A Christmas Carol

Rating:
Summary: Santa delivers George C. Scott in a magnificant production
Review: The given wisdom is that Sim's 1951 version of Scrooge is the definitive.

Now isn't it time for you to decide for yourself?

This version was made in 1984 at the height of the greed-driven 80's where everyone thought the most important thing to be was a Wall Street power broker selling junk bonds and Reagan's economic policies gave us the start of the homeless problem which persists today. Considering Scrooge was a money lender, it's hard not to have a bit of poignancy of the issues of charity and kindness to others seep through the production. Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol", like all his works, as a social commentary - so it's not surprising to see real touches of political commentary in the drama.

As originally written, the tragedy of Ebenezer is that he was highly successful, highly powerful, and highly intelligent and yet cut-off from his fellow man. George C. Scott infuses a deep intelligence in Ebenezer that Dickens intended. The subtle humor of this version, often relayed in the form of sarcasm, gives a richer characterization (not recognizing Tiny Tim, who is waiting for his father to finish work, Scrooge tells the cripple: "Don't beg on this corner, boy").

The script is spectacular. It is highly faithful to the spirit of the original Dickens. Even added dialogue regarding the use of coal in the office highlights the interaction between Scrooge and Cratchit and characterizes Scrooge, including his intimidating use of logic, immediately. If you hadn't read the original, you wouldn't even know it was added to the story.

Besides, no one but Scott could deliver the line "Misterrrrrrrrr Cratchit!" so powerfully.

Give yourself a real Christmas treat and see what one of the best American actors of the last century can do with such a familiar tale.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: This is one of the most classic good Christmas movies ever i recommend it

Rating:
Summary: The BEST of the BEST!!!!!!!!!
Review: It would be an understatement to say that there have been many filmed versions of "A Christmas Carol." They run the gamut from somewhat scary to lighthearted, from straight drama to musical, and everything in between.

Myself, I tend to dislike the musical versions and prefer the story to be straight drama, with a touch of scariness. As such, this version is my favorite. While it is not a completely faithful adaptation of the book, it is true to the spirit of the book and to Dickens's firm sense of social justice.

George C. Scott as Scrooge is one of those rare examples of absolutely perfect casting. With his jowly, scowly face and gravelly voice, he is completely believable as the miserly, miserable Scrooge, yet at the same time, he shows the humanity that is buried beneath, especially when the Ghost of Christmas Past is showing him the path he took that led to his lonely, bitter existence.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is a harsher, more judgemental spirit. As played by Edward Woodward, he laughs a lot, but at the same time is oddly humorless. There are times when he is actually rather frightening, which of course sets the stage for the terrifying Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

The supporting cast is extremely good (save for maybe Susannah York as Mrs. Cratchit), and the production values are much higher than one would expect from a TV movie. In fact, one could easily mistake it for a theatrical release; I was surprised to learn that it wasn't.

Rating:
Summary: The Wrong Scrooge
Review: I believe I've seen just about every version of Dickens classic, from Sim to McGoo; and I too looked forward to seeing George C. Scott play Scrooge. Frankly, I was surprised that Scott could have so completely missed the core of the Scrooge character; I'm also baffled that anyone would think his version was the closest to the character in the book.

Scott's Scrooge was certainly different from all the rest. He presented a Scrooge who delighted in his own bad temper, who beamed and laughed as he called Christmas a humbug and laughed out loud as he condemned well-wishers to be boiled in their Christmas pudding. Different, but incomprehensibly wrong.

The whole point of Scrooge is that he is a person who delights in nothing, finds humor in nothing, and certainly never laughs at anything. He tells the three gentlemen that he doesn't make himself merry at Christmas, and he will not make others merry. His personality?...well, no one, certainly not I, can put it better than Dickens:

Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire, secret and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice... He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog days, and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.

This is in sixth paragraph! and there are further icy cold descriptions elsewhere.

It's impossible to reconcile Scott's laughing Scrooge with Dickens' creation of a man who never made himself merry, and whose icy core froze his features. No, Dickens' portrait is of a man whose greed and avarice have squeezed out any humor, any delight, and all joy from him--to the point that he mistakes his own misery for satisfaction, and his own souless existence for success.

Even his sunny nephew sees that his uncle finds not one flicker of happiness in anything. When Scrooge tells him:

"...What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough?

"Come then," returned the nephew gaily. What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough."

Dismal? Morose? The cold within him froze his features? The whole point of the book is that bonding with others, finding sympathy and caring about those around him, melts Scrooge's frozen soul. In Scott's portrayal all we can say about Scrooge is merely that he finds joy in the wrong things.

Other versions--any of the other versions, including Mr. McGoo's--is far better. I can't imagine a worse "Christmas Carol."

Rating:
Summary: Definitive Scrooge
Review: Absolutely the very best production of A Christmas Carol ever put on film. I'm watching it as I write this. George C. Scott's Scrooge is cold, distant, aloof and uncaring in the beginning. By the end, his eyes wet with tears, he is vulnerable, warm and ready to embrace all of life. This was, as I remember, a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. That says it all. It's beautifully filmed and directed. The supporting cast is stellar. David Warner, Susannah York, Frank Finlay, Roger Rees, Edward Woodward and on and on. And the music is unforgettable. If you need a good dose of Christmas spirit see this one!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best versions of a Christmas Carol
Review: I have seen many versions of Charles Dickens Christmas Carol from Alster Simms to Mr. Magoo. George C Scott portrays the perfect Scrooge. The sets are old world and the ghost have a spooky edge to them. I recommend this version if your want a Scrooge movie that is as close to the story and not a musical


Rating:
Summary: A Christmas Great!!!
Review: George C. Scott is brilliant as Scrooge and masterfully plays the miserly old man turned good by the Ghosts of Christmas. A good cast and extremely decent acting make this Christmas Carol a Christmas must!!!