A Christmas Carol/Scrooge

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Batears52, Dec 13, 2005.

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  1. lennon_08518

    lennon_08518 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Roebling, NJ, USA
    I voted for the Alastair Sim version.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 18, 2014
  2. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    Also missing from the list is the Patrick Stewart version. I like that one - I pretty much at least "like" them all, but I think my favorites have to be the George C. Scott and Alastair Sim versions.

    For years, I thought nothing could touch the Alastair Sim version - he was so perfect in that role, and longed for a decent copy on any kind of home video media. I bought VHS version, LaserDisc versions and DVD versions in search of that crisp black & white picture that seemed to be denied me. The last DVD I bought - a two-disc version from VCI a couple of years ago finally had some decent anount of restoration work done on it, and is quite satisfactory.

    Though I've always loved the Sim version, I still remember the Christmas season of 1984 when IBM and CBS presented a new version on TV with George C. Scott in the lead role. I was prepared to "like" it, but was totally blown away by the majesty of the production. Everything fell together, from the top-notch cast, to the suberb location shooting, to the extraordinary score by Nick Bicât, all combining to make an unforgettable version of the Dickens classic.

    Thankfully, I taped that showing which served me for years when this version disappeared for awhile. In fact, we just completed our annual screening of the Scott version.

    Also special this year was my email contact with composer Nick Bicât to finally obtain the magnificent score on CD-R for my very own.

    I still love the Sim version too - but feel that Scott did the unthinkable of actually bettering it.

    Harry

    [edit: What the he||? No-one down here in Florida is showing ANY version of Scrooge on broadcast TV?]
     
  3. Matt I

    Matt I Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama
    Scrooged
     
  4. mike65!

    mike65! Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Alastair Sim. The one and only Scrooge in my book.
     
  5. Texastoyz

    Texastoyz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas, USA
    George C. Scott
     
  6. Roninblues

    Roninblues 猿も木から落ちる。

    Reginald Owen
     
  7. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    By far, Alastair Sim's is my favorite. It was probably the first one I saw as a kid and is a yearly tradition to watch it at least once during the Holidays. Though, I prefer the original Black and White version and not the colorized version.

    Also, I do like Patrick Stewart's and George C. Scott's too.


    I like Henry Winkler's An American Christmas Carol. As the years go by, it is getting harder and harder to find it on a TV/cable broadcast. It's been quite a few years since I've seen it last.
     
  8. old4mat

    old4mat Forum Resident

    I picked "Scrooged" but I honestly love the muppet version w/Michael Caine just as much.
     
  9. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

  10. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    +1 :)

    My wife likes the remake done on VH1 a few years back called
    A Diva's Christmas Carol.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmdReMvljn8


    Darryl
     
  11. Jim T

    Jim T Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mars
    George C Scott is the best ever, hands down. There is nothing even a close 2nd. Alastair Sim the worst. I just saw the 1935 version for the first time and was surprised at how good it was. I never new it existed.
     
  12. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    Trivia:

    Liz Smith played Mrs. Dilber in the 1984 George C. Scott version. She also played the same role in the 1999 Patrick Stewart version.\
    ( http://www.cedmagic.com/featured/christmas-carol/1984-xmas-thieves.html )

    Clive Donner was a film editor on the 1951 Alastair Sim version. He was the director of the 1984 George C. Scott version.
    ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Donner )

    Mervyn Johns, who played Bob Cratchit in the 1951 Alastair Sim version and Patrick MacNee, who played the young Marley in that version, played together in a Christmas episode of THE AVENGERS called "Too Many Christmas Trees."

    Harry
     
  13. Another Steve

    Another Steve Senior Member

    I went with Albert Finney's version. He was only about 33 or 34 when Scrooge came out in 1970. He did a great job of portraying an old Scrooge, especially all the dancing as an old man. George C. Scott's version would be my second choice. My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Dickens (no relation with Charles), anyway, I've always paid attention to Dickens' work on screen.
     
  14. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    :righton:

    That's the definitive version.
     
  15. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    It's funny - back in the '80s, I guess a cable station ran the Albert Finney version, and I eagerly started watching it. It seemed pretty good up until the moment Mr. Finney let loose with the first song. Somehow it all seemed wrong, and I've never revisited it.

    Harry
     
  16. sprocket

    sprocket Active Member

    Location:
    Shafter, Ca
    I love the version with Mr. Finney.
     
  17. -Alan

    -Alan Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    Agreed, and with Orson Welles as the narrator.

    http://www.sheeplaughs.com/scrooge/radiocd.htm

    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  18. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I saw this a few years ago when a friend lent me the VHS copy that he had. It truly is wonderful. But for me, NOTHING beats the Alastair Sim 1951 version.
     
  19. signothetimes53

    signothetimes53 Senior Member

    The Albert Finney musical blows me away.

    It has incredible choreography, wonderful "period" sets, and a British cast of supreme professionals. It would cost zillions to produce something like this today.

    The scene near the end where Tom Jenkins sings and dances "Thank You Very Much" on top of Scrooge's coffin is remarkable.
     
  20. George C. Scott. I also like the Sim version.
     
  21. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

  22. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    I agree that Barrymore performed perhaps the definitive version of Scrooge on the radio. Originally he was going to repeat his portrayal of Scrooge in the 1938 version of 'A Christmas Carol'. He unfortunately got injured while making another movie and fearing he wouldn't get well enough to shoot the film in time, he recommended that his friend Reginald Owen play Scrooge. Owen actually didn't do that bad a job, but the film itself suffers by being a bit too jolly in the MGM style, especially when Scrooge reforms way too soon before the Ghost of Christmas Future shows up.

    Lionel Barrymore did shoot a trailer for the MGM Carol to help promote, which is the closest he got to a production of Christmas Carol on film. He did give a Scrooge-like performance as Mr. Potter in 'It's A Wonderful Life'.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbaa-T5wSE8

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ne13Zft9Q
     
  23. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    I know the Kelsey Grammar version of 'Christmas Carol' is not as familiar to folks, but it's a nice musical production and Grammar does a nice job portraying Scrooge. The Ghost of Christmas Future in this clip is played by Geraldine Chaplin, the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR2-GJmXOGw&NR=1&feature=fvwp
     
  24. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    I shouldn't be allowed to vote, since the George C Scott version is the only one I can think of having seen after the Alastair Sim version.

    I'm intrigued by the notion of a musical version though.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 18, 2014
  25. Raf

    Raf Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    The book.
     
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