The 14 Best Movies to Ring in the New Year
- Joao Nsita
- 1 day ago
- 22 min read
As we journey through the festive calendar, past the spooky delights of Halloween and the warm glow of Christmas, our minds turn to that final, glittering, and deeply symbolic night of the year: New Year's Eve. It is a night of reflection and of hope, a time to look back on the year that has been and to dream of the year that is to come. And there is no better way to capture that unique, magical, and often very emotional spirit than with the perfect movie.
The New Year's Eve film is a unique and special subgenre. It is a world of glamorous parties, of fateful midnight kisses, and of profound, life-changing resolutions. On social media platforms like TikTok and Pinterest, the "New Year's Eve aesthetic" is a powerful and enduring trend. We see a celebration of all things sparkling and celebratory, from glitter-drenched party outfits to aesthetic mood boards dedicated to the "fresh start" energy of a new year. And at the heart of this trend is the shared, communal ritual of watching a film that perfectly captures that feeling.
To rank the “best” movies to ring in the new year is to take a journey through a landscape of cinematic treasures. It is to celebrate the films that have used the ticking clock of New Year's Eve as a backdrop for some of the most iconic, romantic, and deeply moving moments in film history. This is not just a list of movies; it is a celebration of the stories that have become a part of our own New Year's traditions, the films we turn to year after year to laugh, to cry, and to feel that unique, hopeful thrill of a brand-new start.
This is your definitive, in-depth guide to the ultimate New Year's Eve watchlist. We have curated a list of fourteen of the most iconic, beloved, and enduringly popular New Year's films, presented in descending order. We will take a deep dive into each of these cinematic gems, exploring not just their plots, but the specific, magical ingredients that have made them a cherished part of the holiday season. So, get the champagne on ice, and prepare to be transported.
Enjoyed what you read? If you find this article insightful and it helps you curate your perfect holiday watchlist, please consider supporting our work. Your generosity allows us to continue creating and sharing in-depth cultural commentary. You can make a donation by moving your cursor to a C-ute at the top of the article or scrolling down to the bottom. Every little bit helps us spread the love, one article at a time!
14. Four Rooms (1995)
The Vibe: A chaotic, quirky, and incredibly stylish 90s indie anthology film that is a perfect, unconventional, and slightly dangerous New Year's Eve watch.
The Premise: This cult classic is a series of four interconnected vignettes, each one written and directed by a different, acclaimed independent filmmaker of the 90s, including Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The stories are all set in a once-grand, now slightly seedy, Los Angeles hotel on New Year's Eve, and they are all linked by the film's hapless and incredibly stressed-out protagonist, the bellhop, Ted. Over the course of one, long, and increasingly bizarre night, Ted finds himself embroiled in the strange and often very dangerous activities of the hotel's guests, from a coven of witches and a jealous, gun-wielding husband, to the two, unsupervised children of a powerful gangster.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: Four Rooms is the perfect, "alternative" New Year's Eve movie. It is a film that perfectly captures the chaotic, anything-can-happen energy of the holiday. The film is a fantastic, nostalgic time capsule of 90s indie cinema, and it is packed with a huge cast of famous faces. While the quality of the four segments can be a little uneven, the final, Tarantino-directed segment is a masterpiece of slow-burn, conversational tension that is one of the most brilliant and iconic scenes of his entire career.
The Festive Spirit: The film is steeped in the seedy, glamorous, and slightly desperate energy of a New Year's Eve in a big city. It is a story about the strange and unexpected connections that can be formed on a night when everyone is looking for a little bit of magic, or at least a little bit of trouble. For a deep dive into the world of 90s indie cinema, the Sundance Institute's website is a fantastic resource. The show’s complex and often fiery relationships are a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 7 Best Movies About Toxic Relationships.
Where to Buy and Stream: You can purchase Four Rooms on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
13. Ocean's 11 (1960)
The Vibe: The ultimate, effortlessly cool, and impossibly stylish Las Vegas heist movie, starring the legendary Rat Pack at the absolute peak of their powers.
