A Christmas Carol [Blu-ray]

Overview

Widely considered to be the definitive of the many film versions of Charles Dickens' classic novel is this 1951 British adaptation, starring Alastair Sim (entitled "Scrooge" in its U.K. release). Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a London miser who, despite his wealth, refuses to make charitable contributions and treats his sole employee, Bob Cratchit, as an indentured servant. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley, who was as selfish as Scrooge in life and has been condemned to an eternity of wandering the Earth in shackles. Marley informs Scrooge that he's to receive a trio of spirits that night who will take him on a journey through Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. As Scrooge encounters each apparition, he is taken on a tour of his life and realizes what a wretch he is, transformed by greed from an idealistic youth into an embittered ogre. Infused with a new, cheery outlook, Scrooge sets about earning his redemption.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2012
UPC:	0089859905124
Original Release:	1951
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kit Parker Films
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:26:00

Special Features

Introduction by Leonard Maltin; "Dead to begin with: the darker side of a classic" - featuring British film historial and culturalist Sir Christopher Frayling; "Scrooge by another name: distributing a Christmas carol" - featurette with US distributor, Richard Gordon; "The human blarney stone: life and films of Brian Desmond Hurst" with Allan Esler Smith, the great-great nephew and biographer of Hurst; "Alastair Sim version: too good to be shown only at Christmastime" - by Fred Guida, author of "A Christmas Carol and its Adaptations"; "Silent Dickens" - a collection of early examples of Dickens on film in HD (Scrooge - 1922 and Bleak House - 1922); ; Bonus disc includes full length standard definition 'A Chrismas Carol' plus:; "Campbell Playhouse: a Christmas Carol" - original 1939 radio dramatization, narrataed by Orson Welles and starring Lionel Barrymore; "Bibliographic essay" by Fred Guida

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Alastair Sim	Scrooge
Kathleen Harrison	Mrs. Dilber
Mervyn Johns	Bob Cratchit
Jack Warner	Mr. Jorkins
Michael Hordern	Jacob Marley
Hermione Baddeley	Mrs. Cratchit
John Charlesworth	Peter Cratchit
Glyn Dearman	Tiny Tim
Rona Anderson	Alice
George Cole	Scrooge as Young Man
Carol Marsh	Fan, Scrooge's Sister
Brian Worth	Fred, Scrooge's Nephew
Olga Edwardes	Fred's Wife
Roddy Hughes	Mr. Fezziwig
Hattie Jacques	Mrs. Fezziwig
Clifford Mollison	Mr. Wilkins
Michael Dolan	Spirit of the Past
Francis de Wolff	Spirit of Present
C. Konarski	Spirit of the Future
Ernest Thesiger	Undertaker,Undertaker
Miles Malleson	Old Joe
Louise Hampton	Laundress
Peter Bull	Businessman
Douglas Muir	Businessman
Eliot Makeham	Snedrig
Henry Hewitt	Rosehed
Hugh Dempster	Groper
Patrick Macnee	Young Marley
Eleanor Summerfield	Miss Flora
Maire O'Neill	Alice's patient
Richard Pearson	Mr Tupper
Fred Johnson	Collector
Noel Howlett	First Collector
David Hannaford	Boy Sent to Buy Turkey
Richard Addinsell	Composer

Technical Credits

Noel Langley

Charles Dickens

Brian Desmond Hurst	Director,Producer
Noel Langley	Screenwriter
George Minter	Producer,Executive Producer
Charles Dickens	Screenwriter
Charles Earl	Sound Effects
Fred Ryan	Sound Effects
Leonard Trumm	Sound Effects

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- A Christmas Carol
1. Chapter 1 [1:04]
2. Chapter 2 [6:03]
3. Chapter 3 [3:53]
4. Chapter 4 [10:13]
5. Chapter 5 [5:26]
6. Chapter 6 [4:51]
7. Chapter 7 [4:15]
8. Chapter 8 [3:40]
9. Chapter 9 [9:50]
10. Chapter 10 [3:16]
11. Chapter 11 [7:57]
12. Chapter 12 [2:12]
13. Chapter 13 [2:52]
14. Chapter 14 [4:48]
15. Chapter 15 [3:05]
16. Chapter 16 [6:01]
17. Chapter 17 [6:04]
18. Chapter 18 [:51]
1. Chapter 1 [2:23]
2. Chapter 2 [5:29]
3. Chapter 3 [6:03]
4. Chapter 4 [11:58]
5. Chapter 5 [3:24]
6. Chapter 6 [9:21]
7. Chapter 7 [9:01]
8. Chapter 8 [3:04]
9. Chapter 9 [8:29]

Menu

Disc #1 -- A Christmas Carol
   Play A Christmas Carol
   A Christmas Carol: Chapters
   Campbell Playhouse: A Christmas Carol
   Campbell Playhouse: A Christmas Carol: Chapters
   Bibliographic Essay by Fred Guida

Editorial Reviews

Scrooge is remarkable for staying faithful to Charles Dickens's classic story as it remains fresh and vivid, even upon repeat viewings. The entire cast is excellent, but it is the great performance of Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge that distinguishes this version from several other adaptations of this work. Sim creates a complex characterization, and, in the film's many flashback scenes, the audience is given a compelling view of the character as he evolves into the not-so-lovable curmudgeon visited by ghosts. Indeed, such complexity is necessary for the story to have its full impact, as the viewer must feel both sympathy and disapproval for Scrooge, a difficult combination for an actor to convey. The crisp, black-and-white cinematography of C.M. Pennington-Richards is also a major asset. This is one of the most convincing of all recreations of Dickens' England, with almost no condescension to sentimentality from director Brian Desmond Hurst.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam