CHRISTMAS REVIEW OF THE DAY: A Christmas Carol (1984)

This one of the few Christmas films that I am sort of cheating on. It is actually a TV movie, but the reason why I am reviewing this film is because it has the quality and effort that one would put in a theatrical feature. This is A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott, broadcasted on CBS in 1984. The story you all knew it ever since you breathed life on this Earth.The story from Charles Dickens is about a miserable miser in 19th century London named Ebenezer Scrooge who is obsessed with money and riches, takes advantage of the people who work for him especially his loyal but struggling employee Bob Cratchit, and who absolutely loathes Christmas and whenever it is mentioned his response, "Bah humbug!". That is until the night of Christmas Eve where he is visited by the ghostly apparition of his late business partner Jacob Marley, who tells Scrooge that he better change his ways and that three spirits will come to visit him to help him renew his soul, The Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Each of them come and show Scrooge his Christmases during the past, present, and future and each event either reminisced or witnessed by Scrooge slowly makes him have a change of heart from seeing his life as a youth, the moment where he lost the love of his life, seeing Bob Cratchit's merry family including his sick but happy youngest child Tiny Tim, and finding out about a man who had recently died to which the townspeople say some mean-spirited things about. When Scrooge finds out that the deceased man is himself he begs for forgiveness from the spirits and swears that he will always keep Christmas in his heart past, present and future. His vow is accepted and gets to enjoy the rest of his life finally being kind and generous to others and especially enjoying the joy of the Christmas holiday.There are MANY adaptations and retellings of this famous story by Dickens. There are so many that for most of us it is practically the first Christmas tale we are ever introduced to, even as young as being small children it is that popular. But this is the version that stands out the most to me. Why? Because I feel this is the one adaptation, and one of  the any kind of adaptations out there no matter what the story is, that does the job of being an adaptation the best. It stays really close to the material but at the same time it tries new and different things to help it stand out on its own and be unique. Plus it's big, dramatic, well-done in directing and writing, and though dark I think any age young and old could and SHOULD watch it. There is definitely an impact there that can affect anybody.



But how does George C. Scott hold up as the iconic Ebenezer Scrooge? Well... he probably has to be the best Scrooge out there! Scrooge no matter how he is portrayed and or written, the original written by Charles Dickens will always be seen as one of the greatest characters in all of fictional media. And as much as I like to watch many adaptations of Christmas Carol, a lot of actors love to portray Scrooge as an over the top, angry, grumpy, and "humbug" yelling man. But Scott portrays Scrooge with very subtlety and gives a new spin and portrayal of the character. Many of the delivery of his lines and his expressions are very original and I do not think any other actor who portrays Scrooge tries something as original as Scott does. He has so much plausibility in his performance that you can believe when he is angry, depressed, frustrated, happy, joyful, sad, any kind of emotion he delivers it as Scrooge. He is just wonderful, truly one of the best Scrooge performances I have ever seen. But there are other key characters in this film that I especially love. There is Bob Cratchit, played by David Warner. As we all know Bob Cratchit is the usual nice guy. He is hard working and dedicated but wouldn't want anything more in the world than his family. And Warner plays that type of person perfectly. He has some plausibility to him as well as he is nice but he isn't unbelievably nice, he has his limits and can be strict, but overall he plays a good, strong, and loving father who wants the best for his family. He was also written very subtle and perfectly that it was possible for David Warner to portray him. Another character I love is Jacob Marley, who in this adaptation is portrayed by Frank Finlay. This has got to be one of the most frightening, darkest, but yet ABSOLUTE BEST Jacob Marley portrayals ever. Just seeing this character sends shivers down my spines. The acting, the make-up, the lighting, and the overall atmosphere done with this character's scene helps make this a truly phenomenal Jacob Marley. Finlay's performance is, you guessed, fantastic. Throughout his whole scene he has this look in his eyes like he has just been through hell and experienced great and inhumane torture in his afterlife and knows that he will experience a lot more in the future and even his voice sounds like he has been through a lot. Plus, he shouts and screams when you least expect and he seems like the kind of guy who needs serious mental help. Just a frightening yet very unforgettable performance. This Marley made such a great impact on me ever since I was a child, he used to scare the daylights out of me. Another great character that I loved how this film portrayed him his surprisingly the Ghost of Christmas Present, in this played by Edward Woodward. Usually the Ghost of Christmas Present in many adaptations of Christmas Carol is usually big, heavy, and always jolly. This one his jolly but at times he can be believably stern and striking, that at times it can come off as intimidating. I really like that with this portrayal, it seems fresh, new, and adult and Woodward of course sells it. One last character I wish to note is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This character is my absolute favorite in any type of adaptation of this story and it is the character I look forward to seeing the most in any one I see. Why? Because it is the character that has the most creativity behind him and his scenes and no matter which adaptation whether made more for adults or children, they most of the time seem to make it the darkest aspect of the story and they are not afraid to up the darkness, the gothic feel, the drama, the creepiness, and the creativity behind it. The scenes with this character are just great anytime. 
















What can I say about the story that no one has not said about it yet? It is just a perfect telling of always hoping for second chances, renewal, the goodness within mankind, and how Christmas is so wonderful because it represents all of that. This film especially succeeds in getting across the points that Charles Dickens wanted to make.in his original but again while at the same time trying new spins and ways of telling the story, and be successful in actually standing out. I almost skipped out on reviewing this gem, but I decided to because there is actual effort and care put into this that I feel some modern filmmakers today are not even putting in their products. It deserves to be looked at more because it is one of those perfect adaptations that unarguably tells one of the greatest Christmas tales ever told the best!

SANTA'S LIST: NICE

GRADE: AE