Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

greg_bbb This is the 2nd best version of A Christmas Carol, right behind the George C Scott version. I always watch both every Christmas, but I have to choose one as best. However, nothing about this version is disappointing and it is worth watching twice. Stewart does a very good job as Scrooge, and the supporting cast is excellent. Ian McNeice as Fezziwig is Great (none better), and Richard Grant as Bob Crachit is Great (none better, tie with David Warner) with Saskia Reeves doing very good as Mrs Crachit, and Dominic West as Fred is Great (almost as good as roger rees). This version has many scenes missing from the others that gives it the most Dickensian flavor. The special effects are up to modern standards and add that element missing from prior versions. A great TV movie and one of Stewarts finest works.

Scarecrow-88 Patrick Stewart of Star Trek: The Next Generation takes up the role for TNT cable television as penny-pinching anti-Christmas grouch, Ebenezer Scrooge, visited by four spirits, including his former money-lender business partner, and stock exchange pro, Jacob Marley (whose funeral opens the movie), of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. If Scrooge is to be rescued from a possible fate most unkind, he must see the error of his ways and embrace the holiday spirit that is absent from his life.I think Stewart is well cast as Ebenezer Scrooge, his authoritative voice, the kind of depth and breadth and command that comes from his posture, his presence, lends credibility to the miser role. I wasn't that wild and crazy about the whole tornado effects sequence where The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge on a ride to a lighthouse, German ship at sea, and to nephew's party the miser was offered to attend, but there are instances like this in practically every Christmas Carol movie, I guess, that kind of annoy me. I think, inevitably, each and every Christmas Carol version is tested against the Alistair Sim Scrooge movie, his is the epitome of what the Dickens character is visualized as correct and authentic. This version has a moment that tickles my funnybone a bit: Scrooge visits his death bed, his body wrapped in a death shroud, and he asks the reaper-looking "Ghost of Christmas That is Yet to Come" if no one would find comfort in his demise and the spirit shows him of a poor couple owing a debt to him benefiting from the fact that they will have time, now that their moneylender kicked the bucket, to pay back the loan! Anyway, this version has the obligatory scenes we are accustomed to: the visit to his old school, to Fessiwigs when he was an apprentice, to the Christmas dinner of Bob Cratchet, to see his Nephew Fred's gathering of good friends, to the trader who lives in a paupers' area in an impoverished street corner somewhere deep in the bowels of an unflattering London, and ultimately to his grave. I think this fails in Scrooge's resurrection, his rebirth, Stewart seems more at home as the miser slowly becoming aware of his failures as a human being, while the reemergence after facing a possible death in full delight seems forced and strained for optimum effect, feeling less authentic which is what endears us to Sim and George C Scott in the revered '51 and '84 versions of The Christmas Carol. And, a gauge on how impactful this version is thrives on how the Tiny Tim storyline packs its punch. In this version, it never quite plays a melody with my heartstrings. I am not sure if it's the casting or what, but I never quite get that emotional wallop with Richard Harris' Cratchet, his wife, or the Tiny Tim of this Christmas Carol compared to others. David Warner's Cratchet, to me, is the definitive Bob Cratchet, his lot in life, the difficulties plaguing his character are present in his demeanor and voice, his weary face explicitly shows the years toiling with Scrooge and his little boy's illness. I sympathize with him wholeheartedly while Harris never, for some reason, quite captures my heart. Not sure why, it could just be me. I guess that really is how I feel about most of the casting, nothing extraordinary, workman-like is my best way to describe them. Mostly, I think Stewart does a commendable job, conveying the conflicting emotions, the good ones he once felt returning, with us seeing that Ebenezer is starting to sense where he went wrong as the bubbling-to-the-surface feelings before he molded into the miser bring an awareness that has him recognizing what he lost.

TheLittleSongbird I will begin to say that I adore Dickens's book, and I do think it is my absolute favourite Christmas story. Out of the versions of the book I've seen, Scrooge(1951), Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Muppets and the George C Scott film are my favourites. This film though is above average and is a perfectly decent film overall. Of course it isn't perfect, it is a tad too short, the special effects weren't always that great and there are shortcomings in the script. That said, out of all the adaptations, this 1999 version is definitely one of the truest to the book. The scenery, costumes and photography for a TV movie are not bad at all. Maybe not as lavish or inventive visually, but considering how some TV movies have special effects etc. that are close to appalling, I am not one to judge harshly. I also agree with anybody who says this adaptation has the best depiction of the Cratchits, who are seen as warm and loving, so the part when Scrooge looks into the future does evoke a tear or two. While the music was outstanding, the performances are what make the film, Joel Grey, Desmond Barritt and Tim Potter make for imposing spirits, and even with the casting of Saskia Reeves and Richard E Grant as the Cratchits the film successfully avoids falling into modernisation. It is Patrick Stewart who holds this film together however, with a worthy and surprisingly subtle performance. I like Stewart very very much, he is a fine actor, and while he is maybe not the most definitive Scrooge he is still absolutely great. And I liked Fred in this one, he was funny(and handsome too). All in all, impressive and I liked it a lot. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

jc-osms It's all in the writing of course. Stay true to Dickens' peerless source material, get the production values right and employ good actors and actresses and all should be well, as is here. Here, the excellent Patrick Stewart (executive producer too) convincingly portrays Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey from dark to light. Richard E Grant seems to me a little young and clean almost for the Bob Cratchit part, I saw Kevin Whately more in the part. The rest of the cast are fine in supplementary roles whilst I also enjoyed the special effects evocations of Jacob Marley's ghost and the three Christmas spirits who all initially scare and torment old Scrooge but ultimately lead him to righteousness. Best scenes are the first entry of Marley's ghost, the spurning of the young Scrooge by his young love and Stewart's difficulty in bringing out a laugh in his relief at his chance of redemption. The cinematography is generally good, with sprinklings of snow in most scenes to further accentuate the Christmas feel to the whole film. As stated earlier, it would be hard to go wrong here and with so many modern adaptations around, it was nice to see this wonderful Christmas story set so well in its own period.