Review: “A Christmas Carol” 1984

[@marksterner7532]

As great as Alistair Sim was in his performance of Scrooge, George C. Scott gives an equally compelling performance in this version. Plus, his subdued/controlled/always menacing demeaner plus his sarcastic and malicious humor make his Scrooge all the more fearful. Brilliantly performed! But the reason the nod goes to this film as the G-O-A-T is the fantastic performances of each and every supporting cast character. Every one is brilliant perfection! Cratchit, his wife, their children, Tiny Tim, the Ghosts, Fezziwig, Scrooge's father, Fan, the townspeople, the homeless, Fred, his wife, and their dinner guests - all outstanding! This film is one to treasure each and every Christmas!

[@Edelweiss-ql3rh]

I totally agree. I watch a few other versions but this is by far the best in my opinion.

[@Animei9]

This is my favorite too. You really believe Scott as Scrooge and his redemption at the end is perfect

[@kevinericsongs]

this was filmed in shrewsbury in shropshire uk-just down the road from where i lived as a teenager-scrooge's grave is still there today in the churchyard!..my friend tim and i watched them filming the scene where scrooge walks to fred's house at the end,i remember being impressed by the cameras and all the fake snow,it is still my fave version of a christmas carol!

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

@@kevinericsongs That had to have been an awesome experience

[@joseluisherreralepron9987]

Just watching this tonight, believe it or not. I saw the first broadcast in 1984. I was a sophomore in high school and it was real event, much publicized. My second favorite version after the 1951 Sim version. Edward Woodward is the best Ghost of Christmas Present...sarcastic and gives Scrooge no refuge. Warner seems an unlikely Cratchit but plays it beautifully; he seems to respect Scrooge and believe in the good person hiding in there but takes his lumps with a beaten-down yet strong attitude. Angela Pleasence is Donald's daughter, by the way, and she's my favorite Ghost of Christmas Past...snarky and condescending and I love their interactions. Just subscribed, I sense a very good channel here!

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

@@joseluisherreralepron9987 Thank you, yes, the ghost performances are major factor in making this worthy of being on the Mt Rush pre of Christmas Carol adaptations.

[@dr.migilitoloveless2385]

I remember David Warner losing his head in the 1978 movie The Omen.

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

Never seen The Omen

[@Edelweiss-ql3rh]

Even the children playing Want and Ignorance were perfect. They were probably identical twins but one was made up to look like the opposite sex. They were most likely better looking in real life than in the movie. I doubt that any casting director would post a call for "skinny, ugly twins." They really did look wretched.

[@Edelweiss-ql3rh]

This version has the best Tiny Tim by far. In most other versions he looks too robust and healthy. He doesn't just have a problem with his leg. He is slowly dying. Anthony Walters still had his baby teeth when this was filmed so he was probably only five or six years old, which is the age Tiny Tim should be. In the Alistair Sim version and in the Reginald Owen version the actors playing Tiny Tim are eleven years old and look it. They were not tiny at all.

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

@@Edelweiss-ql3rh When I look at Glyn Dearman in the Alastair Sim version. He looks like he has only that bad leg that, once healed, would allow him to join his friends for rugby.

[@ceciljohn1]

Okay, I'm psyched. Thanks for touching on so many important aspects of the story. Perhaps I've avoided this because George C. Scott looks so entirely unpleasant in the promo still. Simms, as you mentioned, has charm even when he's being nasty. But I'll definitely watch this soon with a more open mind. Thanks again. By the way, Eric Norcross has done some really fine film analyses while being a director of small budget films himself. His podcasts are fun. His "43 Degrees North" was filmed and previewed here (I have connections with Chebeague Island), and he's a warm and caring person who believes in community. I also love his way of telling stories in film. www.youtube.com/@EricNorcross

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

@@ceciljohn1 Thank you. I’ll admit that Scrooge, as a character in the novella, is depicted as so miserly that he all but emaciates himself, and Scott is anything but seemingly such. His hardline business demeanor is a key winning factor here. I believe that every big fan of A Christmas Carol should watch at least their top 3 versions that cover the most basis for their criteria of what makes the story so powerful.

[@et34t34fdf]

Scott was great as scrooge, i also like the different portrayal on ghost of christmas present, a much more mean, and harsher version, compared to the rest.

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

@@et34t34fdf Woodward’s performance as Christmas Present left me feeling underwhelmed by comparison with those in other adaptations.

[@et34t34fdf]

@@kcthesledgestoryteller Woodward gave Scrooge a hefty reality check, which he really needed to hear, the other ghosts of christmas present kinda failed doing that.

[@ronalderb9692]

Don't get me wrong, I love A Christmas Carol 1984. But, since the whole cast is British and takes place in Britain by a British author, wish Scrooge was also a British actor. George C. Scott did a good job, but he's not British. Other then that, it's the best version.

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

I get where you’re going. Still there is a feeling like Scott sometimes teeters on a British accent. Most notably, I totally buy him as English as he rumbles “…Should be boiled in his own pudding…”.