User reviews

It must have been around 1982 when I saw this film on British TV. My recollections are therefore dim of the detail but it moved me very much. A Christmas setting with sad but also happy moments, it shapes a family's trials at a time of year that is sadly not always the happiest for many people.

But do not be put off watching; this is a very good film and makes you think about what happens in families, and what can be made to happen.

Every year I look through the TV listings hoping it will be re-shown. For two years I have been e-mailing the BBC begging them to screen it again. Every month I check the video listings to see if I can buy it. I hope it will come round again.

Shortly after I wrote this several years ago, I managed to get a copy via Marta. Thank you Marta. She now says it's available on DVD via Warner Archive.

This TV movie represents a very special time, and no, I do not mean Christmas. Yes it is one of the best Christmas movies. However, the film is most valuable as an artifact of all the good aspects of the very liberal 1970s.

One of the other commentators - who is obviously a conservative Republican - commented on Ed Asner's politics, but suggests that the movie, and Asner's work in it, rises above such things. I would argue otherwise. I can see why the very liberal, socially conscious Asner was attracted to this vehicle. It reflects the very pure values of love, forgiveness and generosity that were distilled by the end of the late-seventies.

By 1977 we in North America were feeling - at every level - the full effects of social changes created by the civil rights movement, the feminist revolution, hippie culture and (primarily, but not only for, Catholics) Vatican II. There was a sense of practical responsibility, justice and morality pervading every aspect of life, even, or particularly, pop culture (movies, television, etc).

Everything about The Gathering references this fact, from the pig-headed dad and husband desperate to make amends to his family, to the issues raised by the presence of the draft-dodger son. Family is everything, love is all that matters, and these things will not be brought down by politics or minor conflict. And to wrap up all this sincere warm-and-fuzzy feeling is the very powerful message that, while one must accept change (as drastic and dizzying as it may be) one need not trash the past and tradition.

Edward Asner and Maureen Stapleton, are at the top of their form in this small, made-for-TV movie from 1977. The supporting cast are all familiar faces and flesh out the story perfectly.

This film won an Emmy for best special in drama or comedy at the '78 Emmy Awards. The movie has almost a documentary feel to it. The film never sinks under a weight of sentimentality but the emotions are there, just under the surface. You get the feeling that here is a man who loved his family but always thought there would be time to enjoy them, but learns he has weeks to live and this will be his last Christmas.

Desperate to try to rekindle some feelings of love with his four adult children, he turns to his estranged wife and together they try to organize a Christmas reunion but without letting them know their father has a fatal illness.

The children all busy with their own lives in other cities and in one case, another country, struggle with their own emotions about coming back home. This is one of my all time favorite Holiday offerings and my VHS copy is from a broadcast from the 1980's, but the quality is holding up pretty well for all this time. If you can find a copy or see it listed for broadcast, be sure to not miss it.

The Gathering used to be an annual holiday tradition on TV, but I haven't seen it in 20 years. It's a poignant story of forgiveness and shows that for many families, Christmas is not a Norman Rockwell painting. Ed Asner's "Adam" is dying of cancer and wants to make amends with his ex-wife and estranged adult children. Of course, there's the tearful happy ending, but the characters go through a lot of emotional strife to get there.

The Gathering is doubly special for me, since it was shot in Chagrin Falls and Solon, Ohio, my old stomping grounds. When I first moved to Texas and had to spend holidays away from home, seeing this movie with its familiar scenery made me feel less alone.

With all the crappy, sappy Christmas movies out there, it's a shame this holiday gem isn't shown regularly anymore and isn't available on DVD. Judging from all the other comments, I'm not alone.

Sentimental but not sugary-sweet, "The Gathering" is a wonderful holiday treat. Ed Asner is perfect as the businessman who lost his way and his family four years earlier to his career. When he finds out he's dying, he tries to reconcile himself to his four grown children and his estranged wife. She helps him plan the gathering of the family, and in the process they tentatively get to know each other again.

