John Chard

A Christmas Carol (1984) Wonderful Adaptation. The 1984 TV version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a joyous thing. Fronted by George C. Scott as the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge, Clive Donner’s movie pays great respects to the source material and garners a multi stranded piece of brilliance out of Scott. The characters of course remain the same, but headed by Scrooge having a complex and painful background and a persona of confused emotions, there’s meaty substance holding the movie up high. Donner and writer Roger Hirson retain the black heart of the source story, with the horror elements suitably effective to bother the children, while the Victorian atmosphere always feels – crucially – authentic. If you haven’t seen this version of the often filmed tale, put it on your list for next yuletide. 9/10