The Miracle of Manhattan (1994)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The miracle of Manhattan |
| Original title | Miracle on 34th Street |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| length | 109 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK without |
| Rod | |
| Director | Les Mayfield |
| script |
John Hughes George Seaton |
| production |
William S. Beasley John Hughes William Ryan |
| music | Bruce Broughton |
| camera | Julio Macat |
| cut | Raja Gosnell |
| occupation | |
| |
The Miracle of Manhattan (original title Miracle on 34th Street ) is an American comedy film directed by Les Mayfield from 1994 . The leading roles are starring Richard Attenborough , Elizabeth Perkins , Mara Wilson and Dylan McDermott . It is a remake of the film of the same name from 1947 .
action
" Santa Claus " Tony Falacchi, who is involved in the annual Christmas parade of Cole's department store, is drunk and has to be released shortly before the parade begins. The passing Kriss Kringle had noticed Falacchi's condition and is asked by Dorey Walker, the department store's special promotions manager, to play Santa because otherwise there would be no Santa on the parade. Kriss Kringle does his job so well that he is hired by Cole's as the new Santa Claus of the department store, to whom the customers' children can communicate their wishes.
Kriss Kringle can also score points by sending the parents to the rival company “Shopper's Express” if the toys the children want can be found there cheaper. This gives parents the feeling that satisfied customers are more important to the company than profit. As a result, the department store's popularity rose so rapidly that a new marketing concept was developed from the idea, whereupon sales and share prices of the ailing department store skyrocketed. Dorey's highly intelligent 6-year-old daughter Susan is also impressed by Kriss Kringle, but her single mother also tells her that Santa Claus is just a clerk in a department store. Dorey suggests that Susan find out the truth by making a wish from Santa Claus that she would not want from her. Conversely, Kriss Kringle, who repeatedly makes hints of being the "real" Santa Claus, wants to convince Susan and Dorey to believe in Santa Claus. He lets Bryan Bedford, Dorey's friend, hire him as Susan's babysitter for an evening. She wants “a house, a brother and a father”. Only if Kringle could do this for her would he be Santa Claus for her. Meanwhile, Dorey declines an engagement ring from Bryan, who later gives it to Kriss, who is supposed to find a better use for the ring.
Due to the continued high sales and popularity of Cole's department store, the competition is now forging dark plans. Two employees from “Shopper's Express” pay Falacchi to provoke Kringle on the way home. Kringle then hits Falacchi with his walking stick, who goes down after being hit. Kringle is arrested and imprisoned by the police, which leads to the planned damage to the image of Cole's department store. Since Kringle claims, as usual, that he is Santa Claus, he is thought to be crazy and should be admitted to a psychiatric hospital . A court hearing is now being sought - with sometimes bizarre methods - for evidence that Santa Claus does not exist and that Kringle is to be sentenced as insane according to the indictment . Bryan is Kringle's attorney and Dorey is so impressed that she apologizes for her dismissive behavior the night he presented her with a ring and proposed.
To help their Santa Claus, the staff at Cole's department store started a large-scale campaign during the multi-day trial. The managing director CF Cole asks the public via television the question “Do you believe in Santa Claus?”, Whereupon thousands of people profess to believe in Santa Claus. The trial is now attracting even greater public interest.
Bryan has Susan handed the judge a $ 1 bill on the day the verdict was pronounced, December 24th, with the statement "In God we trust" circled around it. The judge then crumpled up his prepared judgment and justified the dismissal of the case on the grounds that “when the United States government expresses its trust in God in clear words on our currency, without requiring that there be physical evidence of the existence or non-existence of anything higher beings exist, then the state of New York can also accept and acknowledge through a comparable demonstration of all-round faith of its people that Santa Claus exists, namely in the person of Kriss Kringle. ”For the verdict at 12 o'clock, crowds of people are on the streets The court gathered to cheer after Kriss Kringle's acquittal.
After Christmas mass, Kringle orders Dorey and Bryan to a small church where a priest with Bryan's engagement ring is waiting for them: the two of them get married. On the morning of Christmas Day Susan notices the ring and sees her first wish fulfilled: a father. In the afternoon, the small family goes to a Cole model house , where the manager has ordered them, which is very unusual for a Christmas holiday. Kringle had told him that the couple were looking for a house that would match this model house (Susan had given Kringle the page that had been removed from the department store catalog). The extremely generous bonus that all Cole employees receive for the extraordinary Christmas business allows Dorey to make this house her daughter's chosen her new home. Susan looks around enthusiastically in the fully furnished Christmas house and then wants to know from her mother and Bryan whether her third wish will come true. Bryan says that if Kriss Kringle made a promise, there is no doubt about it. Susan is now absolutely convinced that Kringle is real. When Dorey wants to know what other wish Susan had expressed, she tells her that she wants a little brother. Even if Dorey and Bryan look at each other slightly puzzled, they don't disagree, but hug and kiss.
Reviews
James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the film does not reach the level of its predecessor. He praised Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson, but criticized Elizabeth Perkins and Dylan McDermott.
Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on November 18, 1994 that the film could not replace the 1947 film. However, he is "sweet", "amiable" and "kind-hearted".
The lexicon of international films wrote: “A drawn out, humorless and tension-free remake of the Christmas film classic from 1947. The satirical swipes of the model degenerate into clumsy, lying messages. Also disappointing in terms of acting. "
Awards
Richard Attenborough was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1995 .
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.
background
The film was shot in New York City , Chicago and Lake Forest, Illinois . It grossed approximately $ 17.2 million in US cinemas and approximately £ 6.66 million in UK cinemas .
Web links
- The Miracle of Manhattan in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Miracle of Manhattan at Rotten Tomatoes (English)