This movie has become a Christmas tradition in our household. George C. Scott is amazing as Scrooge and every British actor in the movie is spot-on for The Victorian English tale. My favorite smaller role would have to be the ghost of Christmas present who is hilarious in his wit and retorts to Scrooge's dourness. It is as realistic as this story can get and does not downplay the seriousness of Scrooge's situation as well as not over indulging in the sweetness when Scrooge has his revelation. By far my favorite Christmas story!

This is my favorite version of this story. George C. Scott is so good as an actor.I watch this every year. His conversion as he went through the Ghosts, it was very touching. He really was quite the actor.Note: The following is only because IMDb requires a 10-line minimum review, When he was walking with that tall ghost, it was really cool.And the Ghost of Christmas future was creepy.I really like Bob Cratchet's family. I wish that I had such a family.My family was quite dysfunctional. I wish for such love and happiness.Wow, still not enough to post How much more is required?

Ebenezer Scrooge (George C. Scott) is an old miser who hates Christmas, is generally uncaring and unfeeling toward both his own family and his employee Bob Cratchit (David Warner). Scrooge receives a visit from the ghost of his friend and former business partner Jacob Marley who warns Scrooge that he will receive a visit from 3 ghosts (past, present, and yet to come). Initially, Scrooge is sceptical, but in each subsequent visit from the ghosts he starts to see the effect that his behaviour has on everyone around him and starts to realise that he needs to change his ways....We all know that in this day and age that Christmas is far too commercialised... I mean don't they start advertising for Christmas now before we've even got Halloween out of the way?? A Christmas Carol works so well because it does help to remind us of what Christmas is really about and the 'commercialism' of Christmas that we see is given a positive spin which is great to see.The story arc here sees Scrooge being visited by 3 ghosts (past, present, and yet to come) and at every stage in the story Scrooge is shown little insights into what could have happened by him not changing his ways and what will happen if he doesn't change his ways - clearly the latter hits home with him more than the former. As a piece of escapism, it is enjoyable enough, but I really liked the narrative arc and in some ways found it to be a sort of voyage of self-discovery for Scrooge.There was one really powerful scene where Scrooge is abandoned by one of the ghosts in an area that he doesn't know and he quite literally becomes isolated. Prior to this moment, Scrooge had always been calm and assured whilst he figuratively walks round wearing his rose-tinted spectacles. The scene where he is abandoned gives him a general idea of how the people he condemns must feel; alone, frightened and vulnerable. It's a strong moment in the film made great by a fine performance by George C. Scott. This is just one example of excellence from Scott, but across the whole film he is brilliant - hard-faced and miserly at the start, he's able to bring a sort of humility to Scrooge in the later stages and seemingly does the impossible by allowing the audience to be able to identify with this man. His wealth is treated as a negative at the start, but again this is given a positive spin at the end which is another strength with this film.A Christmas Carol is clearly a morality tale that highlights that Christmas is a time for giving, a time for sharing and a time for caring and in all fairness the film does a wonderful job of conveying this message to the audience (without being preachy, sentiment or heavy-handed) which is a feat in itself.A Christmas Carol is very much worth checking out as it does remind us of the true meaning of Christmas whilst simultaneously providing an enjoyable piece of escapism and as mentioned George C Scott was also terrific.

The 1984 TV version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a joyous thing. Fronted by George C. Scott as the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge, Clive Donner's movie pays great respects to the source material and garners a multi stranded piece of brilliance out of Scott. The characters of course remain the same, but headed by Scrooge having a complex and painful background and a persona of confused emotions, there's meaty substance holding the movie up high. Donner and writer Roger Hirson retain the black heart of the source story, with the horror elements suitably effective to bother the children, while the Victorian atmosphere always feels – crucially – authentic.If you haven't seen this version of the often filmed tale, put it on your list for next yuletide. 9/10