Elderly nun Sister Anthony forms a friendship with Richard Reilly, the head gardener of New York City's Rockefeller Center, who wants to fell a tree that she has been growing for decades and... Read allElderly nun Sister Anthony forms a friendship with Richard Reilly, the head gardener of New York City's Rockefeller Center, who wants to fell a tree that she has been growing for decades and transport it to New York City to put it on display at Christmastime.Elderly nun Sister Anthony forms a friendship with Richard Reilly, the head gardener of New York City's Rockefeller Center, who wants to fell a tree that she has been growing for decades and transport it to New York City to put it on display at Christmastime.
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simply put I am a huge fan of Christmas stories, GOOD Christmas stories. the year the Christmas tree was aired I was sick to death with the flu...... as i watched this beautiful movie with one of our most revered actresses Julie Harris it was so refreshing to finally see something different about one of the most popular Christmas events-we have ,the Christmas tree in Rockefeller square. What gives with not releasing this movie. I am so tired of the same old same old ridiculous Christmas stories that are being produced, silly...too romantic.....overly sappy... AND I LOVE SAP..... please please please....try to get this movie released,it should become a Christmas tradition. Sorry for the length of this, but I have been searching for this movie for years..... Thank you so much...David
Saw this on TV. A simple and beautifully told story of an young girl searching for love and her father. Like most children she has her "security blanket" which in her case happens to be a tree...... That beautiful tree is her confidant,her confort,her everything. So you can image her reaction when she is asked to give up this constant source of joy to be cut down and become the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller center. The story unfolds with such emotions by letting us know the life of the sister who adopted the Tree. Right until the end her roller coaster of emotions keeps us fixed and transfixed to the chair. Loved it and loved Julie Harris controlled acting.The sententially story of Cristmas without the usual HO HO HO. Recommended. Millie
Sure, it's sentimental. Sure, it's schmaltzy. But isn't Christmas, when you get that warm glow from thinking about the holiday season--in a Norman Rockwell kind of setting--just as schmaltzy too? I read the beautifully illustrated book and thought it would make a wonderful present for my sister who lives in Maine. After this made-for-TV film came out, I contacted her to find out how she liked the film--which I thought was wonderful. She just found it empty, not saying much, a disappointment.
But I think it was a very slender story to begin with and Sally Field has directed it with an eye for warm details and, yes, sentiment. And JULIE HARRIS gives the kind of performance she's famous for--simple, earnest, truthful. The tree had become something so close to her that she was reluctant to see it torn down to serve as New York City's famous tree at Rockefeller Center.
Unfortunately, the story details escape me now, having seen it only once the night it made its debut in '96 and expecting that it would become a rerun the way IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE did. No way. All of the performances were fine and although many would find it a bit hokey to make such a fuss over a tree that ends up in Rockefeller Center, it was done in a way that had a magic sort of appeal. Beautifully photographed with lush vistas of New England landscapes, it had a certain charm that tried to capture the warmth of the book.
Summing up: By all means worth seeing, if you can. I have no idea why it has simply disappeared from sight.
But I think it was a very slender story to begin with and Sally Field has directed it with an eye for warm details and, yes, sentiment. And JULIE HARRIS gives the kind of performance she's famous for--simple, earnest, truthful. The tree had become something so close to her that she was reluctant to see it torn down to serve as New York City's famous tree at Rockefeller Center.
Unfortunately, the story details escape me now, having seen it only once the night it made its debut in '96 and expecting that it would become a rerun the way IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE did. No way. All of the performances were fine and although many would find it a bit hokey to make such a fuss over a tree that ends up in Rockefeller Center, it was done in a way that had a magic sort of appeal. Beautifully photographed with lush vistas of New England landscapes, it had a certain charm that tried to capture the warmth of the book.
Summing up: By all means worth seeing, if you can. I have no idea why it has simply disappeared from sight.
10wind-22
A feel good Christmas Tale. What a wonderful adaptation of a true story.
Anyone who's ever made the trek (or dreamed of) to see the tree in Rockefeller Centre will love this movie.
The charm of the need to feel close and loved by the lost child, and how the mystery of her life come together in this magical tale. The corporate search and it's attempt to walk all over anyone in it's pass is squashed by the lovely endearing nun.
I would love to see it every year but sadly it's been tucked away like so many of the wonderful Christmas values we had years ago.
If you're looking for a special movie, contact your local TV station and request the movie....maybe, just maybe... we can bring back the true meaning of Christmas.
Happy Holidays, Everyone...and every day of the year!
Anyone who's ever made the trek (or dreamed of) to see the tree in Rockefeller Centre will love this movie.
The charm of the need to feel close and loved by the lost child, and how the mystery of her life come together in this magical tale. The corporate search and it's attempt to walk all over anyone in it's pass is squashed by the lovely endearing nun.
I would love to see it every year but sadly it's been tucked away like so many of the wonderful Christmas values we had years ago.
If you're looking for a special movie, contact your local TV station and request the movie....maybe, just maybe... we can bring back the true meaning of Christmas.
Happy Holidays, Everyone...and every day of the year!
When "The Christmas Tree" was on, the phone rang. It was my mother. I had picked up the phone without really thinking. All I said was that the best Christmas movie ever was on and I could not talk right then and hung up the phone, not answering again, until the show ended. I have a big flowering crab that grows in front of my house that gives me so much pleasure during every season and I sometimes think of it as "Tree". I agree with others, why do they not replay this movie on TV? Release it, let us buy it. I would so love the opportunity to see it again. I have bought the book and it is nice, but Sally Field really brought the story to life.
Did you know
- TriviaOscar-winning actress Sally Field is the director.
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