A Christmas Carol

I can't say watching this story for the millionth time bowled me over in any way (and I wasn't surprised to learn this was made for TV; the production values are definitely on the cheap side for 1984), but, for what it is, it was nice. Faithful to the source material, fully competent direction. George C. Scott is certainly one of the best, if not the best, Scrooges I've seen.

Excellent adaptation of the Dickens classic, with Scott a perfect Scrooge, and an excellent supporting cast making for a vivid, atmospheric rendering of the tale; the sequence with Woodward in the ghetto area of town is surprisingly chilling.

Awesome cast, and holy cats!--the most terrifying Ghost of Christmas Future ever.

The best non-Muppet version of A Christmas Carol. You cannot go wrong with George C. Scott.

Probably the best Scrooge performance. George C Scott carries this to be the definitive adaptation of A Christmas Carol… apart from the Muppet version of course.

The most striking aspect was the acting and facial expression of the main actor, a perfect Scrooge. However, as I am a fan of the novel, the plot departs from the novel in a bad way, thus making it seem as if the change of Scrooge came in fear of Death. Alas, that is not the case in the original novel, and so this version for me could not encompass the novel in its entire beauty.

Scott makes a very good grumpy Scrooge; everyone else is overshadowed here (of course, that's partially due to the story). The special effects aren't particularly strong except for the creepy kids Ignorance and Want. Wikipedia says there are over 50 movie/TV versions of the Dickens story; even with its faults, this one is still one of the better ones.

A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite Christmas-time stories to watch, in all its iterations. I am a staunch supporter of remakes/reboots/etc (despite many painful experiences) because of stories like this - stories that get told over and over and can be enjoyable despite knowing them back to front, based on good storytelling, acting, etc. Scott is an excellent Scrooge, and I love Edward Woodward's ghost.

At times cheap & cheesy, though frequently engaging. The film is low budget, but the camera work is creative and makes good use of light and shadow to create an effective atmosphere. It's this mix of creativity and some strong performances that allow it to succeed despite its limitations. Ultimately, it very much held my attention, and I was surprised to find it even rivalled the Muppets in terms of emotional investment.

The special effects didn't age well but otherwise it's a solid version with some good acting with the Scrooge, quite decent for a tv movie