A Christmas Carol

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.

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 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

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 make it a point to see every version of A Christmas Carol I can find. This showed up on an Amazon Prime search and I'm so glad I watched it. The updating just works. The familiar elements and sentiments that make this story a classic are all there.

Hi. It's 2024 and I made a point to find this movie again to make sure if I liked it as well as I did the first time. And I did. It was made for British TV and rarely shows up on any lists.

I spent the holiday watching various older and newer versions and love this one. It's great and deserves to be seen by more people. (Although The Muppets is my favorite!)