NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

AttyTude0 This a delightful musical version of Dickens' timeless tale. Not perfect, but delightful, nonetheless.I will not go over the merits of the film. Enough people have done it. But I do strongly advise people to watch the film and make up their own mind about it, rather than listen to the Grinches and the Scrooges who complained here. They bring to my mind one of the songs in the film: "I hate life."

rlane1000 Huge Charles Dickens fan and to me this is by far the greatest Christmas Carol adaptation of all time. Stellar casting with an incredible performance by Albert Finney who is spot on Ebenezer Scrooge. It seems that all subsequent productions attempt to imitate his wonderful portrayal. Rich period sets. Outstanding cinematography. I don't usually enjoy musicals but this has just enough to complement the dramatic presentation. The production is also well choreographed. Truly a classic adaptation. Simply the very best.

Hitchcoc I was fairly impressed with Albert Finny. He has made a career out of playing sort of gruff guys (Daddy Warbucks in Annie) and so Scrooge fits him well. I was a little apprehensive because often the original songs in these films don't work very well. There is that godawful thing that was done by Kelsey Grammar, maybe the worst of all time. But these songs are catchy and they fit in well with the plot line. Of course, everyone knows the story of reclamation by the old buzzard who dotes on money, while the population suffers in the streets. I love the song "Thank You Very Much" which shows how vilified the old man is to the people he meets each day. By dying, they say, he will make the world a better place. Can you imagine that? Anyway, I have my favorites and I do love the Alaister Sim above all else followed closely by George C. Scott. But this will stand the test of time.

jc-osms I wish I'd managed to watch this overlooked British film musical before Christmas but even with the trees and decorations down for days, it was still a very pleasurable watch. Beats me why it's never mentioned in the top list of classic festive films as it has a lot going for it.The story is so well known and there have been so many film versions of it that familiarity could breed some discontent if not quite contempt, but the twist is here is that it's played as a musical with a lively score by the celebrated Leslie Bricusse. Here, he has to contend with two of his main actors probably challenging Lee Marvin for the award for worst singer in a major production, being Albert Finney and Alec Guinness, but despite this palpable drawback, the movie works well.The evocation of mid-19th Century London is splendidly achieved (in sets apparently left over from the recently completed "Oliver!") with no stinting on cast numbers per scene either. The songs are happy singalong and yet suffused with the personality of the singer, thus Scrooge's "I Hate People" and later the crowd, led by Anton Rogers, singing "Thank You Very Much" to Scrooge for dying.The special effects aren't that great, especially when you see a white-painted Guinness as Marley's ghost float up and away on wires but they're tolerable for the time.Finney is very good even buried away under more pancaked makeup than Shrove Tuesday, Guinness a lot less so in a part in which he's obviously ill at ease. Director Neame directs with some flair and stays reasonably close to the source story.Some Christmas presents I find are best appreciated even if delayed until after the day itself. Watching this film was like that for me, a little post-Yuletide delight all the more welcome