The Gathering

One of the best holiday heart-tuggers
This is a lovely little made-for-TV film, with a good script, sound acting, and the enjoyment of watching familiar faces. Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton head a cast that includes Lawrence Pressman, Veronica Hamel, Gregory Harrison, Stephanie Zimbalist, Gail Strickland, Edward Winter, and more. Yes, the "dying man making amends" plot seems a little weepy, but this family interacts in a way that reminds us how real families are: lots of ruffled feathers that are ignored when the chips are down. My husband and I have a rare VHS copy of this gem, and watch it every holiday season with a fresh box of tissues nearby.

With all the trash available on DVD these days, it's a shame that this film isn't similarly formatted for all to enjoy. In a nation supposedly concerned with "moral values," people are snapping up far lesser efforts. If you can find this one, it will become a part of you.

christmas drama
The Gathering is an excellent drama set during the Xmas season in a New England town; The family patriarch Adam Thornton, portrayed by Ed Asner, learns that "he's run out of time", and with his death looming shortly, he enlists the aid of his estranged wife, Kate, played by Maureen Stapleton, to have a traditional Christmas "gathering" of the estranged Thornton clan at the family home. The emotional subplots deal with the family's mixed feelings regarding their parents' separation and the potential fireworks which may occur, the reunion of the clan and the many fences Adam needs to mend before he dies- without telling the family of his illness. It does sound a little moribund and yet...the teleplay by James Poe brings the warmth of the holiday season to the fore, as each family member finds love and healing. The production won an Emmy award for outstanding drama and should have received more for the excellent performances by Asner and Stapleton.
This film has become a holiday...

Superb Christmas Drama Highlighting One Family's Forgiveness And Compassion
I first became acquainted with this highly moving 1977 Christmas Television movie during one Christmas season in the mid 1980's when it was shown late on Christmas Eve. I immediately fell in love with its simple story filled with much identifiable human drama, great characters and first rate performances by all cast members. Christmas is often a time of reflection and efforts by families to come together despite their conflicts and differences during the past year and the storyline of "The Gathering", uses these very issues to perfection in its beautifully thought out screenplay. "The Gathering", centres its story around one man's recently diagnosed terminal illness which makes him reflect on his wasted life where ambition and the obsession to succeed in big business has cost him not only his wife, his children and his home, but also his inner sense of self worth. Ed Asner still best remembered for his role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", here takes on a very different kind of role as...

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