Oh, your blog is already on my list of "blogs which I must check obsessively two or three times a day just in case they've added something new since I was last there an hour ago!"
I tell you, trying to keep up with all the Halloween related blog coolness going on this year is making me a bundle of nerves. I hope nobody plans on doing this again for Christmas! : )
Post a Comment