Bernard Lloyd, Celia Imrie, Desmond Barrit

Standing out in the crowded field of screen adaptations of the classic Dickens novel A Christmas Carol is hard to do, but this version pulls it off. When a transparent Jacob Marley walks throug...( read more  read more... )h Ebenezer Scrooge's apartment door, you know you're seeing something both timeless and contemporary. Other strategically placed special effects--a funnel cloud that transports Scrooge and the ghost of Christmas present, the hollow specter of Christmas future--keep you riveted without slipping into anachronism.

But, as good as the technology is, the performances are what really power this 93-minute TNT interpretation. Patrick Stewart brings a depth to Scrooge that allows the character to go beyond the cartoonish qualities that have made him a Christmas mainstay. That doesn't mean he's any less heartless with his hapless employee Bob Cratchit (Richard E. Grant) or any less dismissive of his well-meaning nephew. A frail-looking Joel Grey makes an excellent ghost of Christmas past, and a superb British cast ably fill the remaining roles.

Director David Jones, shooting on location in England and at London's Ealing Studios, has achieved a balance of science and sentiment that will help this version hold up for many years to come. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Flixster Users

57% liked it

59,086 ratings

Unrated, 93 min.

Directed by: David Hugh Jones

Release Date: December 5, 1999

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DVD Release Date: October 31, 2000

Stats: 957 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (957)


  • February 3, 2008
    Pending Review...

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  • December 31, 2006
    Good Flick, better than average.
  • October 30, 2006
    This along with the Disney animated version are by far the best versions of this wonderful tale.
  • December 22, 2008
    This version is occasionally creepy and darker which isn't a bad touch. However it's also a little dull. While Patrick Stewart isn't bad in the role of Scrooge he's the only Scrooge to ever be completely bald. He looks like he just wandered off the set of a Star Trek film. If the...( read more)y ever make another, the under-rated John Lithgow would make an awesome Scrooge.
  • November 4, 2009
    Hawthorne cinemas
    6:30 PM
    CINEMA 1
  • August 8, 2009
    There are so many of these... sort of movies I always mix them up.. But, non the less they are all good to watch around Xmas time :)
  • March 20, 2009
    Love this story with Ebeneezer Scrooge. It became a myth even. A lot of movies on this story.
  • January 13, 2009
    Watch it every year =]
  • January 9, 2009
    A really neat version, but not my favorite. I liked the attention to detail in this film.
  • December 27, 2008
    Patrick Stewart is one of our finest actors. He is the reason this umpteenth retelling of Dickens' finest tale (work with me) gets an annual outing from me, you know, every year at Christmas. We all know the story and there are no surprises to be had, but every actor in this vers...( read more)ion plays it for keeps. Brilliant. Bring back Jean Luc Picard.

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A Christmas Carol Trivia


  • "Before I draw nearer to that stone, tell me! Are these the shadows of things that must be, or are they the shadows of things that MIGHT be?" The above quote is a reference from what movie, from which character, and is in reference to whose stone?   Answer »
  • Name this 1951 Christmas Classic starring Mr. Alastair Sim.  Answer »
  • Which actor played an Americanized and modernized Scrooge in a made-for-tv adaptation of A Christmas Carol set against the backdrop of the Great Depression called An American Christmas Carol?  Answer »
  • Name the story that has been made into a movie with the most remakes..  Answer »

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