A Christmas Carol
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.00 You Save: $7.98 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.25 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of A Christmas Carol
Movie Review: A GREAT ADAPTATION IN NEED OF HIGH-DEF TREATMENT
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was a kid... this was the FIRST Christmas Carol Adaptation I have ever seen... and everyone that I have tried to watch ranging from the classic, musical, new age, even muppets, just doesn't measure up to the dramatic mastery of George C. Scott and the fine ensemble that follows his lead; David Warner doesn't get enough credit for his portrayal of Bob (if you aren't crying by the time his recites his graveyard visit/run with Ned... you have no soul).
I think one of the enduring things about this masterpiece is the cinematography, by accident. It was shot with a type of film that brings you that organic feeling that "old school" studio era films brought, yet with subtle clarity of the best film negative possible of the day, and today... it makes it seem like a gorgeous colorful artwork capturing the luster only a history book of the time can compare to (film students should study this film).
The accident is that the director/editor chose shots and angles and used snow to white balance almost everything outdoors, which is why the progression of spirits are so stark, yet fade into darkness, startling us under the bridge at the end of Christmas presents' tour.
If you were to shoot this today (in digital video) it would look like crap... right place and right time.
Sound was always good, dialogue over music and effects... and the street choirs pierce right though your ear and always leave my jaws dropped. The score, timed perfectly. Costumes make Titanic almost a joke in historical accuracy. Special effects.... for the day it worked wonderfully... still does in many ways.
My only complaint is the QUALITY OF SOUND, DATED SPECIAL EFFECTS, AND ASPECT RATIO OF THE MOVIE, and REEL AGE.
Quality of sound... it needs to be remastered to High Def, and if the music cannot be salvaged, re-score it like you did with Star Trek (might even haunt us more if needed).
Dated special effects... for the day dissolves worked for Marley... do something else.
The original aspect ratio... is 1:85... which would fill HDTV screens perfectly... especially if you were to:
RELEASE IT ON BLU RAY!!! The reel age has me concerned.. and needs to be salvaged and cleaned. This movie was not cleaned before DVD release... shame on you Fox.
You also missed a golden opportunity releasing it on Blu Ray this year... the 25th Anniversary was 6 days ago...
GET IT RIGHT.... AND GET TO WORK.
Still the best Christmas Carol... now bring it to the land of HD.
Movie Review: The best modern retelling...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read "A Christmas Carol" more times over the years than I can count. I own three editions of the book (I recommend the 'Annotated Christmas Carol' for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the book, the period, and conditions that brought about it's production). This is most definitely the film version that captures the spirit and message of the story the best.
George C. Scott gives us a Scrooge that is the ultimate Victiorian utilitarian being. No human interaction is allowed to come between him and his goal of increase. Yet he gives us glimpses even from the beginning of a man who has the capacity to be redeemed, which makes him a much more believable character than say, the Alistair Sim Scrooge of the 1950's British version. He is a Scrooge with a sense of humor, as portrayed in the book, even if the humor is mean spirited and serves mainly to amuse himself. To the reviewer earlier who posted the 6th paragraph of the book as proof that Scott's Scrooge was off the mark... read the rest of the book. Dickens liked to portray his characters in broad strokes when introducing them and then flesh out their character throughout the rest of the story. Scrooge's humor is evident, and Scott captures it. "more of gravy than of grave about you..."
The rest of the cast is stellar with special kudos to David Warner's Bob Cratchit and Edward Woodward's Ghost of Christmas Present. Woodward is wonderful with the banter between the ghost and Scrooge, forcing Scrooge to face the reality of the cruel jokes he tosses off to distance himself from humanity.
One special scene I am grateful for the filmakers to have included in the film. While not explicitly in the book, it is implied by Scrooge's travels with the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge is shown a homeless family at the end of their rope. The father is not too lazy to work, there is just no work available for him, and what work is available would not support his family. Scrooge, and us, are shown the realities of poverty and the reality that people in poverty are not always the shiftless, lazy people the callous, unsympathetic like to portray them as. Will the poor always be with us? Yes. But their lot will be worse as long as Ignorance and Want are kept hidden beneath the robes of Christmas Present. Or under flood waters in New Orleans. Or in the ghettos of our modern cities.
Watch this production and remember, this story was written to encourage us all to be charitable. Is there a better reason for this season?
