Robert Eggers Says ‘Home Alone’ is a “Masterpiece”

“Home Alone” has become one of the essential Christmas movies. Every holiday season, the film tops the streaming charts and it’s still #1 on Disney+ as we speak.

The long shelf life is quite something for a film that, although a massive box office hit at the time, was dissed by many critics, including Roger Ebert who called it “implausible” and unlikable.

With that said, Ebert’s take did not age well. Neither was his claim that “Home Alone 3” was the best film of the franchise. Filmmaker Robert Eggers (“Nosferatu”) would disagree. It turns out that he's a “Home Alone” fan. He doesn’t just like the film, but also believes it to be a “masterpiece.”

“I watch this once a year [..] I also think that this is a masterpiece. It’s a timeless movie. It is impeccably photographed. Unlike many movies in this kind of genre, it’s not overshot. It’s a really well-crafted film.”

Eggers goes on to call “Home Alone” director Chris Columbus “one of the masters of orthodox Hollywood storytelling.” I guess that’s one way to compliment him.  Columbus was the director critics loved to hate in the ‘90s and early 2000s. He directed a bunch of highly successful films, including “Home Alone,” “Home Alone 2,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Stepmom.”

It should be noted that Columbus has been a mentor to Eggers ever since “The Witch.” It's a highly unusual team-up and Eggers will be the first to admit it.

“It seems weird, I know it, but he is incredible and he was the main creative producer on “Nosferatu,” Eggers says.

Despite the inherent bias in Eggers’ comments, I do believe his claim to be genuine — “Home Alone” can certainly now be seen a “masterpiece.” It’s an endlessly rewatchable film, and yes, does go back to a time when original stories could not only be greenlit in Hollywood, but end up making almost $300M domestically (and that’s in 1990 money).