All Rise...

Judge Dawn Hunt is looking for a disc with the real sights and sounds of Christmas...families fighting and shoppers cursing.

Editor's Note

Our reviews of The Sights And Sounds Of Christmas: Classic Holiday Sing-Along (published December 11th, 2008) and The Sights And Sounds Of Christmas: The Complete Collection (published December 3rd, 2008) are also available.

The Charge

The Sights and Sounds of Christmas is the video version of a holiday newsletter you might get from a distant relative, filled with pictures of people you don't know doing things you don't care about. But at least with this disc you can skip to the parts you like.

The Case

This disc contains 22 songs which are presented with accompanying video. In most cases this is merely a pan of still photos. Occasionally, there's video of rotating snow globes, kids playing in the snow or other Christmas scenes. By no means can I imagine anyone sitting to watch this more than once, unless they're in the photographs shown.

This is a product of the 1980s and it shows. It's standard definition and Dolby Digital 2.0 in a 1.33 aspect ratio that will by no means stretch any system you own. But for background noise and something you'll occasionally glimpse at, it works.

The special features include about half a dozen holiday shorts. Nifty, if only because I equate the holiday season in part with nostalgia. These fit the bill, if still a little hokey.

The Sights and Sounds of Christmas is perfect to put on when you want Christmas music in the background—baking cookies, wrapping presents, or decorating a tree.

The Verdict

I'm already on Santa's naughty list, so I'd be crazy to say anything other than Not Guilty.

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