In 1990, the American comedy "Home Alone" was released, which over three and a half decades has become the most beloved Christmas movie in the world. The film about eight-year-old Kevin McCallister, who was accidentally left home during a family trip to Paris, still appears on screens every season.
How the masterpiece was born
The film was created by director Chris Columbus and screenwriter John Hughes. Interestingly, the idea was born while Hughes was working on the movie "Uncle Buck," which also starred Macaulay Culkin. The screenplay was written in just nine days, but this didn't prevent it from becoming iconic.
Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern played the roles of burglars Harry and Marv, although Robert De Niro was initially considered for the role of Harry. Catherine O'Hara and John Heard embodied the images of the parents of the large family.
Records and achievements
The original 1990 film became the highest-grossing comedy of that year in the US, collecting over 476 million dollars at the worldwide box office. This makes it one of the most profitable Christmas comedies of all time. For 27 years, the film held the record as the highest-grossing comedy in cinema history.
The film received the People's Choice Awards in the "Favorite Comedy" category, and young Macaulay Culkin was recognized with nominations for the Young Artist Awards for best child performance.
Interesting facts from filming
Most scenes were not filmed in the luxurious McCallister house, but on sets built in a school gymnasium. Even the stairs were an optical illusion and led nowhere.
Due to age restrictions, Macaulay Culkin could work no more than five hours a day and often fell asleep between takes. The famous house "defense plan" was drawn by the boy himself with colored pencils.
The expanding franchise
The success of the original spawned an entire franchise of five films: "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992), "Home Alone 3" (1997), "Home Alone 4" (2002), "Home Alone 5: The Holiday Heist" (2012), and the modern "Home Alone" of 2021.
The failure of the sixth part
The film Home Sweet Home Alone (2021), which viewers unofficially call "Home Alone 6," became one of the franchise's most resounding failures. On IMDb it received only 3.6 out of 10 stars, on Rotten Tomatoes — 15% positive reviews.
The key problem of the film is the radical change in moral emphasis. While in the classic film the viewer supported a child defending himself against professional thieves, in the 2021 version the main character Max Mercer is a wealthy and arrogant boy, and his opponents are an ordinary family couple in financial difficulties trying to retrieve their own family heirloom.
As a result, viewer sympathy shifted not toward the child, but toward the so-called burglars. The traps, which in the original worked as a defense element, in the new version are perceived as excessively cruel violence.
Cultural phenomenon
The film had a significant impact on pop culture: quotes and scenes from it became legendary, and the house where Kevin's adventures take place became a popular tourist attraction in Illinois. For 35 years, "Home Alone" remains a mandatory attribute of Christmas holidays for millions of families worldwide.
