What's the best version of A Christmas Carol?

[bgmnts]

Looks bombastic. Unsure if it fits the story.

[kalowski]

Patrick Stewart does a great turn in his one, but after Muppets, Murray and Sim it all seems a bit blandly pointless. Also there's a bit scene they forget to add the glow onto the Ghost of Christmas Present, which is lazy.

FX has its own three-part version out this Christmas. Big, spooky posters up all over New York:



Guy Ritchie (Scrooge), Stephen Graham (Marley), Andy Serkis (Ghost of Christmas Past) and Kayvan Novak ("Ali Baba"?!). Good cast. Probs gonna be rubs though.

EDIT: Ah, apparently already aired in the US and part one is out on the BBC tonight.

Contained Dickens' famous line: "I wish they'd fucking shut up" which doesn't make many other adaptations.

[mjwilson]

Is there an extended DVD version which includes it? We still have a VHS player which only gets used for that one film.

There was a set which included it, but I was trying to find a nice blu ray the other week with special features and stuff, but they seem to be US-only or out of print.

[TheBrownBottle]

'Scrooge' remains the best adaptation.  It's genuinely heartbreaking watching Arthur Daley be ground down by the inequities of the world around him.  It also makes Scrooge's redemption more readily believable (and Alistair Sim is fantastic).

I enjoy Bill Murray playing Bill Murray in 'Scrooged', too - though as it's Bill Murray, he always comes across as having always been a bit of a cunt, and it seems less a redemption and more of moment of temporary insanity.

[Replies From View]

Muppets for me.


I remember seeing their Treasure Island and realising that A Christmas Carol was lightning in a bottle that would never be repeated.

[bgmnts]

Contained Dickens' famous line: "I wish they'd fucking shut up" which doesn't make many other adaptations.

I don't remember a boy pissing on Marley's grave either.

Guy Pearce is playing Scrooge as someone who is on the verge of insanity.

And Cratchett is a bit of a cheeky cunt with his boss in this innit.

The Tiny Tim in this is Tiniest Timmiest Tiny Tim ever. Absolutely adorable.

[bgmnts]

Fucking hell this is dark.

[bgmnts]

What the actual fuck is this?

Nobody can be in the Christmas spirit aftet this.

[idunnosomename]

"You down there! What day is this?

...

You little cunt!?"

[bgmnts]

Is this the first bare arse we've seen in A Christmas Carol? Did Jim Davidson do a panto version maybe?

[garbed_attic]

This worth watching then? From what you're all saying it sounds like Tiny Tim is forced into child prostitution or something? :/

IDK I can't help buy thinking that The Muppets Christmas Carol is so clearly the best, nae bother.

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2019/12/20/a-grand-yuletide-theory-the-muppet-christmas-carol-is-the-best-adaptation-of-a-christmas-carol/?fbclid=IwAR2K371hUYM1Wjw8xJHkCnnSY_nfa5g87J4mKp-VGhhjJp180fhdR-dYt1E#easy-footnote-bottom-18-11963

[bgmnts]

This worth watching then? From what you're all saying it sounds like Tiny Tim is forced into child prostitution or something? :/

IDK I can't help buy thinking that The Muppets Christmas Carol is so clearly the best, nae bother.

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2019/12/20/a-grand-yuletide-theory-the-muppet-christmas-carol-is-the-best-adaptation-of-a-christmas-carol/?fbclid=IwAR2K371hUYM1Wjw8xJHkCnnSY_nfa5g87J4mKp-VGhhjJp180fhdR-dYt1E#easy-footnote-bottom-18-11963

This will sound a bit pretentious but I think this version is actually needed. A hit of gut punching reality starks a contrast against the usual saccharine affair.

Although my one criticism would be that the details of Scrooge's misdeed in this not only deviate a lot from the source material but surely make him irredeemable? He's an absolute evil bastard here.

[Custard]

Noticed Scrooged is on Amazon Video at the moment, so just had a rewatch

It really is a solid take on the story, with Murray being on his best form.

Never knew that was his actual brother playing his onscreen brother. No wonder they look so alike!

[Small Man Big Horse]

I watched Scrooged tonight and it is a thing of loveliness, and officially takes second place, the only thing disappointing is the Ghost of Christmas Past segment where Murray's relationship with Karen Allen is all kinds of lovely when going well, but a bit annoying and bland when it starts to go wrong (with the same applying to the Finney version). I'm tempted to watch the Sim version tomorrow though just on the off chance it's better than the Muppets, but a) I just can't see how that's possible and b) I'm not sure how many times I can watch this story without starting to get a bit bored by it, especially as Sim's is supposed to be one of the straighter versions. We'll see I guess, we'll see.

