Rating: Summary: Thank You Very Much! Review: Scrooge starring Albert Finney is good, he certainly gave one of the most passionate portrayals of Scrooge, had a lot of emotional depth!! I like the fact that it's a musical version, The music is great and reminds me of Oliver, I especially like the song Thank You Very Much! Albert Finney was great as Scrooge but I also liked David Collings who played Bob Cratchit and Richard Beaumont who played Tiny Tim, some reviewers have complained that his voice was too squeaky and annyoing but I thought his voice was fine, he had a cute sounding voice! I highly recommend this video, but I don't understand why it's not available on DVD!
Rating: Summary: Spend a little time in an ideal Christmas setting Review: OK, so it's not a holiday masterpiece. Some viewers might find the concept of Dickens set to music to be a little too much, but having said that, I really do love this version of "A Christmas Carol." I think the characters are perfectly cast. Albert Finney masters the miser role, down to his scraggly hair and dirt-encrusted fingernails. Sir Alec Guinness is perfect as the foreboding Jacob Marley (pay special attention to the "flight" he takes Scrooge on). Design-wise, it's one of the most visually satisfying versions made. The diehard Christmas fan will delight in the sets, which are absolutely perfect in their depiction of the "Dickens Christmas" ideal (ie, the quaint English storefronts, gaslit streets). NOTE: If you like this movie and are in the New York City area around the holidays, I HIGHLY recommend Madison Square Garden Theater's "A Christmas Carol" production. Overall, it's one of the best versions out there. If musicals make you ill, you might consider avoiding this one. But if you are a hopeless Christmas romantic, value the spirit of a movie over how true it is to the original work, and want to spend some time in that Dickens' storybook Christmas world, I highly recommend this. I've watched it faithfully every year now for 16 years.
Rating: Summary: 75% Delightful Review: Though some liberties are taken with Dickens' text, and certainly the depiction of London in the era is a picturesque valentine far removed from reality, Christmas magic forgives these liberties. Albert Finney, in a depiction that is a bit over the top, caricatures the character of Scrooge, yet his characterisation is surprisingly effective. Of course, no one on earth has the merriment of Bob Cratchitt and family, or the children and co-workers Scrooge's exploration of past and present shows, but the production is great fun. The musical score would win no awards, but is suited to the settings - this film is far more visual in its impact. It is a delightful film (until near the end) for those who are willing to suspend serious treatment of Dickens' work and spend a few hours with the sort of idealised dreams that appeal to the child at heart. Unfortunately, in the latter part of the film, the action departs much too drastically from the Dickens original to be fun. The entire sequence where Scrooge sees his future in hell, in no way adapted from the original, is trying and silly. As well, though admittedly seeing the marvellous Victorian toys is a treat, Scrooge's becoming "Father Christmas" in the end, and buying out a toy shop to indulge in ostentatious giving, seems far too shocked with consumerism to have any genuine message. Rather than being a newly benevolent soul who cares for the Cratchitt family, Scrooge is reduced to an impulsive spendthrift. Somehow, this seems as callous as Scrooge's original character - he is still blind to the reality of the poverty surrounding him, and thinks it will be alleviated by a day of extravagant presents! Overall, it is a fun film - provided one can ignore the ending's deficiencies and have other tapes on one's shelf (the Alistair Sim version, for example) that are truer to Dickens' text.
Rating: Summary: What a sad, sad story... Review: There you are, minding your own business, getting rich on the fools of the world, when all these ghosts come and start pestering you about being good. They show you all these sad things, so that in the end you give all your money away and cancel all debts! Poor man. The scene they don't show you is when he dies in the poor house, from the flu! Whenever I see this film my greed is renewed and I feel the need to own an apartment building so I can kick everybody out. Seriously, I love the music, the sets have a great gritty feel to them and the cast is wonderful. MIGHT scare little kids, but I think most can handle it.
Rating: Summary: Simply one of the best versions of a classic tale Review: I don't believe that when Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, he expected it to become the classic it has become. Dozens of variations of this story have been told and re-told over the years, but this version is quite simply the best live-action version out there. Filled with a wonderful cast, catchy songs, and great sets, Scrooge has been a Christmas tradition of mine for as long as I can remember. I was upset when I found out last year that 20th Century Fox put this film on moritorium. Thank you, Paramount, for getting the rights and putting this wonderous production right back into print so that I, and everybody else can enjoy it all over again!
Rating: Summary: Scrooge - the Musical Review: We have grown to love this version of Scrooge. My wife and I are involved in drama and will be preparing a different version for the stage. If anyone knows how we can get the rights to the Albert Finney production, we would love to hear from you. The music reminds us of the music in OLIVER. It has the same energy, especially in the choreographed numbers.
Rating: Summary: Scrooge -- A holiday classic Review: I grew up watching the classic 1951 Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol, and at first I didn't like Scrooge, the Albert Finney musical version. After repeated watchings, however, it has grown on me and I have come to really love it. In its own way it is very true to the spirit of Dickens' tale. This past Christmas season it wasn't on TV and we couldn't find our tape, and I really started getting upset. Is Scrooge "great cinema"? It doesn't have to be and it doesn't try to be. It is perfect just the way it is. It is a holiday classic your family can watch every year, like The Wizzard of Oz, the Peanuts movies and It's a Wonderful Life.
Rating: Summary: a delight for any season Review: truly a wonderful telling of the charles dickens classic. albert finney is perfect as old ebenezer scrooge, and sir alec guiness (obi wan kenobi of "star wars" fame) gives a "spirited" performance as the ghost of jacob marley. the songs are wonderful, too, making this an all-around magical holiday treat. however, i do feel that the G rating is a little misleading. even though this is a very enjoyable film for the entire family, i feel that parents should be warned that there are a few scenes that may frighten small children. for example, as scrooge is walking up the stairway to his bedroom a ghostly carriage comes flying through the air at him. the whole scene with the spirit of jacob and scrooge is chilling, especially when jacob takes scrooge for a flight through a ghost-filled night sky. another scene that may frighten members of the younger audience is when the ghost of christmas future (a grim reaper-type character)shows scrooge his own gravestone and then pushes him down a large hole that leads to hell. then there is the actual scene set in hell (which was edited out for the TV version). don't get me wrong. over all this a wholesome and very enjoyable film and one that should not be missed. i think that parents and children alike will find it to be high quality family entertainment. in my opinion it is by far one of the best screen adaptions of charles dickins' "a christmas carol", surpassed only by disney's "mickey's christmas carol".
Rating: Summary: This is my family's favorite Christmas movie! Review: My family and I have been watching this version of Dickens' Christmas Carol for years! We love the songs and have most of them memorized. We look forward to watching it together every Christmas Eve and would find it strange if we didn't get the chance to. It is very enjoyable! Everyone should own this!
Rating: Summary: Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! Review: A true Christmas tradition, and an absolutely delightful score. An adaptation that would make Charles Dickens smile. The songs will instantly become Christmas favorites. (I wish they were available as a soundtrack). Order and enjoy, for many a Christmas to come.
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