Movie Review: The best CAROL ever, with the best Scrooge ever
Summary: 5 Stars
There's a reason that of all the stories woven around the Christmas season, and of all the tales Charles Dickens told, this one is still being retold over a century later. And it's the same reason Clive Donner's version, out of all the many filmed and staged retellings, is still around and now being offered in DVD format: they are, quite simply, both the best of their breed. The script is faithful to Dickens' original text as few other versions have been, the production values are sumptuous and conscientious in their historical accuracy, and the performances from a star-packed cast are pure British sterling, above all the late, lamented George C. Scott's unforgettable limning of an all too human Ebenezer Scrooge. Also not to be missed are Edward (THE EQUALIZER) Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present, cruelly rebuking Scrooge with his own words; Mark Strickson (Turlough of DOCTOR WHO fame) as the young Scrooge in the Christmas Past sequence; Roger Rees, Susannah York, Frank Finlay as a suitably fearsome Marley's Ghost, the always reliable David Warner as Bob Cratchit, Angela Pleasance as the gentle Ghost of Christmas Past, Joanne Whalley (the former Mrs. Val Kilmer, of SCANDAL and many other films) and Michael Gough (another DOCTOR WHO veteran [the Celestial Toymaker in Hartnell's First Doctor era] and Alfred the butler in the BATMAN films).Seeing Scott as Scrooge crying out in anguish over his own gravestone, "Why show me this if I am past all hope?"; then on Christmas morning, jumping up and down on his four-poster with glee; showing up on his nephew's doorstep, properly shame-faced and hoping for a chance to begin again -- these moments bring a tear to my eye and a lump to my throat every time. If you need a reminder of why this season is so important even to those of us who have lost faith in the Christian church, bookend this film with Clive's brother Richard Donner's equally excellent updating of Dickens' classic tale, SCROOGED, starring Bill Murray (his speech at the end is worth the price of the DVD all by itself!) for a night of holiday laughter and tears like no other. Scrooge embodies the hope that all of us have that, whatever our failings and our misdeeds, our lives may yet be counted of value and our souls admitted into heaven; and this version of his odyssey from miserdom to redemption makes it abundantly clear why this one short story holds such a special place in the canon of Western literature.
Movie Review: Moving.. very VERY moving - The BEST version!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen several different versions of A Christmas Carol, including the original from 1951, and I have to say that by far this is the best version. It's been quite some time since I've seen the original and I don't remember it well, and I can understand those who appreciate the original version the most. It's good, but this version is the best. This movie has become an annual must-watch in my family.
George C. Scott showed his incredible talent as an actor from beginning to end in this movie, and was brilliant in showing Scrooge's ignorance, nastiness, greed, and every other trait that made Scrooge "Scrooge". Not only Scott, but the other actors in the movie (for the most part) were terrific as well, and this cast overall is the best. Bob Cratchit, and the Ghost of Christmas Present also were both very enjoyable.
But the best thing about this movie is that you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll begin to feel sorry for Scrooge's character, and rejoice when his soul is saved, and it will make you want to be a better person - it's everything that Christmas spirit is all about! I've never seen another version of this story that achieved this affect quite as well as this one.
The scene where Cratchit comes home to his family after visiting Tiny Tim's grave is one of the most emotionally moving scenes of the movie and never fails to bring tears to my eyes, and is soon followed by a most dramatic finale between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come where George C. Scott completely steals the show with his performance and Scrooge vows to completely change his ways. One moment I'm in tears, the next I want to do a Jimmy Stewart and run down the street yelling "Merry Christmas!". What a movie! Okay, I'm done hamming it up now, but trust me, this is a great movie - and I don't use the word "great" very often when reviewing movies.
Don't listen to the few people who give this movie a bad rating, like the guy who said that George C. Scott attempts to "eat scenery" - whatever that means. Judging by these people's comments, they obviously weren't WATCHING the movie when they saw it. Oh well, I guess you can't please everyone. And to the 1-star reviewer who says this movie ruined his children..... instead of blaming this timeless classic for your childrens' faults, perhaps a little discipline would keep them from bossing you around. Truly pathetic.
Movie Review: A brilliant, faithful production of the best story ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
Charles Dickens, my favorite author, believed in the native goodness of human beings and clearly saw that treating our fellow humans well or badly is a choice we make every day, and that we have the capacity to change our long-held patterns as quickly as we will ourselves to. All of his books say that and show it, but in 'A Christmas Carol' he presented it in its briefest and purest form and it is my heart's favorite of all he wrote.
I had never seen a film or television version of it that pleased me. They all cut essential scenes or added ones that watered down the message or distracted from it, so when this version first appeared on television I was prepared to be displeased once again. Especially since I could not see George C. Scott as a believable Ebenezer Scrooge, even though I admired him as an actor.
From the moment it began, I was in love, transported by the faithfulness of the script to the book, in awed appreciation of the attention to visual period detail and the music, and blown away by the casting of the supporting parts and the excellent performances by them. (The only thing that makes me wince is the boy who plays Tiny Tim. He speaks his line like he'd been to the dentist and the novocaine hadn't completely worn off his lips.)
As others have noted, Edward Woodward is a vital, expansive Christmas Present who has the wit and power to drive home his points on a range from subtle to powerful. Roger Rees does an excellent job with nephew Fred, whom too often is played as giddy or foolish in his cheerfulness. Rees shows him to a better depth, self-sufficient and dedicated to never giving up on his mother's beloved brother. (Kudos to Donner for the subtle touch of the facial resemblance between Rees and the actress that played his mother.)
But George C. Scott floored me with the range and depth of his portayal of Scrooge, and he makes the thawing of Scrooge from a cold, detached and hard-hearted man to a warm, thoughtful family man completely believable. He clearly shows that the commodity of human love and warmth had always abandoned or been withheld from Ebenezer, leaving him to only trust the value of the coins and currency he could physically grasp and hold on to.
I encourage you all to give this production of this classic story a try. I believe it is the definitive version and the one Dickens himself would most appreciate.