Maureen Stapleton so completely lives her role that you wonder if she's been through something like this before in her own life. She is a revelation, and is the rock-hard center the film anchors itself with. Without her it would be half a film. Lawrence Pressman, Gail Strickland, Rebecca Balding and Gregory Harrison are the children who bring their spouses to the ancestral home to celebrate Christmas. They are all capable actors and actresses, and enhance the production immeasurably. The sets are perfect, the music superb, and the snowfall even arrives on time. It doesn't miss a trick, but you don't realize that while you're watching it. Honest emotions and genuine sentiment, along with a great script, make this a holiday film you won't want to miss.

It's available on DVD through Warner Archive as of 2011, which is great news; however, an audio commentary would have been even better news but the Archive doesn't do extras. "The Gathering" is a classic and is now readily available for everyone to enjoy at Christmas.

I've always been a big fan of Christmas and Christmas movies, but this television offering has to be my all time favorite. I still try to watch it every year on either my (fading) VHS copy or, most recently, on the Hallmark channel. Ed Asner is absolutely perfect as the estranged husband and father hoping for a last minute Christmas reunion with his grown children before he succumbs to an un-named disease. Maureen Stapleton matches him scene for scene as his wife. The children are all excellent as well, particularly Lawrence Pressman as the stubborn eldest son and Gail Strickland (one of Hollywood's most underrated character actresses) as his eldest daughter. Bruce Davison is also very good as Asner's put-upon son-in-law. The sequel is inferior (with two unfortunate cast replacements for the children) and Asner's presence in the second film is sorely missed but worthy of a look if you are a fan of this one. Don't miss the Gathering. It'll make you long for an old-fashioned Christmas reunion--your own gathering, whether you're dying or not.

When I first saw this movie, I cried. It is such a wonderful movie, and hit home with me and the situation with my family at the time. I knew I had to own a copy of it. But for years, I'd search the TV Guide hoping it would come back on TV,and I could tape it, but no such luck. Until a couple of years ago, TNN aired it, along with The Gathering, Part II, and I got it on tape - but with commercial interruptions!! I would dearly love to have this movie on DVD or VHS tape, as it has now become a tradition to watch it every year.

This is one of my annual holiday favorites. We have several movies we watch every year during the holidays and this one has been a regular on the list since we got our first copy. We are now on our third. I remember watching it the year it first aired and tried to catch it each year there after. When the holidays are upon us, we set aside an evening to watch this with the family or sometimes I have watched just by myself. Even after watching so many times, it still stirs my holiday spirit and reminds me of family and friends far away. Even knowing the story so well does not keep a few eyes from growing moist. It helps remind me of many a Christmas when I was a kid. Some of us may never grow up. This movie is for the sentimentalist hiding in all of us.

This movie used to be a Christmas staple each year to the point where you never worried about it coming on. Now, it hasn't been on in nearly a decade as I write this in early December of 2000. It's sadly missed. If you get a chance to see this, don't miss it. Tape it, Tivo it, do whatever you have to in order to catch it. The acting is fantastic, the story genuine and the feeling just perfectly balanced across all spectrums.

It was interesting to read the production credits of The Gathering, an extremely well-acted drama, and see the following title - Executive Producer: Joseph Barbera. When Barbera died in 2006, it was a shame that the obits never mentioned his Emmy win for this critically acclaimed TV movie. Barbera, with business partner William Hanna, produced numerous TV cartoon shows and the Tom & Jerry shorts. The Gathering was Hanna-Barbera's few non-animated projects and this Emmy-award winning drama hit the ball right out of the park with its unsentimental view of one family celebrating Christmas for a final time with their long-lost father.

Strong performances by a great ensemble cast including Edward Asner and Maureen Stapleton as the parents, an observant script by James Poe (who co-adapted Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and won an Oscar co-adapting Around the World in Eighty Days) and well-directed by Randal Kleiser (who would direct the movie Grease a year later) made The Gathering one of the better TV-movies from the 1970s.