Edit: Only just seen your post Shameless Custard, but I agree with all of that, and Murray really is fantastic in it, both as the bastard and the kindhearted version at the end.

[Custard]

Great minds, eh SMBH? We were having a CaB watchalong and didn't even know it!

[Small Man Big Horse]

Great minds, eh SMBH? We were having a CaB watchalong and didn't even know it!

I think this definitely proves we're the two best Cabbers, and deserve some kind of award.

[bgmnts]

Scrooged has so many brilliant lines in it:

"Do you see anyone having fun here?"

The nipples:

"Well Charles Dickens would have wanted to see her nipples then."

"See and thess guys are REALLY looking."

Then finally:

"Make sure her nipples are covered up will you". Brill

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

This will sound a bit pretentious but I think this version is actually needed. A hit of gut punching reality starks a contrast against the usual saccharine affair.

Although my one criticism would be that the details of Scrooge's misdeed in this not only deviate a lot from the source material but surely make him irredeemable? He's an absolute evil bastard here.

I agree with all of this. It's a relentlessly stark adaptation, almost to the point of parody, but Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders fella) always skates quite deliberately on that fine line. It's fucked up and - yes - subversive, and it made me laugh: three hours of OTT, nihilistic madness on BBC One at Christmas.

Oh and it infuriated gammons due to its depiction of an interracial marriage in the late 19th century, something they claim would never have happened in reality, despite there being loads of specific historical evidence of interracial marriages actually happening at that time. Good!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

[kalowski]

I agree with all of this. It's a relentlessly stark adaptation, almost to the point of parody, but Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders fella) always skates quite deliberately on that fine line. It's fucked up and - yes - subversive, and it made me laugh: three hours of OTT, nihilistic madness on BBC One at Christmas.

Oh and it infuriated gammons due to its depiction of an interracial marriage in the late 19th century, something they claim would never have happened in reality, despite there being loads of specific historical evidence of interracial marriages actually happening at that time. Good!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

It was great and terrible at the same time. Great, because it was well acted, dark and powerful, but terrible because it lost the great lines that are so tied up with Scrooge. Why cut short the line and therefore cut out "decrease the surplus population"? That callback is more powerful than the ghost of Christmas past saying "Fuck you, Scrooge!"

And the little peek at the camera by Mrs Cratchitt reminded me of the Black Adder's mum revealing that she was a witch.

[bgmnts]

To be fair, though, after all the incredibly shit things he does throughout his life, saying "decrease the surplus population" probably isn't as powerful, relatively.

[Noodle Lizard]

Just started the FX one. It's Bob Geldof in The Wall.

EDIT: oh this is properly shit. Fine until all this Marley In The Abyss bollocks. Humbug.

[kalowski]

To be fair, though, after all the incredibly shit things he does throughout his life, saying "decrease the surplus population" probably isn't as powerful, relatively.

...as powerful as what?

[bgmnts]

...as powerful as what?

Well in the original story him saying that is one of the few things he says and/or does that is really nasty, so it hits hard when its thrown back in his face.

In this version it's pretty tame, considering you know what he has done.

[kalowski]

Well in the original story him saying that is one of the few things he says and/or does that is really nasty, so it hits hard when its thrown back in his face.

In this version it's pretty tame, considering you know what he has done.

Fair enough, and I was only half watching it, but the point is that the statement is thrown back at him. I wasn't really aware of anything being thrown back like that, it was just Scrooge does a load of really horrible stuff.

[bgmnts]

Fair.

Muppet Christmas Carol on, fuck me its fucking ACE.

[garbed_attic]

Fair.

Muppet Christmas Carol on, fuck me its fucking ACE.

It really is! It's properly glorious - just does everything a family film should do - doesn't patronise, doesn't dual address through innuendo, respects the audience, oodles of charm, earnest yet jokey. So, so very good.

[SteK]

Watching the BBC one now, I like it but;

1. Stephen Graham not being Scouse - he's always Scouse!

2. The Andy Serkis Ghost of Christmas Past is 100% Hagrid in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, I still think it's actually Robbie Coal Train...

[kalowski]

Watching the BBC one now, I like it but;

1. Stephen Graham not being Scouse - he's always Scouse!

Wait till you see the Irishman. Mainly from New Jersey with the odd Scouse word thrown in.

"Freakin' mutha sleeps with da fishes, our la'"

[Replies From View]

Is the Jim Carrey uncanny valley film the worst one?

[SavageHedgehog]

2001's delightfully named Christmas Carol: The Movie, from the director of The Snowman, is more baffling in a "why did they think this was worth making?" way, unless somebody really, really wanted to hear Nic Cage as the voice of Jacob Marley or give Kate WInslet a hit tie-in single.