Die Hard, Lethal Weapon among best X-mas films of all time

Golden oldies such as the 1946 Jimmy Stewart feel-good film 'It's a Wonderful Life' has topped a list of the best-reviewed Christmas movies.

Other favourites in the top five on the list - released by the Rotten Tomatoes website - included the 1942 Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire musical 'Holiday Inn' and Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas,' while blockbuster action films 'Die Hard' and 'Lethal Weapon' were also highly rated, the Daily Mail reported.

'It's a Wonderful Life' vaulted to the top spot from being voted in at number five in 2009, when the list was last compiled, bumping 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' from its best-reviewed status.

World War Two drama 'Stalag 17,' released in 1953, and 1947's 'Miracle on 34th Street' also came in the top five.

Films that use the festive season as a backdrop for the plot such as 'Die Hard,' which was number six on the list, and 1983's 'Trading Places' at number nine, were also eligible, the website said.

Rotten Tomatoes, which analyses film reviews and assigns a score based on total critical reception, applied that same formula to Christmas films for the list, Matt Atchity, the website's editor in chief, said.

The top 25 Christmas films are:

·         It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

·         Holiday Inn (1942)

·         The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

·         Stalag 17 (1953)

·         Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

·         Die Hard (1988)

·         Arthur Christmas (2011)

·         A Christmas Story (1983)

·         Trading Places (1983)

·         Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

·         Lethal Weapon (1987)

·         A Midnight Clear (1992)

·         A Christmas Tale (2008)

·         While You Were Sleeping (1995)

·         Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951)

·         Elf (2003)

·         Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

·         Gremlins (1984)

·         The Santa Clause (1994)

·         The Bishop's Wife (1947)

·         Bad Santa (2003)

·         8 Women (2002)

·         Batman Returns (1992)

·         White Christmas (1954)

·         The Ref (1994)