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· Year: 1984
· Director: Clive Donner
· Writers: Roger O. Hirson, Charles Dickens (story)
· Cast: George C. Scott, Roger Rees
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| Series info |
· Based on A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, from which many adaptations have sprung, including:
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Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
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| Synopsis |
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Emotionless Ebenezer Scrooge is taught the error of his miserly ways by three spirits who visit him on Christmas Eve in this adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic.
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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90
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| COLD ANALYSIS |
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By now, so many of us are so familiar with A Christmas Carol that it seems like an old friend--often, a predictable old friend. What impresses me most about this production--and there's a lot here to be impressed by--is how the creators took the familiar story and interpreted it in a fresher and more logical way than have other adaptations. How the writer, director, and actors emphasized portions of the story that made the characters more human than, I think, they've ever been. George C. Scott is an excellent Ebenezer Scrooge, with the possible exception of Patrick Stewart, Scott's the best I've seen yet; instead of being a bitter old miser who takes pleasure from nothing, Scott portrays the old man as being nearly emotionless, worn down from a lifetime of being ignored and left behind. The other actors feed off Scott's execution, lending fire to the production (especially Edward Woodward, who turns in a fantastically fierce performance as the Ghost of Christmas Present, which is often a thankless role). If this Ebenezer is a cold, but not evil, man, the spirits' purpose must be to wake him up--to make him not only feel that he's in danger of losing his life and soul but to show him that he can, in fact, feel anything. The redemption at the end of this tale is singularly effective, as well. In most adaptations, a joyful and reborn Scrooge runs about London, giving out presents and making up for misdeeds. In this version, Scrooge is a man whose joy is tempered by remorse--his purpose at story's end is not just to make things right in the present and future, but to apologize, fully, for his misdeeds in the past. His relationship with and eventual apology to his nephew, sometimes ignored in adaptations, is here an integral part of the story--it is heartfelt and, if I dare to say it, truly heartwarming. A wonderfully honest and emotional telling of a classic story.
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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| COLD ANALYSIS |
| ATMOSPHERE |
| GORE |
| HUMOR |
| SCARES |
| TENSION |
George C. Scott's interpretation of the character of Scrooge was the best I've seen. In most movies, Scrooge is just an old man with a mean streak, but in Scott's version, we get to see a complex human being and understand why he is the way he is. He's someone we can identify with and care about. Also, I liked how the story was more logical than even Dickens' original. For example, we get to know why Scrooge's father sent him away to school, something which the book, doesn't cover. I also loved the settings, and the scenery was just beautiful.
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