The Premise: This classic film follows a group of World War II veterans, led by the charismatic Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra), who team up to pull off the most audacious heist in history: to simultaneously rob five of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve. The film is a glorious, star-studded, and incredibly fun celebration of the cool, swinging, and deeply glamorous world of 1960s Las Vegas.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: Ocean's 11 is the perfect, glamorous, and wonderfully nostalgic film to watch while you are getting ready for your own New Year's Eve party. The film is less about the intricacies of the heist and more about the incredible, easy-going charisma of its legendary cast, which includes Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford. The film's climax, which takes place as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve and the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" fill the casinos, is a brilliant and iconic piece of filmmaking.
The Festive Spirit: The film perfectly captures the high-energy, celebratory, and slightly debauched atmosphere of a Las Vegas New Year's Eve. It is a film that is pure, unadulterated, and incredibly stylish fun. For more on the incredible history of the Rat Pack, the official Frank Sinatra website has some fantastic articles. The film’s focus on a powerful ensemble is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 5 Best Movies With An Ensemble Cast.
Where to Buy and Stream: You can purchase Ocean's 11 on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
12. Highball (1997)
The Vibe: A chaotic, funny, and deeply authentic indie comedy that is a perfect, and often very cringe-inducing, portrait of a series of disastrous house parties.
The Premise: This early, and often forgotten, film from the acclaimed writer-director Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) is a rough, low-budget, and brilliantly observed look at the lives of a group of young adults in Brooklyn. The film is structured around three different parties that take place in the same apartment over the course of a year: a Halloween party, a birthday party, and, for its chaotic climax, a New Year's Eve party. The film captures the awkward, funny, and often very real rhythms and dialogue of a group of friends simply hanging out.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: Highball is a fantastic, and deeply relatable, "anti-party" movie. It is a film that perfectly captures the anxiety, the social awkwardness, and the often-disappointing reality of a big New Year's Eve party. It is a film that is full of a raw, authentic, and incredibly funny energy. For fans of Noah Baumbach's later, more polished work, it is a fascinating look at his early, and more experimental, beginnings. For more on the incredible career of Noah Baumbach, The Criterion Collection's website has some fantastic essays.
The Festive Spirit: The film's New Year's Eve sequence is a perfect, and often very funny, deconstruction of the holiday. It is a reminder that the most memorable nights are often the ones that are the most messy and the most imperfect. The show’s complex and often fiery relationships are a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 5 Best Movies About Marriages.
Where to Buy and Stream: You can find clips and sometimes the full version of Highball on YouTube, and it is occasionally available on streaming services that specialize in independent film.
11. Ghostbusters II (1989)
The Vibe: A fun, nostalgic, and wonderfully silly supernatural comedy that is a perfect, feel-good, and family-friendly New Year's watch.
The Premise: This beloved sequel reunites the original, iconic cast of Ghostbusters—Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston—for a new, supernatural adventure. The film sees the team, who have fallen on hard times since their last world-saving adventure, getting back together to battle a new and powerful threat: a river of psychoreactive, pink slime that is flowing beneath New York City, a slime that is fueled by the negative energy of the city's inhabitants. The film's climax takes place on New Year's Eve, as the Ghostbusters must find a way to unite the entire city in a positive, celebratory mood to defeat the evil spirit of Vigo the Carpathian.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: While it may not be as universally beloved as the original, Ghostbusters II is a fantastic and incredibly fun New Year's Eve movie. The film's final act is a pure, joyful, and incredibly optimistic celebration of the holiday. The image of a slime-covered Statue of Liberty, brought to life by the positive energy of a city singing "Auld Lang Syne," walking through the streets of Manhattan is a gloriously silly and wonderfully iconic cinematic moment.
The Festive Spirit: The film is a powerful, if very silly, metaphor for the spirit of New Year's Eve. It is a story about the power of collective hope and positivity to overcome the negativity of the past. It’s a perfect, fun, and deeply nostalgic watch for the whole family. For more on the history of this iconic franchise, the official Ghostbusters website is a great resource. The show’s focus on a powerful friendship is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of 5 Must-Watch Movies About Unlikely Friendships.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream Ghostbusters II on NOW and Sky Cinema in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
10. An Affair to Remember (1957)
The Vibe: The ultimate, iconic, and unapologetically romantic "weepie." This is a masterpiece of the Golden Age of Hollywood, a film that is so romantic it has become a cultural shorthand for a grand, epic love story.
