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A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color)
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Manufacturer: VCI Entertainment
Find all by VCI Entertainment
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Theatrical Release: December 3, 2008
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Retail Price: $19.99
Online Sale Price: $10.49
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Starring: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley
Alastair Sim's tour-de-force performance as the ultimate miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, has almost single-handedly made this beloved version of Charles Dickens' story into one of the best-loved Christmas films of all time. Some of Britain's best filmmakers united behind Sim, who was joined by a delightful cast of accomplished and acclaimed English actors; creating what many today believe to be the best and most faithful production of Dickens' immortal tale. Cranky and curmudgeonly Scrooge learns the error of his unkind ways and is taught the true meaning of the holidays when he is visited by the ghost of his late business partner and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future. Bonus Features: Audio Commentary by Marcus Hearn & George Cole, "Spirit of Christmas Past" - George Cole remembers Alastair Sim, "Richard Gordon Remembers George Minter & Renown Pictures", "Charles Dickens - His Life & Times", Bonus Colorized Version, Original American Theatrical Trailer, Original British Theatrical Trailer, Before & After Restoration Comparison, Optional English & Spanish Subtitles, Optional Narrative for the Blind, Photo & Press Book Gallery, Cast Bios, "Scrooge" (1935 Seymour Hicks Version) Specs: 2-DVD9s; Dolby Digital 5.1; 86 minutes; B&W / Color; Aspect Ratio: B&W Restored Version - 1.33:1; Optional 16x9 Enhanced for Widescreen Monitors; Colorized Version - 1.33:1; MPAA - NR; Year - 1951; SRP - $19.99.
User Submitted A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color) Reviews
December 3, 2008
I Dont Get It?
I am for watching old classics and enjoy a great many of them but this one is just too dated. Even though it is a musical, "Scrooge" with Albert Finney is far superior or to see George C Scott's performance in "A Christmas Carol" is awesome and both available on DVD. This version is poorly acted, very dry and horribly dated. I cant see how Sim is regarded as the best Scrooge. Even the scrooge in the 1935 version is more animated. Get the other two I mentioned and see for yourself. This version needs to fade away.
November 30, 2008
A Christmas Carol-Alstair Sims
This is without a doubt the best version of the Charles Dicken's classic ever made. If you only have one Christmas film in your collection it should be this one.
November 29, 2008
REVIEW OF THE SINGLE DISC B&W COLOR RELEASE 1989!
VCI Entertainment released a single disc version of this film almost 20 years ago. The print on it is faded and the color process is a bit fake looking. I can only hope that this new 2 disc edition from the same company is much better!....I would think so after 20 years.
The film itself is considered a classic by many, but this particular version is dated and stagey! It's slow moving with Alastair Sim being the only shinning light! I never saw this version as a kid and I think that is why I'm a bit critical of it. I have no fond memories of this movie, although I love the story! For those of you who love this version, please enjoy it as much as you like! I won't be spending my holidays watching this film version ever again! My DVD version(the single disc VCI edition from 89') has a washed out transfer, bad coloring and not much in the way of extras, including a vintage cartoon version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Maybe the 2 disc edition has enough going for it, to make me love this film?
November 23, 2008
True restoration
Because I read several negative reviews of this restoration I purchased the disc with some misgivings. I'm happy to report that my misgivings were not justified. Now, no one is harder to please than me when it comes to DVD image and sound quality. This is the best looking version of this film I've seen to date. Overall detail is vastly improved over the previous release as is contrast. I can see textures in clothing I've never seen before, as well as detail in shadows that were lacking in previous releases. The sound is 100% improved (even the Dolby Surround is effective). While there is some footage that is a bit degraded it quite minimal and accounts for only a minute or two of the entire film.
Overall, a great restoration job!
November 21, 2008
YOU CAN'T TOP ALISTAIR SIM'S SCROOGE.
Ever since I can remember, Christmas hasn't been Christmas without at least one viewing of this film. Even waaaay back to the days before VCRs and 300 cable channels, living in a small Arkansas town, my brother and I would scour the TV guide that came in the Sunday paper to see if it was coming on one of the three channels we got. (How did we survive?)
