Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Miracle on 34th Street is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a great cast. It is a very sweet, heartfelt Christmas movie on which we follow a ton of controversy erupt after a man claims to be Santa Claus. Richard Attenborough shines as Kris Kringle himself, embodying the role significantly, he is quite possibly one of the most believable of any movie Santas, feeling close to the real thing, he was just as good, if not better, than Edmund Gwenn. In comparison to the original 1947 film, it simply is not as good, even John Hughes' writing presence could not help that. The magic and the Christmas atmosphere feels a lot more forced here, as newer movies simply are less subtle about getting a message across, and everything is very in your face here. Santa Claus is also not nearly as much developed as a character here, he is well established and his personality is brought tremendously in the original, however, he is a lot more two dimensional here. I not blaming Attenborough, but the writers for only giving the character cliché Santa dialogue.It shows that remakes always try too hard to be bigger and better than the original, which is often their biggest downfall. While its certainly flawed, the Christmas spirit is alive and well here, I would recommend Miracle on 34th Street to anyone looking for a good movie for the whole family to enjoy. A man who claims he is the real Santa Claus is forced to prove it in court. Best Performance: Richard Attenborough

when you believe in something or someone you love deeply enough anything is possible this is remake of a 1947 film of the same name with Richard Edinburgh playing Kris Kringle he plays his role perfectly as a being and a belief in people believing in this figure gives this man hope as he sets up a pet project as a little girl who doesn't believe in dreams and reality of Kris as 6 yr old Susan her mother lost her spirit long time ago and it rubbed off and doesn't expect any surprises on Xmas but after meeting a department store Santa who makes her believe in one so as Cole's department store is saved by a figure as he is Santa another shop decides to frame him and but Cole's out of business with Santa locked up Dylan McDermott character who is a lawyer must get the court that losing this man identity would mean the spirit of Xmas ruined forever plus he wants his step daughter a chance to love this joyous uplifting film will make us all believe as this is 1hr49mins and I give this 7/10 this is in my top 5 Xmas films of all time

The 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street was updated by writer and producer John Hughes already flying high with his Home Alone films and he manages to snag Richard Attenborough who was coaxed out of acting retirement a year earlier by Steven Spielberg for Jurassic Park.The original is regarded as a classic in America but not as well known in the UK and here I could see this film in its own merits.Hughes has followed the story of the original film with a department store executive Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) and her young daughter Susan (Mara Wilson) who do not care much for the spirit of Christmas. Dorey hires a venerable old man Kriss Kringle (Richard Attenborough) at the last minute when the usual Santa is found drunk. Kriss quickly becomes popular even if it means by always telling the truth that he directs people to rivals stores for toys because it would be cheaper there.The store is subject to a hostile takeover from a rival and part of the shenanigans means that Kriss believes that he really is Santa Claus and finds himself in court to be declared insane.The film is a decent family drama and although updated for a more cynical age which includes more disbelievers and non-nuclear families it does have plenty of festive spirit that families would enjoy but is never spectacular.The film turns on the revelation contained on a dollar bill but personally if I had written the film I would had just told the Judge to look behind him. Most American courtrooms have the Judge sitting in front of the words 'In God we trust!'

Dylan McDermott (Mr. Gailey), Richard Attenborough (Kris Kringle), and Mara Wilson (the girl) are fine, but Elizabeth Perkins is miserable as Mrs. Walker, the girl's mom. She mumbles her lines with no intensity or feeling. Also, in the original there were some dramatic twists that were interesting and advanced the plot; here, all the twists are planned ahead of time and telegraphed to the audience. I liked the Walker girl watching the parade out of Mr. Gailey's window -- all the floats were (in color!) right there. And, Dylan McDermott does his best to be an engaging boyfriend wannabe, and Richard Attenborough tries to be a charismatic Santa, but the movie really falls flat with poor writing, poor acting by Elizabeth Perkins, and probably poor pacing, staging, and dramatic narrative by the director. Take a pass on this faux remake and go back to the original with great actors like Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, and Natalie Wood, and a narrative that was actually dramati, real, and interesting.