The Premise: This classic romance stars the legendary Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as two people who meet and fall in love on a transatlantic cruise. The only problem? They are both engaged to other people. On the last night of the cruise, they make a pact: if they still feel the same way in six months' time, they will meet at the top of the Empire State Building on New Year's Eve. The film follows their separate lives over the next six months, and the tragic accident that threatens to keep them from their fateful, romantic reunion.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: An Affair to Remember is a perfect, and deeply romantic, film to watch in the run-up to New Year's Eve. The film's central, and incredibly iconic, plot device—the promise of a New Year's Eve reunion at the top of the Empire State Building—is one of the most romantic in cinematic history. The film is a beautiful, and often heartbreaking, exploration of fate, of true love, and of the power of a single, life-changing promise.
The Festive Spirit: The film is not just about New Year's Eve; it is about the idea of New Year's Eve, the idea of a single, magical night that can change your entire life. It is a film that is so iconic and so influential that it is famously and beautifully referenced in another classic on this list, Sleepless in Seattle. The show’s focus on a powerful romance is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of the Top 5 Best Romantic Movies of All Time.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream An Affair to Remember on Disney+ in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
9. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
The Vibe: A thrilling, high-stakes, and star-studded 70s disaster movie classic.
The Premise: This legendary film is set on the luxury cruise liner, the SS Poseidon, on New Year's Eve. As the passengers and crew are celebrating in the grand ballroom, the ship is hit by a massive, rogue wave and completely capsizes, turning their world, and the ship, literally upside down. The film follows a small group of survivors, led by a rebellious and determined preacher (a brilliant Gene Hackman), as they embark on a perilous and claustrophobic journey "up" to the bottom of the ship, which is their only hope for survival.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: For those who like their New Year's Eve with a side of high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled action, The Poseidon Adventure is a perfect choice. It is the undisputed king of the 70s disaster movie genre. The film is a masterclass in building tension and in creating a series of spectacular, and often very terrifying, action set pieces. The star-studded ensemble cast is fantastic, and the story is a powerful and thrilling exploration of the indomitable resilience of the human spirit.
The Festive Spirit: The film's New Year's Eve setting provides a brilliant, and deeply ironic, backdrop to the disaster. The story begins at the height of a celebration of a new year and a new beginning, and is then immediately plunged into a desperate, primal fight for survival. For more on the history of the disaster movie genre, the official Academy Museum website often has fantastic articles and exhibits.
Where to Buy and Stream: You can purchase The Poseidon Adventure on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
8. Snowpiercer (2013)
The Vibe: A brutal, stylish, and incredibly inventive dystopian action-thriller from the Oscar-winning director of Parasite, Bong Joon-ho.
The Premise: The film is set in a frozen, post-apocalyptic future where the last remnants of humanity live on a perpetually moving, globe-circling train called the Snowpiercer. The train is a brutal, class-based society in miniature. The wealthy elite live in luxury at the front of the train, while the poor masses live in squalor and oppression at the back. The story follows Curtis (a fantastic Chris Evans), the leader of a a rebellion from the tail section, as he and his followers fight their way, car by car, to the front of the train to confront its enigmatic and powerful creator.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: The film's most memorable and iconic action sequence takes place as the train is celebrating the new year. The contrast between the brutal, bloody, hand-to-hand combat of the rebellion and the oblivious, champagne-toasting celebration of the upper classes at the front of the train is a brilliant, powerful, and deeply satirical piece of filmmaking. The film is a thrilling, action-packed, and incredibly smart social allegory.
The Festive Spirit: The film is a perfect, "anti-New Year's" watch. It is a powerful and angry deconstruction of the social inequalities that are often hidden beneath the glittering facade of a celebration. It’s a must-watch for any fan of intelligent, and politically charged, science fiction. The show’s complex hero is a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of the Top 5 Best Movies with an Origin Story.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream Snowpiercer on Netflix in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
7. The Apartment (1960)
The Vibe: A witty, sophisticated, and surprisingly dark romantic comedy-drama that is a true, timeless masterpiece of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The Premise: From the legendary writer-director Billy Wilder, this Best Picture-winning film stars Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, a lonely and ambitious insurance clerk in New York City. In an attempt to climb the corporate ladder, he allows his company's executives to use his apartment for their extra-marital affairs. The situation becomes complicated when, after a raucous office Christmas party, he discovers that his boss's mistress is the smart, beautiful, and deeply sad elevator operator, Fran Kubelik (a magnificent Shirley MacLaine), the very woman he is secretly in love with. The film follows their strange, tentative, and deeply moving journey towards each other, which culminates on New Year's Eve.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: The Apartment is one of the greatest films ever made, period. It is a film that is both a hilarious, sharp, and cynical satire of corporate culture and a deeply, profoundly romantic and hopeful love story. The film's final scene, which takes place on New Year's Eve, is one of the most iconic, perfect, and emotionally satisfying in all of cinema.