I also have the 2002 disc, and comparing them on my setup it's obvious that alot of care has gone into the restoration efforts. However (here comes the nit-pick)...watch the scene where the door to Scrooge's sitting room flies open in advance of Marley's entrance. Scrooge leaps up from his chair and cowers against the wall...his mouth is opening BUT YOU CAN'T HEAR HIM UTTER HIS CRY OF FEAR! This, to me, is shoddy audio engineering...since of course it's loud and clear on the 2002 version. Someone apparently dropped the audio out when the transfer was being done. Yes, I know this is a very, very minor point, but it's still a point. So I actually give the disc creators 4 stars. If they were as dedicated to the full restoration of this film as the packaging would have us believe, they wouldn't have missed something so trivial.
November 10, 2008
A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color)
I don't really have to write anything do I?????
The life of a Scrooge transformed by the Love of a friends. Watch both though I do really prefer the black & white one just being nostalgic.
November 3, 2008
Overall my favourite screen adaptation
Over the decades there have been many screen adaptations of this timeless classic by Charles Dickens. The story is sometimes acted out with levity, as in "Black Adder's Christmas Carol" and Michael Caine's excellent 1992 production "The Muppet Christmas Carol", et al. When reviewing Alastair Sim's 1951 film I feel it's more appropriate to restrict my comparisons to the other 'serious' adaptations as well as to the original novel.
The 1984 George C. Scott production boasts some excellent acting but leaves out much of the storyline. The exact reverse is true of the 1999 Patrick Stuart version, where more of the original story is retained but Stuart is unconvincing as Scrooge. Overall, this 1951 Alastair Sim adaptation is the best I've seen yet - especially since it was 'colourised' in 1979. In fact, this DVD boxed-set contains both! It also includes a pretty dated 1936 effort called "Scrooge", starring Seymour Hicks. Cinema made enormous strides in those 15 years and Hicks's treatment can't hold a candle to Sim's 1951 classic.
There's one aspect of the Alastair Sim version that's worthy of mention. Scenes and dialogue not found in the original text are inserted in order to "flesh out" the story. In some cases, this can actually enhance the viewing experience (and I say that as something of a literary purist). For example, there's a scene where Scrooge & Marley - both aged thirty-something - offer to pay their employer's debts from personal savings. This is in exchange for an option to buy up 51% of the company's shares. Dickens's novel contained no such narrative, yet the scene helps to paint a picture of the partners' gradual descent from the benignity of honest ambition into the malignancy of personal greed.
But often with a classic novel, when you add something to it you take away. This is especially true of the farcical scene where Jacob Marley appears to be repenting on his death-bed. The fact that Marley died unrepentant is crucial to the storyline! A poor piece of directing in my view.
Overall, I still highly recommend this video. Were it not for the Marley death-bed anomaly I'd have awarded it the full 5 stars.
October 7, 2008
Dickens displaying his Craft
Perhaps this Christmas story is the most famous non-biblical one of all, written by one of the great authors in a poignant, heart rending tale guaranteed to entice your heart to overflowing.
The movie does the story justice, the actors seem born to their roles.
I love this story, and our family finds a reason to watch this movie every year. And what a joyous feast we have after we view it.
September 3, 2008
Sim the best of all
Although there are several versions of the Christmas Carol, this one by Sim is considered to be the very best. The absence of the technology we see today didn't hamper this production. One must remember the age of this presentation in order to really appreciate it.
May 15, 2008
Cheers for Charles and Alastair!!!
First off, I am a great fan of all Charles Dickens works but I'm particularly fond of "A Christmas Carol". I probably own just about every filmed version of this classic that one can obtain. Of all the versions,(and there are many) this one starring Alastair Sim is far and away the best I've ever seen. Sim's performance is incomparable and brilliant! So much so, that it will be difficult to watch the other films after you've seen this one. (That's saying a lot. The one starring George C. Scott was quite good.)
This release includes the magnificently restored B&W original version, a colorized version of the original, and as a bonus, an earlier B&W film version starring Seymour Hicks!(...gasp...I can hardly go on...). It also includes some other bonus material I've not seen in any edition such as the "Richard Gordon Remembers Minter and Renown Pictures". I'll not restate the all the bonus description here but I will say that while it's not a lavish production, it IS truly fascinating as well as informative.
If you are not a fan, why not buy this release and get the most for your money?
If you are a fan, it is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. There is so much in this release to appreciate I can't possibly put it into this review. Unless a better edition is released, this is truly the ultimate edition.
Alright...alright...I'll say it..."God bless us, everyone..."
--May Christmas always be in your heart.
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