A Christmas Carol

1984 Directed by Clive Donner

A new powerful presentation of the most loved ghost story of all time!

An old bitter miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.

George C. Scott Roger Rees David Warner Susannah York Edward Woodward Angela Pleasence Michael Carter Anthony Walters Caroline Langrishe Lucy Gutteridge Nigel Davenport Mark Strickson Joanne Whalley Frank Finlay Brian Pettifer Peter Settelen Daniel Chatto Timothy Bateson Michael Gough John Quarmby Peter Woodthorpe Liz Smith Kieran Hughes Orlando Wells Cathryn Harrison John Sharp

Alternative Titles

Charles Dicken's Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte, 小氣財神, Un Cuento de Navidad, Um Conto de Natal

drama family fantasy tv movie

101 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Rafael Jovine ★★★★★ 6

Ho! Ho! Ho! Its a Christmas List, yo!
So when I got this movie, I was convinced I was about to watch The Muppets version, but by the end what I got was a Made-for-TV British version of the iconic Charles Dickens tale.
And starting up, can we all just agree there’s no better actor to play Scrooge than George C. Scott? The man was born to play this character. From the persona he has built throughout the years as an actor to the way he looks with his height and face. And as expected, he wonderfully delivers both the a**hole side, but also his new self after he’s been taken through this ride with all the ghosts. You genuinely…
Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★★

George C. Scott's take on Charles Dickens' classic Christmas literary character is a personification that I've revisited religiously every Christmas eve for many years now. Time has brought a sort of familiarity to this TV version that makes me more fond of it than other variations. I won't say that this is definitively the best version of A Christmas Carol, but it's certainly still one of my personal favorites.
Although this adaptation is oftimes cheap in its appearance (thanks to its age and lower budget television quality), Scott himself carries this film with his magnificent talent. His gruff voice and towering appearance gives a more hardened personality to this Ebeneezer Scrooge than other performances have. He's less cartoonish in his…
Review by WraithApe ★★★ 8

I have a special fondness for this version of Dickens's evergreen morality tale as it was shot on location in and around my hometown of Shrewsbury. It was fun picking out backdrops like Fish Street, Bear Steps, Town Walls, St Chad's and a bunch of other localities 99% of my readership will never have heard of. The interior scenes are all shot on set and they clearly used a lot of set work outside as well, embellishing the naturally ancient frontages of the medieval town with 19th Century period details. In a paltry attempt to convince the non-Salopian viewer it's set in London, there's a crude matte painting of St Paul's visible in the distance at the end of Fish…
Review by voidember ★★★★ 8

Arguably the darkest of the Christmas Carol adaptations for film, and one of my personal favorites, I watched this pretty much every year around the holidays as an adolescent, sometimes in the middle of the year as my mother is one of those people who watches Christmas movies year-round. It planted the kernel of my now deep affection for George C. Scott, whose voice is now the quintessential voice of Scrooge in my mind when I read Dickens' original text. What a great, legendary growl of a voice. And his laugh is the best.
Aptly for a story titled A Christmas Carol, this one seems to understand how important legitimate spookiness is to the story and Christmas hymns and carols…
Review by Lebowskidoo🍿😷🍁 ★★★★½ 4

Yet another version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, only this time, a more faithful TV movie adaptation. Scrooge is more human and relatable, less of a miserable old fart.
George C. Scott is really great as Scrooge. He plays him more like a man who has been wounded by life and has retreated from humanity. The entire production is pretty great. Having played the Ghost of Christmas Past myself in the sixth grade, I recognized entire scenes and lines taken directly from the source material. Many other versions omit or switch things up, this one sticks fairly close to the book. Charles Dickens would have approved.
Review by Issac ★★★★ 2

Most people know the story, most people know the meaning behind the story, but I for one did not know the dark and heart aching elements that this Christmas story contains.
I guess when I've seen previous versions of this movie, I mainly pay attention to the story itself and not the details.
There's a lot of sadness, a lot of internal sadness. A lot of sadness that Is only caused by selfishness and a lot of people can relate to that (like me).
I enjoyed this movie a lot for it's small details and for the creepiness it carried throughout the movie as it went on and for that, it's my favorite version of Dickens' classic story so far. Still many other versions to watch though.
Review by Julius ★★★★½ 3

What I particularly like about this version is all the smiling in it. George C. Scott's Scrooge, rather than being constantly grumpy, takes joy in his own wit as he mocks Christmas, and delivers many of his darkly comic lines with a cynical grin.
The spirits also get to smile more than they do in most adaptations; they have a serious duty, but that doesn't mean that can't enjoy torturing old Scrooge. I just love Edward Woodward's Ghost of Christmas Present's sarcastic smile as he throws Scrooge's own words back in his face.
The discussions between Scrooge and The GOCP are among my favorite things in A Christmas Carol, and this version does more justice to them than I have seen in any other.
It's also spooky and bleak when it needs to be, containing a fine Marley (disappointing scream, though) and nicely creepy Ignorance and Want.
Review by Blaze the Action Junkie ★★½