The Festive Spirit: The film is a powerful and beautiful exploration of the loneliness and the hope that can be so potent during the holiday season. The film's final line, "Shut up and deal," is a quiet, perfect, and unsentimental declaration of love that is a powerful and beautiful antidote to the often-overblown romance of the holiday season. The show’s complex and often fiery relationships are a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 5 Best Movies About Marriages.
Where to Buy and Stream: You can purchase The Apartment on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
6. Rent (2005)
The Vibe: A vibrant, passionate, and deeply moving rock musical that is a powerful and life-affirming celebration of love, of art, and of living every moment to the fullest.
The Premise: Based on the legendary, Pulitzer-Prize-winning Broadway musical, this film follows a year in the life of a group of young, impoverished artists and musicians living in New York City's East Village in the late 1980s, under the shadow of the AIDS crisis. The story is a modern retelling of the opera La Bohème and is a powerful and poignant exploration of a "found family" who are determined to create a life of meaning, of love, and of art, in the face of poverty, of illness, and of loss.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: Rent is a film that is literally bookended by the holiday season, beginning and ending on Christmas Eve. The film's second act opens with the powerful and iconic song, "Happy New Year," a chaotic and brilliant sequence that perfectly captures the mix of hope, of anxiety, and of friendship that defines the holiday for the characters. The film’s famous anthem, "Seasons of Love," is a beautiful and powerful meditation on how we measure a life, a perfect, contemplative song for the end of the year.
The Festive Spirit: The film is a powerful and inspiring story about the importance of community and of choosing to measure your life in love. It’s a film that will make you sing, it will make you cry, and it will leave you with a profound sense of gratitude for the people in your own life. For more on the incredible legacy of its creator, the Jonathan Larson Papers at the Library of Congress is an amazing resource. The film’s incredible soundtrack is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs of All Time.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream Rent on NOW and Sky Cinema in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
5. New Year's Eve (2011)
The Vibe: A glossy, star-studded, and unapologetically sentimental ensemble romantic comedy that is a pure, feel-good celebration of the holiday.
The Premise: From the director of Valentine's Day and Pretty Woman, Garry Marshall, this film follows the same, successful formula: take a huge, sprawling, and incredibly famous ensemble cast, and weave their interconnected stories together over the course of a single, iconic holiday. The film follows a huge cast of New Yorkers on New Year's Eve, from a man who is trapped in an elevator with a beautiful stranger, to a rock star who is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend, to a man who is dying in a hospital and just wants to see the ball drop one last time.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: This film is a pure, unadulterated, and incredibly easy-to-watch celebration of New Year's Eve. The cast is absolutely staggering, a true "who's who" of Hollywood, including Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, and Halle Berry. It is a film that is pure, feel-good, cinematic comfort food, a warm, funny, and deeply sentimental movie that is a perfect, low-stakes watch for the holiday.
The Festive Spirit: The entire film is a love letter to the magic and the hope of New Year's Eve in New York City. It is a film that is bursting with a joyful, optimistic, and deeply romantic spirit. The show’s focus on a powerful ensemble is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of The Top 5 Best Movies With An Ensemble Cast.
Where to Buy and Stream: You can purchase New Year's Eve on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
4. Phantom Thread (2017)
The Vibe: A beautiful, strange, and deeply, perversely romantic gothic drama from the visionary director Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Premise: The film stars the legendary Daniel Day-Lewis, in his final, Oscar-nominated role, as Reynolds Woodcock, a renowned and obsessive couturier in 1950s London. He is a man who is a genius at his craft, but is also a deeply controlling and emotionally stunted bachelor whose life is a series of carefully controlled routines. His world is thrown into chaos by the arrival of his new muse, a strong-willed and enigmatic waitress named Alma, who refuses to be just another passive object of his inspiration and instead, begins to assert her own, unique, and often very dangerous, form of control over their relationship.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: Phantom Thread is a masterpiece of modern cinema, a film that is as breathtakingly beautiful as it is strange and unsettling. The film features a stunning and pivotal sequence that takes place on New Year's Eve. The scene, which sees a drunken and joyous Reynolds crashing a glamorous party, is a work of pure, cinematic magic, and it is a major turning point in the strange and wonderful love story at the heart of the film.
