How come I never saw this version before? Patrick Stewart disappears into the "persona" of Scrooge in the opening scene, when Marley is laid-to-rest. The mark of a good actor. He is by far the grumpiest Scrooge ever. Beautifully filmed in England, it uses many real locations in addition to the usual "sets". Fine performances all around. Joel Grey is a stand out as "The Ghost of Christmas Past". Faithful to the book, his presence is put out with a "candle snuffer" cap! The characters do a great deal of talking and expand upon the usual dialog, which is there also. Not a musical by any means, but it has several songs that may be from the actual time period of the story. Many good digital effects, showing Scrooge walking thru walls (with the spirits' help) and visiting both singing miners and seaman. I have yet to see a version literal to the book, but this one tries very hard. The Ghost of Christmas Present makes more critical remarks about Scrooge, and it is very effective! Stewart does a far superior job than the extremely over-rated George C. Scott version! Most unusual scenes are: Poor Tiny Tim in death, still at home, and Scrooge "dead as a doornail" fresh in his coffin! (Of course, Tiny Tim does not die because Scrooge does not die.-It all works out!)The errand boy only gets only 2 shillings for his effort, but the poulterer gets cab fare and a tip to deliver the turkey to Bob Cratchet! A surprisingly enjoyable and satisfying version from Sam Rami and Hallmark. (I own 5 versions of this classic tale. From Mickey-to-Muppets, plus 1938,1951,and 1970.) I might have to buy this as well!

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

This was the third version I had seen, and before I had only seen tiny bits of it on TV a couple of times, and the leading actor and other good people certainly got my attention to see it properly. You know the story, but I'll explain briefly. Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge (Patrick Stewart, a good bitter beginning, and then an over the top reform) is the cold-hearted Christmas hating businessman who gets visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley (Bernard Lloyd), who warns him of the torture he faced and the Ghosts that will haunt him. Then obviously he is taken by the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Joel Grey), Present (Desmond Barrit) and silent Future/Yet To Come (Tim Potter) until eventually Scrooge sees the light and realises he must change. This is where Stewart really overdoes it a bit, he is maniacal in his overly happy reform, I much preferred him meaner. Also starring Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit, Ian McNeice as Mr. Albert Fezziwig, Saskia Reeves as Mrs. Cratchit, Dominic West as Fred (Scrooge's nephew), Trevor Peacock as Old Joe, Liz Smith as Mrs. Dilber, Laura Fraser as Belle, Celia Imrie as Mrs. Bennett and Ben Tibber as Tiny Tim. The only change I see (besides the over the top happy Scrooge) is the ignorance and want children again. A good TV made film, but I doubt I will be seeing it too often (probably just every time it's on at Christmas, or not at all). It was nominated the Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special. Worth watching!

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.