One of the most classic cinematic recreations of the Dickens original. It's not a terrible watch, but it is a bit bland by today's standards. One of the best things I found in this re-watch is that the big victory at the end was Ebenezer doubling Kratchet's salary. That was as poignant in 1843 when the original story was published as it is nearly two centuries later today in 2020, and somehow a lot less likely to happen in today's society sadly. Personally I prefer the version of the story set forth in the film Scrooged, but again, this one isn't terrible.
'Humbug.'
1984 Ranked
1980’s Ranked
Fantasy Adventure films Ranked
Fantasy Adventure Films in the 1980’s Ranked
Period films Ranked
Paranormal / Supernatural films Ranked
Dream Sequences Ranked
Christmas Movies Ranked
Best for Young Children Ranked
TV Movies Ranked
Review by Connor Carey ★★★

Definitely darker and filled with creepier imagery than most other imaginings even if it’s probably one of the weaker adaptations of A Christmas Carol. It does suffer from being a made for TV movie as you can really tell the filmmakers couldn’t do everything they wanted to, but honestly this story is pretty hard to screw up and this was still solid overall. George C. Scott is perfect casting and he really carries this even in its weakest moments.
Review by Sally Jane Black 2

It's been so long since I've seen or read a version of this that I actually found myself enjoying it again for the first time in ages. I tend to avoid versions of it simply because of the saturation of the story, but fuck it, it was on TV and the family copy of Die Hard has gone AWOL. This particular version has the worst TIny Tim I've ever witnessed, but it's got some fun visuals (Marley, the Ghost of Future Past) and great actors (Rees, Scott). Oh, and the Ghost of Christmas Present (ha) is bugfuck nuts.
December count: 87/100
Review by Peter Spencer ★★★★

Another Christmas movie that I've seen on the Roku channel!
This maybe the best adaptation of A Christmas Carol I've seen.
And George C. Scott was fantastic as Mr. Scrooge.
Review by freya

i wanted to punch tiny tim so fuckin bad this whole movie

Recent reviews

Review by antonioacosta ★★★½

Dudes gotta lighten up
Review by Dirk Middelwaart ★★★★

Tijdens de kerst mag eigenlijk 'A Christmas Carol' niet ontbreken. Het beroemde verhaal van schrijver Charles Dickens uit 1843 is al tientallen keren verfilmd. Im deze versie uit 1984 speelt acteur George C. Scott de rol van geldwolf Ebenezer Scrooge. Op kerstavond krijgt hij bezoek van drie geesten die met hem zijn leven bekijken. Waarom is hij geworden zoals hij is, een kille zakenman die kerst maar "humbug" vindt, en kan hij hier nog wat aan veranderen? Ik heb deze versie in mijn jeugd gezien en vond die toen best wel eng in tegenstelling tot andere versies van de film. Scott zet een overtuigende Scrooge neer. Welke versie zal ik volgend jaar eens gaan kijken?
Review by laurieprescott ★★★★★

I have watched this movie every year for as long as I can remember. George C. Scott brings the character of Ebenezer Scrooge to life so well that you will end up being convinced he really is that character. The score, the setting, everything matches this story perfectly and leaves you feeling great at the end. I recommend.
Review by Destiny S-P ★★★

Not as good as the one from the 50s
Review by Cole Whitehouse ★★★★

One of the best adaptations of the Christmas Carol story mainly due to a great performance by the late George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.
Review by Hue Trane ★★★★★

One of my favorite versions of A Christmas Carol (I like the Patrick Stewart-led TV movie as well).
Review by Ben Auletta Jr. ★★★★★

Gorge C. Scott was wonderful in this film. This was a marvelous version of a Christmas Carol. Watching this film brought back so many memories of playing Scrooge in my sixth grade class version of A Christmas Carol. A pox upon merry Christmas. I am so lucky that my dad got a video camera back in the early 80's before people had them. He was able to tape the play and I have it to watch now. I recommend that all who read this watch this version of Dicken's Christmas Tale.
Review by Peter K ★★

Story is hard to beat.
Review by Ronnie Lewis ★★★½ 1

The absolute best acted version of A Christmas Carol.
Review by City Mist Productions ★★

There are some effectively spooky scenes, but George C. Scott makes a disappointingly unthreatening Scrooge, Clive Donner's direction is often static, and much of the cast seem to just be going through the motions.
Review by Blake ★★★★

there's no debate in our household
this is our favorite Christmas Carol adaptation
watched only once every Christmas Eve,
after "It's A Wonderful Life" finishes broadcasting on NBC
George C. Scott anchors the film with a great performance,
but everything is stellar, especially the atmosphere & setting
Review by SlasherLover ★★★★ 3

I've watched a total of 6 'A Christmas Carol' movies now and by far this one is my favorite. Just something about it made me feel the most yuletide cheer. George C. Scott was a great choice! I heard some didn't like it because it's a lower budget Christmas Carol than the rest, but I didn't notice that at all, I thought it was all so well done. Really hits the spot when looking for a good Christmas movie.
Also, this marathon of Christmas Carol's has really got me wanting a traditional English Christmas dinner now with Goose, plum pudding and all the fixings.