A Christmas Carol

As someone who comes from a family of Christmas fanatics and HUGE "Carol" fans begging for a version that remains completely faithful to the original text, this updated version intrigued me like very few have. Although the use of Marley is unusual (he appears several times), I bought into the concept of Scrooge as a heartless loan shark and Bob Cratchitt as his assistant trapped in a job from which he cannot afford to escape. I especially enjoyed some of the modern, and very creative, approaches which will be better appreciated by those more familiar with the story. What captured my attention initially, was the opening scene in which the familiar, "Marley was dead..." is delivered in a totally fresh manner. If you love the "Carol" try to find this next Christmas on public television (which is where I found it by accident)!

I actually stumbled upon this version from 2000 by accident. It was Christmas morning, 2002 and I was laying in bed looking for something to watch. I just happened to click on one of the local public stations out of Long Island and immediately became transfixed. I wasn't even sure of what I was watching. Then it struck me. A modern day Christmas Carol, complete with the British accents! What a treasure. The only negative thing I can say about this film is that it's next to impossible to find it playing on TV here in the states. It's also not available in any media form (VHS / DVD).

This is my favorite version of the Dickens classic and every cold-hearted anti holiday Grinch would be served well by one viewing.

If anyone knows where I can find this, please email me!!!! Thanks

A Christmas Carol (Ross Kemp) (2000) -

While Ross Kemp, would never have been my first choice to play any variation of Ebenezer (Eddie) Scrooge and he wasn't brilliant in this role, basically playing Grant Mitchell (Eastenders), I did believe that his character had truly gone through a change as a result of his visitations, because at the very beginning I felt that he was way passed a redemption of any sort.

This version of the classic Dickens novel was a hugely bastardised script that was actually as much 'Groundhog Day' (1993) as 'A Christmas Carol', but it somehow worked. Yes, I was surprised too!

I actually did enjoy it, despite a few hammy and overacted performances.

Will I be adding it to my list of films to watch every Christmas? Probably not, but I'm glad that I've seen it and I would watch it again in the future, although The Muppets, George C. Scott and Alistair Sim alternatives will always be lined up before it.

In fairness, the bastardisation was only really done to bring it up to date for the time that it was filmed and set and I thought that it was done quite cleverly to show that the same issues still existed over 150 years after Charles Dickens wrote the source material. Sadly the world does not seem to have improved since the mid 1800's or even the Millennium and we still have that balance of rich and poor, instead of a world where everyone lives comfortably.

Other than the fact that Liz Smith (Joyce) must have known the script to this story off by heart, this being at least the third one I've seen her in and the dodgy bit where Eddie was arguing with the ghost of Christmas future that was really quite weird, there's nothing more to say about this one, except perhaps to not judge it based on its premise and cast as I initially did 22 years ago.

7/10.

Heart. This version has heart. Which is more than I can say for the latest Jim Carrey one. But I've opinionated about that elsewhere. When I first watched it in 2000, as a die-in-the-wool Dickens fan and this particular story, I was not impressed. But I will admit, in my immaturity, my displeasure had a great deal to do with Ross Kemp whom I didn't (and still don't) consider an actor worthy of the story. But here I am in 2009 and as it was on, I watched it, and this time I was impressed by the fact that it remained true to the spirit of the story if not to the story itself. In fact, I'll blaspheme a little; I thought parts of exceeded the original story. Especially the ghost of Christmas yet to come. But I do wish an actor of better calibre had been chosen for the part of Scrooge. Dear old Mr Kemp, let him stay in his soap where he belongs. The music was easily forgotten, the lighting or sound was not celebratory. The director will not have a memorial placed after her. But full marks to Peter Bowker, the screenwriter. A dark version children can watch. And it is interesting I found; if this happened in real life, the people whom Scrooge had wronged, would not immediately forgive him for all the pain he had inflicted upon them as has happened in all the other versions. This is a true to life fantasy. Top marks. Molly Cutpurse.

I am an avid fan of the 'carol' movies, and have read the book more times than I can count. Some version of 'Carol' are terrible, some are brilliant, this movie goes into the latter choice. Kemp brings us a very believable Scrooge, a loan shark in a council estate. We see more of Scrooges love, Belle (or rather, Bella, in this new version), who fills out the character like I have never seen before. The ghosts were fantastically thought out, instead of being random spirits, these ghosts were close to Scrooge in their lives. The Ghost of Christmas-Yet-To-Come being the biggest shocker of all.

This is undoubtedly my favorite take on the 'Carols' so far, and I would recommend it to anyone. I really, really hope that one day, it will be brought out onto DVD, I don't think the recording I made of it when it aired will last much longer from being watched.