The Festive Spirit: The film is a perfect, sophisticated, and deeply unconventional watch for a quiet, contemplative New Year's Eve. It is a film that is a feast for the senses, from its stunning, Oscar-winning costumes to its beautiful, romantic score by Jonny Greenwood. The show’s complex and often fiery relationships are a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of the Top 10 Best Power Ballads of All Time.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream Phantom Thread on Netflix in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
3. Trading Places (1983)
The Vibe: A hilarious, sharp, and incredibly witty 80s comedy classic that is a brilliant and timeless satire of the nature vs. nurture debate.
The Premise: From the director John Landis, this film stars Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthorpe III, a wealthy and snobbish managing director at a commodities brokerage firm. It also stars Eddie Murphy, in a star-making performance, as Billy Ray Valentine, a poor, street-smart hustler. The film is set in motion when the two, incredibly rich and deeply bored owners of the brokerage firm, the Duke brothers, make a one-dollar bet to see what would happen if they were to switch the lives of the two men. They frame Winthorpe for a crime and install the unsuspecting Valentine in his place.
Why It's a Great New Year's Watch: Trading Places is one of the greatest and most re-watchable comedies of the 1980s. While it is often thought of as a Christmas movie, one of the film's most crucial and hilarious scenes takes place on a train on New Year's Eve, as our two heroes, now united, enact their brilliant and satisfying plan for revenge against the Duke brothers. The film is a masterclass in comedic storytelling, and the performances from Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis are all iconic. The film’s incredible soundtrack is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of Top 10 Best Disney Soundtracks of All Time.
The Festive Spirit: The film is a fantastic, feel-good story of revenge and redemption, a perfect, celebratory watch for the new year. For more on the incredible career of Eddie Murphy, the official Golden Globes website has a great overview of his awards and nominations. The show’s focus on a powerful friendship is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of the Top 10 Best Teen Romance TV Shows Ever Made.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream Trading Places on NOW and Sky Cinema in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
2. The Godfather Part II (1974)
Why It's One of the Best: While it may seem like a strange choice for a "New Year's" list, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II is not just one of the greatest films ever made; it is also home to one of the most iconic, most chilling, and most unforgettable New Year's Eve scenes in the history of cinema. For any serious lover of film, this is essential, and powerful, viewing for the holiday season.
The Premise: This masterpiece is both a sequel and a prequel to the original The Godfather. The film tells two parallel stories. In the present day, it follows Michael Corleone in the late 1950s as he tries to protect and expand his family's crime empire. In the past, it tells the origin story of his father, Vito Corleone, from his childhood in Sicily to his rise to power in New York.
The Iconic New Year's Scene: The film's New Year's Eve scene, which takes place at a party in Havana, Cuba, on the eve of the Cuban Revolution, is a masterclass in tension and storytelling. It is in this scene that Michael confronts his older, weaker brother, Fredo, who he has discovered has betrayed him. In a moment of pure, chilling power, Michael grabs his brother, gives him a kiss, and delivers the iconic, heartbreaking line, "I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart." It is the kiss of death, a moment that seals Fredo's fate and solidifies Michael's own descent into darkness. The show’s complex and often fiery relationships are a fascinating character study, a theme you can explore in our list of the Top 10 Best Rom-Coms of the Last 25 Years, Ranked.
The Festive Spirit (or lack thereof): The film is a powerful, and deeply tragic, deconstruction of the idea of family and new beginnings. It is a film that will stay with you, a true masterpiece of American cinema. For more on the history of this legendary film, the official Academy Museum's website is a fantastic resource. The show’s unflinching portrayal of betrayal is a powerful theme, one you can explore in our list of the Top 7 Best Movies About Betrayal, Revenge, and Deception.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream The Godfather Part II on NOW and Sky Cinema in the UK, or purchase on major platforms.
1. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Why It's at the Top: While every film on this list uses New Year's Eve in a brilliant and memorable way, Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron's When Harry Met Sally... is, without a doubt, the single greatest and most iconic New Year's Eve movie of all time. It is a film that is not just set during the holiday; it is a film that is about the holiday. The film's legendary, climactic scene is so perfect, so romantic, and so deeply ingrained in our cultural consciousness that it has become the very definition of a perfect, New Year's Eve movie moment. It is, quite simply, the undisputed champion.
The Premise: The film follows Harry Burns and Sally Albright over the course of twelve years of chance encounters. It explores the central, timeless question: "Can men and women ever really be friends?" The film charts their journey from initial, mutual dislike, to a deep, supportive, and hilarious friendship, and, finally, to the terrifying and wonderful realization that they are, in fact, in love with each other.
The Iconic New Year's Scene: The film's final, perfect scene takes place at a New Year's Eve party. After years of friendship and a recent, disastrous attempt at a physical relationship, Harry realizes that he is in love with Sally. He runs through the streets of New York to find her at a party, arriving just before the stroke of midnight. He delivers one of the greatest and most romantic monologues in the history of cinema, a beautiful and specific list of all the little things he loves about her. His final line, "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible," is a perfect, timeless, and unforgettable declaration of love. The film’s incredible soundtrack is a key to its success, a theme you can explore in our list of Top 10 Best Disney Soundtracks of All Time.
Where to Buy and Stream: Stream When Harry Met Sally... on HBO Max (via Sky/NOW in the UK), or purchase on major platforms.
Conclusion
As the final seconds of the year tick away, there is a unique and powerful magic in the air, a feeling of hope, of reflection, and of the thrilling, terrifying, and beautiful promise of a new beginning. The fourteen films on this list are a testament to the incredible, and incredibly diverse, power of cinema to capture that feeling. From the glamorous, star-studded celebrations to the quiet, intimate moments of connection, these are the stories that have become a part of our own New Year's traditions.
These are more than just movies; they are a shared, cultural experience, a collection of stories that have made us laugh, made us cry, and brought us closer together. They are a reminder that a great film can be the perfect companion for a night of celebration, a source of comfort for a moment of quiet reflection, and a powerful, hopeful, and unforgettable way to ring in the new year.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is "Auld Lang Syne" and why is it so associated with New Year's Eve? "Auld Lang Syne" is a classic Scottish poem, written by Robert Burns in 1788. It is traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the old year. The title translates to "for old times' sake," and it is a song about remembering old friends and looking back on the past with fondness.
2. Why are there so many classic films set on New Year's Eve? New Year's Eve is a fantastic and powerful setting for a story. The "ticking clock" to midnight provides a natural source of tension and a deadline for the characters, and the holiday's themes of reflection, of second chances, and of new beginnings are powerful and universal.
3. I'm looking for a romantic New Year's Eve movie. Which one should I watch? When Harry Met Sally... is the undisputed king of the New Year's Eve romance. An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle are also incredibly romantic and classic choices.
4. Are there any family-friendly options on this list? Yes, Ghostbusters II and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! are both fantastic, family-friendly choices for a New Year's Eve movie night.
5. What is the "Rat Pack"? The "Rat Pack" was an informal group of entertainers in the 1950s and 60s, centred around Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. They were famous for their charismatic performances and their cool, sophisticated style. Ocean's 11 is their most famous film together.
6. Where can I watch these movies in the UK? The streaming availability for these films can vary. This list includes the current primary streaming homes for each film in the UK. A service like JustWatch can help you find where a specific film is currently available to stream, rent, or buy.
7. I love a good thriller. Which of these films should I prioritize? The Godfather Part II is a masterpiece of cinematic tension. For a more classic, action-packed thrill, The Poseidon Adventure is a fantastic choice.
8. What is a "dramedy"? A "dramedy," like The Apartment or Phantom Thread, is a genre that blends elements of both drama and comedy.
9. Are any of these movies based on books? Yes. The Godfather Part II is based on the novel by Mario Puzo. The short stories in Four Rooms are loosely based on the adult fiction of Roald Dahl.
10. What's the best way to plan a New Year's Eve movie night? Make it an event! Get some sparkling drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), prepare some festive snacks, and get cozy. You could even time the movie so that the on-screen New Year's celebration coincides with your own, real-life countdown to midnight.
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