Update: May 13, 2011

Warner Brothers Archive Collection released The Gathering on DVD in 2009.

I was wondering if someone has this movie on VHS? I have been trying to find this movie for several years now. I loved this movie. It was actually filmed in my hometown of Chagin Falls, Ohio. The house that was used for the movie was filmed at a home in Hudson, Ohio. I was in the movie when I was 14. It was at the beginning where they showed the choir singing in town. At the time this movie came out on TV, we didn't tape it. Now that I have kids of my own, I wanted to show them this movie. Its hard to try to explain to them what this movie was about. I am hoping someone could help me out, by making me a copy and I would pay for the tape and the expense of mailing it to me. This movie really shows you what it means to have your family near you at Christmas and everyday. I would appreciate it if there is some kind sole out there that can help me. I really want my two boys to see it. Please let me know if someone out there can help me. My email address is: susan922586@yahoo.com

I love the cast of The Gathering. Very few were or became stars (Maureen Stapleton won an Oscar and got an Emmy nod for THIS). But they all did a bit of something, not the least of which, of course, was Asner. And they were all just really awesome in this movie.

Plus the music was written by a 5 Time Oscar WINNER (John Barry). And that really works exceptionally well too. It was directed by the dude who directed Grease, a huge musical when I was 10 that we all loved. So there's a lot of talent involved in this movie.

I think they hit a home run. It's definitely "made for TV" quality. But that suits the subject matter and I think, far from detracting from it, adds a lot. A homey feel. No overblown aspects. No playing to the masses. A+. 10. Seriously. Love this so much.

Along with "All Mine to Give", this is the other film my wife and view each Christmas Eve, and although I disagree in a small way with some of the commentators who precede me, if you can catch this one at Christmas time, watch and tape it--This is a film you should suspend your disbelief, and immerse your self in the story--There are few examples of great acting, except, I hasten to add, that of Maureen Stapleton--Her character has the goodness of "Miss Mellie" in GWTW, but has an era appropriate anger--The writing is equal to the acting, so maybe the actors are doing the best they can with the material given, and if viewing critically, one might think a few more rewrites wouldn't be amiss--But as I stated above, don't view it critically-(after 10+ viewings, some critique does creep in)--This notwithstanding, when viewed as a whole, especially with John Barry's evocative score throughout(I have been unable to track down a copy of the soundtrack},it's a moving tribute to the type of family Christmas some may have had, and all wish they had, but nevertheless evoke nostalgia for Christmas past--The impending death leitmotif, although essential, is not a "downing" factor--One is left with a pleasant melancholy, and an appreciation for one's family, however they define it--Merry Christmas, Everyone--

Excellent movie dealing with the struggle to make right the wounds we give to those we love the most. Shows a father's desire to renew his relationship with is wife and children that has suffered because of his stubbornness.

I would love to own this movie if I could find a copy in excellent condition.

I would love to see this movie be released on DVD. I thought it was a very touching movie about family and forgiveness. It really goes with the theme...Life is too short. Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton are the parents of a large family that have grown apart from their father after he separates from their mother. The father is diagnosed with cancer and doesn't have long to live. He comes home and his wife "gathers" the family together for one last Christmas. She doesn't tell the children what the real reason is as to why they would like the family together. The oldest son figures it out. It is a tear jerker of a movie.

Highly recommend this movie.

There's something very special about this movie due to its themes of family, forgiveness, and facing one's mortality over the Christmas holiday. While the story carries these heavy and depressing themes, it is visually beautiful, filled with the sights and activities of a traditional Midwest Christmas, and its moving score by John Barry sets the perfect mood. The story begins shortly before Christmas when the stubborn and often abrasive Adam Thornton, played with perfection by Ed Asner, unexpectedly learns from his long-time doctor and friend that he has mere months to live. While Adam is a successful, self-made business man, he is estranged from his wife and four adult children. But with the eventual help of wife Kate, played by the wonderful Maureen Stapleton, a special family Christmas gathering is planned by her so Adam can hopefully repair the damaged relationships with his children. But can he do so without telling them his bad news? He is determined to do so, in hopes that reconciliation with each of them is genuine rather than done out of pity. Each of his children have resentments or issues that will get in the way. The entire cast is excellent in this unique Christmas movie and are compelling in their roles.

