domain-5
Hello!Though I have visited the IMDb.com site for many years, this is my very first review here, because I felt a strong moral obligation to warn others about this movie.I have seen perhaps 15 movie versions of "A Christmas Carol".Without a doubt, this awful piece of garbage ranks dead last, even after bad half-hour animated versions.Everything is so appallingly bad, that it's difficult to point out anything in particular.Kelsey Grammar, who I have not hated before this movie, turns in one of the most dreadful performances I have ever seen, anywhere, in any movie! I was stunned by the ham ridden, exceptionally poor performance, in what should have been a drama. Don't expect much more from the other "actors", many of whom act as if they are on drugs (I blame this on the director, Arthur Allan Seidelman. SO many actors can't have turned in such bad performances, without the director being hugely at fault!).The script has been dramatically changed from the original story, every time, making this movie worse, and worse, and worse. Now, I understand that most stories or novels can't be translated directly into a movie without alterations, HOWEVER, that doesn't excuse the butchery of the original story that was done in this movie, with no point. AND, "A Christmas Carol", by Charles Dickens, READS almost as a screenplay. Many adaptations have stayed very close to the original source material, with sometimes very great results.The music varies from inane, to horrible. I know that Alan Menken has done decent stuff before, but this certainly has to have been one of his poorest efforts.Rather than continuing to harp on the vast shortcomings of this unwatchable piece of crud, I will list the versions of "A Christmas Carol", that I consider best, in order:1. "A Christmas Carol", George C. Scott, 1984, long version. 10 star movie. Brilliant performance by Scott, probably the best of his entire career, even better than in "Patton". He portrays Scrooge as a textured, real person, rather than the over-the-top performances you see by most actors. ALSO, this version is closest to Dickens original story "A Christmas Carol", of any of the movie versions that I have ever seen (and I sometimes READ the story, along with the movie, while it is going on!) Also, this movie has the strongest supporting cast of any of the movie versions. Particularly memorable, is Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present.2. "A Christmas Carol", George C. Scott, 1984, 101 minute version. Almost as good as the longer version.3. "Scrooge", Alastair Sim, 1951. Sims puts in a good performance as Scrooge, but not as good as Scott's.4. "Scrooge", Albert Finney, 1970, UK version, 120 minutes. I consider this the best musical adaptation of "A Christmas Carol". Finney, unfortunately, was too young for this role in 1970. He's probably the right age now, and I would suspect he would put in a better performance, now (2011)!5. "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol", Jim Backus, 1962, animated musical. I consider this the best version for children. The story has been simplified a bit for children, BUT, does not pull any punches. It also focuses on the children in the story a bit more. Good music by Jule Styne, that I understand was originally written for a Broadway show that fell through, but it found a good home here. Better music, I think, than in the Finney "Scrooge".6. "Scrooge", Albert Finney, 1970, US version, 113 minutes. The seven minutes cut from the UK version really butchers the ending.7. "A Christmas Carol", Patrick Stewart, 1999. 2nd best supporting cast out of any version I have seen. Unfortunately, Patrick Stewart was the weak link, here. He really did not seem to understand the character of Scrooge at all, and put in a remarkably flat and dull performance.My 2 cents worth.Hope this was helpful.Karl
David C. Bohn
