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A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: RECOMMENDED IF YOU'RE NOSTALGIC FOR THE 80s
Review: This adaptation can be seen now as purely a product of its era: the Materialistic Reagan Eighties. Critics at the time (mostly the TV sort) did handstands over this one, some even saying it was better than any other version.
I WILL come out and say the one good thing about this film is that it sent me back to reading the original book (I'd endured two adaptations that year--this, and the first Muppet version, from '92 with Michael Caine). But the script for this one simply PRETENDS to be a faithful adaptation: it's told primarily from Scrooge's perspective.....we're supposed to "bah" to his every "humbug" and vice versa. And Scott's performance is worthy of a Nicholson in "The Shining"--all high camp, with the star sparing no opportunity to chew the scenery and mug shamelessly at every close-up. Needless to say, the Great Scott's done better elsewhere. There's no real RANGE to this performance--even at the climactic meeting with the Ghost-Of-Christmas-Yet-To-Come, he seems unfazed. Scott's Scrooge doesn't seem to be a changed man in the end--I'm fully expecting him to FIRE Bob Cratchit Dec. 26!!
The lesson to be learned here? Ebenezer Scrooge isn't Wile E. Coyote.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: best made for tv movie ever.
Review: I really enjoy this version of a christams carol and have to say it's my favorite christmas movie along with "a christmas story". George C. Scott and the rest of the characters are perfect in their roles and the movie itself is outstanding. Another reason why i enjoyed this version so much is that the ghosts were much more haunting, dark and mysterious in this one, which is the way Dickens would have wanted them to be.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest Christmas Carol
Review: George C Scott IS Ebeneezer Scrooge. The music in this is great. This is my favorite version of this tale. In fact it's the only one to watch. Highly reccomended! Get this movie!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Memorable version, worth rewatching
Review: While I do not feel that this is the best version of "A Christmas Carol" (see my other reviews for that honor) it certainly ranks with the better ones. Scott is brilliant (if a little portly) as Scrooge, and the supporting cast is tremendous. The production values are first rate -- decidedly Victorian. This one bears rewatching every year quite well.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: move over, Alastair Sim
Review: Interestingly, when The Man George C. Scott was first approached about doing this remake of the Dickens Classic story, his response was, "Why do this...Alastiair Sim has already done the quintessential pereformance as Scrooge..." With all due respect for the fifties version of A Christmas Carol, this is the definitive rendition of the "odious, stingy, mean-hearted" Ebenezer Scrooge!
I get COLD just watching the opening scenes of nineteenth century London (!) Such lavish detail...and David Warner, one of the unsung actors of our time, gives a poignant performance as Scrooge's poor clerk. Excellent casting all around, and wonderful music that never gets intrusive or bombastic.
But it's George C. Scott who steals the show in this production. I can never get tired of watching those first moments in the office. If Scott's British accent is somewhat lacking, he more than makes up for it in his portrayal of the classic skinflint. The lines are almost verbatim from the novel in places...put it this way: I've often had this fantasy of bringing Charles Dickens back just long enough for us to have a pint or two while watching his reaction to this movie...it's a shame the nineteenth century authores of these classic stories could never have imagined what the medium of film would do for their works. Gauging by this titanic effort, they would have been very, very pleased.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Greatest Christmas Movie of All-Time.
Review: Of course everybody knows the famous Charles Dickens novel, "A Chritmas Carol" that's about an old rich, rude and lonely businessman that takes Christmas and everything for granted. Well out of all the Christmas Carol movies, this is the MASTERPIECE! This one captures the story the best. George C. Scott did an EXCELLENT job playing the evil Ebenezer Scrooge.

We all know about Ebenezer's old dead business partner Jacob Marley visiting him on Christmas Eve and warning him not to take life for granted and also telling him that he'll be visited by the three ghosts of Christmas: The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Future. We go back in time and visit Ebenezer's childhood at his boarding school. Then we visit the present Christmas where we see his poor employee, Bob Cratchett eating dinner with his family and also his nephew and his wife enjoying their Christmas. After that we see the Christmas Future which convinces Ebenezer to turn over a new leaf and become a good man after he sees his grave. Then he appreciated life a lot more and it a brand new man. "MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!"

This movie has the perfect cast, the perfect settings and the perfect emotional effects than any other movie about this novel. To me, it had a lot effect on my feelings towards Christmas. Whenever I needed to watch a good movie to get me going into the Christmas spirit I'd sit down and watch this. It takes only one viewing to do the job for me as it will for you. Merry Christmas everybody!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Version of a Christmas Carol
Review: We don't have a lot of Christmas traditions in my family, but one of them is that, every Christmas Eve, we watch this version of "A Christmas Carol". It has always been my favorite and should be a part of every Christmas movie collection.

George C. Scott plays Ebenezer Scrooge in this version, and he is absolutely fantastic. He plays the role of the miser to perfection, attaining just the right amount of nastiness without going overboard. Yet he also shows the tender side when necessary, particularly as it pertains to Tiny Tim. David Warner, one of my favorite actors nobody's ever heard of, plays Bob Cratchit and he, too, is excellent as Scrooge's kindhearted employee. The only other really notable actor is Roger Rees as Scrooge's nephew Fred, but pretty much all the actors in this movie are excellent, even if you don't recognize them.

The feel of the movie is also excellent. The sets make you feel very much like you're in 19th century London, while other things, like the costumes and street performers, really put you in the middle of that time. The music is also outstanding, and fits this movie perfectly.

Just writing this review makes me wish it were Christmas. And this movie will too. It's definitely a must have!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Christmas Movie Ever
Review: George C. Scott's CHRISTMAS CAROL is powerful, compelling drama. His Scrooge is actually frightening. All others are mere puff and froth. There is simply no comparison.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A beautifully rich visual presentation
Review: This version has THE BEST Ghost of Christmas Present- presented with the power and joy communicated in the novel. The character of Scrooge is well-captured, and the adaptation well-considered. The costumes and sets are wonderful; a romanticly rich Victorian-esque world. There are a couple of moments that could use polish (like the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come being a statue in the cemetery scene- what, did the actor quit at the last minute?), but overall a lovely adaptation, with a powerful Scrooge.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of The Best
Review: It may seem like a stretch at first -- General Patton as Scrooge? But I assure you it works. Excellent directon, wonderful photography, a stellar supporting cast and a screenplay materially true to Dickens' original text, along with George C. Scott's larger-than-life screen presence, make for the best overall vewing experience of A Christmas Carol since Alastair Sim's defining performance. A must-have.


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