The Thornton family's Christmas, despite all of its dysfunction and drama, is not something I want to miss as I make my own preparations for the holiday so I find myself watching it every December. It's that special of a Christmas movie.

The Gathering is one of my favorite Christmas movies, and each year I watch the same rough VHS that I taped from the television broadcast when it first appeared back in the 70's. My VHS copy comes complete with all the commercials from the broadcast...a real treat to see what was advertised back then. I would very much like to obtain a clean version of this movie, and am wondering if anyone knows a source for a DVD or VHS copy? I too consider this to be a real Christmas classic, and wish that it were re-released and re-broadcast. I look each year to see if it will be broadcast, but it has not been in years.

I have also searched my library and bookstores for a printed version of the Rudyard Kipling poem that Ed Asner's character recites in the movie. I can quote it by heart, but would love to find it in print. The title is "Christmas in the Workhouse". If anyone can direct me to a publication containing this poem, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks

I have seen this many times over the years and watch it every year without ever tiring of it. The story is so believable and the acting is just tremendous, the actors do a great job of showing the complicated relationships and the dialogue is fantastic. I love that the outdoor scenes are really filmed outside in the cold and snow, it just adds so much to the movie. I owned the VHS tape of it and now own the DVD, it's a tradition to watch it at least once every Christmas season.

This is a yearly Christmas movie Tradition in our home. Our family gathers together to watch another family and how they work on gathering together. One of the only live action films by Hanna-Barbera it's a Gem and a must see. I was so grateful the year it came out on DVD and now I also own the digital copy through amazon. It's that treasured in this household. It was filmed in the 70's when I grew up, and the generation is well preserved bringing back fond memories of Christmas past. That alone grabs at my heart strings from fond memories of loved ones who are no longer here. I don't want to give anything away about this movie, if you can, take a blind leap of faith and give this movie, with it's amazing cast a try, I can't see how anyone could be disappointed. I hope you find as much joy and love in it as our family does and it finds a place in your heart and in your home for years to come. Merry Christmas & God Bless.

This movie brought me to tears as a child and I still get misty-eyed 40 years later. This is my all-time favorite film. When I met Ed Asner a few years ago, I thanked him for his charity work and for this heart-warming film. I think it took for surprise.

Great Movie, would like to purchase on DVD as soon as possible. I fine Ed Asner, John Pressman, Jean Stapletlon and the rest of the cast great actors it was a superb plot line. Great Acting is important to any movie and especially this time of year when all the actors/actress still living and/or acting need all the encouragement we can give them. I think this was a great file because it stressed the importance of family and forgiveness by one family member to another. It also showed the courage of a family to come together despite their differences and ideas and show kindness towards one another. Also, it showed their belief in God and Jesus Christ as their savior. Remember a family that prays and receives Baptism together tends to stay together.

Truly wonderful, understated Christmas story with a familiar and appealing cast. Best thing about this film is its genuine warmth and simplicity -- you keep waiting for the grandiose emotional moment of manipulation, but it never comes; instead it's just a series of small, nice, natural scenes as the family comes together and remembers the pleasure of each other's company. The score is also memorable in its pleasant simplicity.

We watched this every year in my home growing up, and I was frustrated when it migrated to syndication and was edited for more commercial time before disappearing entirely. I see many comments on this site lamenting the film's absence on DVD, but I just did a search and came up with this new release for 2007: http://kultklassics.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=942589 I just bought it and suggest you do, too! Merry Christmas!