Best gifts for movie lovers this Christmas

This legitimately excellent piece of cine-cartolography pinpoints all the key locations in British telly and movie lore. Keen to pilgrimage to the Colin Firth lake in ‘Pride and Prejudice’? Looking for some of the spots where Poldark took his shirt off in Cornwall? Look no further. There are even a few that don’t involve topless blokes.

£14.99. Buy here.

Fans of Peter Biskind’s gossipy, seminal tome on ‘70s Hollywood, ‘Easy Riders, Raging Bulls’, will definitely dig this new deep dive into the making of ‘Chinatown’. With prime-time Jack Nicholson front and centre, juicy tales are guaranteed. It tackles Roman Polanski’s return to Hollywood after the death of Sharon Tate, so expect pathos and controversy too. 

£17.65. Buy here.

This enormous wizarding thoroughfare is probably one for families with several Harry Potter-loving sprogs (put it this way: it might help if your surname is ‘Dursley’). It features Harry’s favourite Diagon Alley emporium, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and a tonne of Potterish details. And we think that if you knock on the box three times, it assembles itself.

£369.99. Buy here.

The King’s Cross-set masterpiece of macabre wit that is ‘The Ladykillers’ celebrates its 65th birthday with a 4K restoration special edition brimming with extras. It’ll make the perfect pressie for the classic film lover (or little old lady) in your life.

£39.99. Buy here.

British musician, ambient pioneer and Roxy Music stalwart Brian Eno may not have the profile in movie circles of a John Barry or Ennio Morricone, but this first-ever compilation of his film and telly compositions is proof that he probably ought to. It features music from ‘Heat’, ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘Top Boy’ and comes in a funky LP sleeve. Easily wrappable, too.

£25.99. Buy here.

Forget Trivia Pursuits, this is the after-dinner game to whip after all a substantial meal this Christmas – although it definitely helps to be one of those people who keeps IMDb bookmarked and can readily summon up film facts at short notice. There’s several ways to play – one of them a fun skew on Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon – and with them plenty of opportunities to outsmart your bubble mates.

£16.99. Buy here.

If you know someone with a burning passion for world cinema, arthouse gems and lesser-known classics of the film canon, why not gift them a Mubi subscription this Christmas? The films are perfectly curated to ensure a mix of new discoveries (unless they have a Pauline Kael-like knowledge) and seasons of rewatchable classics. David Fincher rubbing shoulders with Chantal Akerman, in other words.

£29.99 for three months or £69.99 for a year. Buy here.

The good people at Last Exit to Nowhere know that you love ‘Cobra Kai’ and have come up with a new t-shirt to help you celebrate that love. And why wouldn’t you? The Netflix show is a glorious hit of self-aware nostalgia that picks up 26 years after ‘The Karate Kid’ and probably about 24 years after you wore out your ‘Karate Kid’ tee. Comes in four colours, all of them black.

£20. Buy here.

These two tree adornments have travelled across the galaxy to spruce up your Christmas pine. The Mandalorian’s helmet and Baby Yoda – okay, ‘The Child’ – will need to be dangled in close proximity to one another. These two are inseparable.

£12.99 each. Buy here.

If you got a D in GCSE chemistry, do not fear: it’s the periodic table, except with movies not fiddly elements. The perfect brain teaser for that bare patch of kitchen wall, it’s a tribute to London movies handcrafted by one-man-band On A Sixpence and is bound to keep you (or a friend) busy for ages figuring out the clues (‘lA, Curtis, 2003’ anyone?). It comes unframed.

£60. Buy here.

In this Covid-blighted year, a cinema membership card has become an almost sacred item: an easy way to support your local London moviehouse through these difficult days and reap the benefits of extended access to discounted tickets and snacks when the movies do return in earnest in 2021. A perfect gift, in other words, for the dedicated moviegoer in your life. 

All the best London cinema membership schemes compared.

Love symmetrical buildings, gloriously quirky vistas and generally taking a sideways look at the world around – or know someone who does? Stick this marvellous coffee-table topper on Santa’s list this year. It’s a luxe-looking, witty book of travel photography that has a twist of ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ and a hint of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’.

£25. Buy here.

Christopher Nolan, the reserved ringmaster of thinky blockbusters, makes a seriously worthy subject of this new volume from film writer Tom Shone. It promises to get under the skin and dig into the cinematic DNA of this cinematic one-off, unpicking the mysteries of films like ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Inception’ and ‘The Prestige’. Why not implant it in a loved one’s brain this Christmas?

£27.90. Buy here.

Give the gift of eclectic, electric cinema this year with a 12-month subscription to the BFI’s cinephile-satisfying answer to Netflix. There’s 300 films to peruse, including classics and deep cuts from filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Yasujirō Ozu and Lucrecia Martel. It’ll be the best £50 they’ve ever had spent on them. 

£49.90. Buy here.

If you know someone who didn’t catch HBO’s timely reinvention of Alan Moore’s graphic novel for the BLM era, put it right by popping a Blu-ray copy of season one in their stocking this year. It’s nine episodes of super-smart sci-fi set in an alternative American that should appeal to fans of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, ‘I May Destroy You’ and ‘The Boys’ alike.

£19.99. Buy here.

It’s always handy to have postcards around the place for those impromptu notes, handy home decor or in this case, to send an intimidating note to a Disney princess. The 100 posties inside offer an array of Disney nasties, from Scar and Ursula to Maleficent and Gallic gym bunny Gaston. A perfect stocking filler, or great for framing and give the gift of villainy this Christmas. Hey, it’s good to be bad.

£19.99. Buy here.