A Christmas Carol

Plot

Patrick Stewart stars as Ebeneezer Scrooge in this made-for-TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic holiday fable. Scrooge is a skinflint businessman who loathes the Christmas season and begrudges having to give time off to his best employee, Bob Cratchit (Richard E. Grant). On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his late friend and partner, Jacob Marley (Bernard Lloyd), who in the afterlife has come to see the error of his ways. Marley arranges for Scrooge to be visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Joel Grey), Christmas Present (Desmond Barrit), and Christmas Yet to Come (Tim Potter) in hopes of teaching Scrooge of the importance of embracing the joy of the holiday season. A Christmas Carol was produced for the TNT cable television network. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

One of the best of the numerous adaptations of author Charles Dickens's holiday classic, this made-for-television original movie produced for the TNT network benefits greatly from its closer-than-usual adherence to the source material and a career-high performance from leading actor Patrick Stewart. The actor perfected his role in a long-running one-man stage show version of the tale, and his years of acing the part of Scrooge come through in every scene, whether he's mindlessly tapping his toes to a long-forgotten tune, dusting off a laugh that's cracked and dry from disuse, or scowling with contempt at charity workers. The technical credits here are excellent, with the benefit of modern special effects and the cinematography of Ian Wilson even garnering an Emmy nomination, but what sets this A Christmas Carol apart from the rest is the quality and believability of Stewart as the embittered antihero, a role that's difficult to attenuate: too campy, and the end result is the Mr. Magoo cartoon; too sour and you get George C. Scott in the overly gruff 1977 TV variation; too mean and there's Reginald Owen in the first big-budget treatment of the tale from 1938. Alastair Sim in the 1951 classic is widely considered the high-water mark of Scrooge portrayals and it's a testament to Stewart's commitment and talent that his is probably the best work in the role since then. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Cast

• Patrick Stewart - Ebenezer Scrooge
• Richard E. Grant - Bob Cratchit
• Joel Grey - Ghost of Christmas Past
• Ian McNeice - Albert Fezziwig
• Saskia Reeves - Mrs. Cratchit

Desmond Barrit - Ghost of Christmas Present; Tim Potter - Ghost of Christmas Future; Dominic West; Trevor Peacock; Liz Smith; Elizabeth Spriggs; Kenny Doughty; Laura Fraser; Celia Imrie; Ben Tibber - Tiny Tim Cratchit; Rosie Wiggins - Fran

Credit

Joyce Gallie - Casting, Charles Knode - Costume Designer, David Jones - Director, Dave Martin - Editor, Patrick Stewart - Executive Producer, Robert Halmi, Sr. - Executive Producer, Stephen Warbeck - Composer (Music Score), Roger Hall - Production Designer, Dyson Lovell - Producer, Nick Adams - Sound Editor, Peter Barnes - Screenwriter, Charles Dickens - Book Author

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