12 Reviews of Christmas - A Christmas Carol (1999)
Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, this will be the final review for the 12 Reviews of Christmas for the year 2019. And since it's also Christmas Eve, I thought I'd take a look at a true staple of the holiday season: A Christmas Carol.
Based on the literary classic of the same name by Charles Dickens, there have literally been dozens of adaptations of A Christmas Carol. However, on deciding which version to discuss, I decided to go with a version that is a personal favorite of mine, which is the 1999 TV version starring Patrick Stewart. That's right, Captain Picard himself once starred in a made-for-TV version of A Christmas Carol. The story, of course, follows Ebenezer Scrooge, who is a miserable old miser, who is more concerned with profits and not with the holiday spirit. One Christmas Eve, the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, comes to warn Scrooge that there is a way he can turn his life around: he will be visited by three Spirits, all of whom have a lesson to teach him. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows him his childhood at a boarding school, and one Christmas where his little sister Fran came to bring him home for the holidays. The spirit then shows Scrooge his first job, working for Fezziwig, and it's at Fezziwig's Christmas party where Scrooge met Belle, a young woman with whom he fell in love, but who left him when he chose money and wealth over her.
The next spirit is the Ghost of Christmas Present, who takes Scrooge around and shows him the joys of Christmas, including a Christmas dinner that Scrooge's nephew, Fred, is having with his wife and their friends, as well as a Christmas dinner at the home of Scrooge's clerk, Bob Cratchit. The dinner, while meager, is appreciated by the Cratchit family, and Scrooge sees Cratchit's son, Tiny Tim, and takes pity on the boy. After a warning of the dangers of ignorance and want, personified by two feral-looking children (a boy and a girl), the spirit fades away, and Scrooge is left with the third spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come. The spirit shows Scrooge some people at the stock exchange talking about the death of an unnamed colleague, as well as two people who work at Scrooge's house fencing some items. Scrooge also learns that Tiny Tim did not survive, and that the dead man that was discussed before was Scrooge himself. Scrooge, afraid by what he sees, vows to change his ways and make things better.
Waking up on Christmas morning, Scrooge finds the ghosts had visited him all in one night instead of three. Gleeful at having survived the spirits, Scrooge decides to surprise Bob's family with a turkey dinner, and ventures out with the charity workers and the citizens of London to spread happiness in the city. Scrooge then goes to join Fred for Christmas dinner, and is welcomed by Fred's wife. The next day, he gives Cratchit a raise and becomes like "a second father" to Tiny Tim, who escapes death. The movie ends with Scrooge and the Cratchit family celebrating Christmas.
While the story of this version of A Christmas Carol is pretty consistent with every other version that is out there, what makes this one stand out is really just the cast. Patrick Stewart is terrific as Scrooge, as is Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit. Dominic West was terrific as Scrooge's nephew, Fred, and both Joel Grey and Desmond Barrit were great as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present. I wasn't a fan of the design for the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, but again, this was a TV movie, so the production quality isn't going to be top quality. Visually, the film takes a lot from the 1951 film version staring Alistair Sim, as opposed to the cheerful and Christmassy tone of the George C. Scott version from 1984. Director David Jones did a terrific rendition of the Dickens classic that TNT, the network that first aired the film, continue to play on their channel around this time of year. Easily the most underrated version of the story, this is one version of A Christmas Carol that I like to watch every year. I'm going to go ahead and give the 1999 version of A Christmas Carol a rating of 4.5/5. This is Chuck signing off. Thanks for following along with the 12 Reviews of Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone. See you guys next time.
Based on the literary classic of the same name by Charles Dickens, there have literally been dozens of adaptations of A Christmas Carol. However, on deciding which version to discuss, I decided to go with a version that is a personal favorite of mine, which is the 1999 TV version starring Patrick Stewart. That's right, Captain Picard himself once starred in a made-for-TV version of A Christmas Carol. The story, of course, follows Ebenezer Scrooge, who is a miserable old miser, who is more concerned with profits and not with the holiday spirit. One Christmas Eve, the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, comes to warn Scrooge that there is a way he can turn his life around: he will be visited by three Spirits, all of whom have a lesson to teach him. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows him his childhood at a boarding school, and one Christmas where his little sister Fran came to bring him home for the holidays. The spirit then shows Scrooge his first job, working for Fezziwig, and it's at Fezziwig's Christmas party where Scrooge met Belle, a young woman with whom he fell in love, but who left him when he chose money and wealth over her.
The next spirit is the Ghost of Christmas Present, who takes Scrooge around and shows him the joys of Christmas, including a Christmas dinner that Scrooge's nephew, Fred, is having with his wife and their friends, as well as a Christmas dinner at the home of Scrooge's clerk, Bob Cratchit. The dinner, while meager, is appreciated by the Cratchit family, and Scrooge sees Cratchit's son, Tiny Tim, and takes pity on the boy. After a warning of the dangers of ignorance and want, personified by two feral-looking children (a boy and a girl), the spirit fades away, and Scrooge is left with the third spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come. The spirit shows Scrooge some people at the stock exchange talking about the death of an unnamed colleague, as well as two people who work at Scrooge's house fencing some items. Scrooge also learns that Tiny Tim did not survive, and that the dead man that was discussed before was Scrooge himself. Scrooge, afraid by what he sees, vows to change his ways and make things better.
Waking up on Christmas morning, Scrooge finds the ghosts had visited him all in one night instead of three. Gleeful at having survived the spirits, Scrooge decides to surprise Bob's family with a turkey dinner, and ventures out with the charity workers and the citizens of London to spread happiness in the city. Scrooge then goes to join Fred for Christmas dinner, and is welcomed by Fred's wife. The next day, he gives Cratchit a raise and becomes like "a second father" to Tiny Tim, who escapes death. The movie ends with Scrooge and the Cratchit family celebrating Christmas.
While the story of this version of A Christmas Carol is pretty consistent with every other version that is out there, what makes this one stand out is really just the cast. Patrick Stewart is terrific as Scrooge, as is Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit. Dominic West was terrific as Scrooge's nephew, Fred, and both Joel Grey and Desmond Barrit were great as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present. I wasn't a fan of the design for the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, but again, this was a TV movie, so the production quality isn't going to be top quality. Visually, the film takes a lot from the 1951 film version staring Alistair Sim, as opposed to the cheerful and Christmassy tone of the George C. Scott version from 1984. Director David Jones did a terrific rendition of the Dickens classic that TNT, the network that first aired the film, continue to play on their channel around this time of year. Easily the most underrated version of the story, this is one version of A Christmas Carol that I like to watch every year. I'm going to go ahead and give the 1999 version of A Christmas Carol a rating of 4.5/5. This is Chuck signing off. Thanks for following along with the 12 Reviews of Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone. See you guys next time.
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