I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. I've read the short story at least once, every Christmas Season, since 1995, and it is my absolute most favorite piece of literature ever written. It therefore follows, that I am also a huge fan of the major cinematic productions based on the story, which I have seen over the years (Though that doesn't necessarily mean that I like them all).The many different cinematic productions of this story are practically uncountable. But, of the major versions I have seen, I have chosen 8 as my favorites, based on their adherence to Dickens' original story: Under the title of 'Scrooge', there is the 1935 version, with Sir Seymour Hicks , the 1951 version – With Alastair Sim, and the 1970 musical, with Albert Finney. Under the title 'A Christmas Carol', there's the 1938 version, with Reginald Owen as Scrooge, the 2009 Disney version, with Jim Carrey, and the made-for-TV productions: 1984 – With George C. Scott, 1999 – With Patrick Stewart, and this one – Officially titled: 'A Christmas Carol: The Musical' – Which I must rank #4.Two years ago, I could hardly contain my excitement, when I heard that the Mike Ockrent/Lynn Ahrens Broadway musical had been turned into a TV movie. There are many who had fallen into the 'Oh-no-not-another-version!', attitude, but not me. I was, however, a bit apprehensive about the fact that it was a musical. I'm not, and never have been a great fan of musicals, but, the two musical versions of this story have made me appreciate them much more, and they've begun to grow on me – Especially this one. And… I gotta admit… I was pretty darned impressed! Kelsey Grammar is the 2nd American to play the central character, and does a heckuva fine job. He was 49, at the time, and some good makeup gives him a few more years, to bring him more visually into the role. He does some fine singing, and – Though he's no George C. Scott, or Alastair Sim – He does quite well in the acting department. He did, however, seem to be having a bit of trouble, here and there, keeping his English accent, but, his "Bah! Humbug!" is the best I've ever heard.Jason Alexander makes an acceptable Jacob Marley. He's a pretty good singer, and does well with some complicated choreography. But, the real stars of the scene, in Scrooge's home, that Christmas Eve night, are the various other ghosts, and some marvelous 21st century special effects, courtesy of Zoltán Benyó, and his Team of Digital Artists.In a film so full of fine performances, it's tough to single any of them out. Edward Gower shines as Bob Cratchit, with some great singing and acting, and Jacob Moriarty makes an excellent Tiny Tim. Moriarty is obviously a competent Actor and Singer, and the chemistry between him, and his on-screen Dad becomes quite evident in some heart-tugging scenes that they have together.Jane Krakowski's graceful moves, and gorgeous singing voice make her performance as 'The Ghost Of Christmas Past' a delight. Jesse L. Martin makes a fine 'Ghost Of Christmas Present'. He's gentle at times, tough at others, and his singing and dancing are marvelous. Julian Ovenden handles quite well, the role of Fred (Scrooge's Nephew), and, Geraldine Chaplin does very well, as The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Be. The only female, to date, to play the part, Chaplin's face is fully visible, thanks to a costume far different from the traditional black, hooded robe.Other notable performances include: Jennifer Love Hewitt as Scrooge's lost love, Emily (Why these Writers keep changing the name of this character, I'll never know. What's wrong with the name Dickens gave her?!), Brian Bedford as Mr. Fezziwig, Josh Wilmott, as the 10 year-old Ebenezer, Leah-Verity White as Scrooge's Sister, Fan, and an outstanding performance by Steven Miller, as the young Scrooge. It takes a good Actor to make you hate his character, and Miller's performance had me cursing at him. In fact, I was tempted to throw things at my TV, during one particular scene. Also, pay particular attention to a wonderful little Actress by the name of Emily Deamer, who plays Grace Smythe – The little girl whose Mother has passed away, and whose Father asks for sympathy from Scrooge. Deamer's screen time is short, and her lines few, but her voice is Angelic, and it didn't take much for her to steal my heart. And, as you'll see, she comes very close to melting Scrooge's frozen heart, in one very brief scene, early on.Lynn Ahrens' teleplay doesn't adhere to the book as well as I'd have liked. She rewrites some book scenes, omits others, and combines still others. But it all works, fits, and flows very well.In short, this is a delightful movie. Excellent photography, editing, sets, costumes, special effects, and score, were all expertly put together by Director Arthur Allan Seidelman. Some spectacular dance numbers – Including the outstanding 'Mr. Fezziwig's Annual Christmas Ball' – And the absolutely beautiful Mike Ockrent/Lynn Ahrens songs – In particular: 'Christmas Together', 'You Mean More To Me Than Anything', and 'God Bless Us Every One' (Not to be confused with the different song of the same title, from the 1984 version) – Make this movie quite an enjoyable experience.
