Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

rkhen First, disclosure: I'm a giant Dickens fan, scholar of his life and work, and total Charles Dickens fanboy geek all the way around. This movie is NOT a version or update of Dickens' 'Christmas Carol'. It's written as if the writers had never heard of the Dickens story, were handed a one-paragraph summary of the plot, and told "Go!" And everything about it works. I especially like the way they improved on some of the weaknesses of the Dickens story. Just three examples: Slade stays gruff, socially awkward, and highly competent after his transformation, instead of becoming a loony old fool, which is fakey. He quotes business theory to justify his actions, as if it were a religion. Also typical of real-life Scrooges. And -- skirting spoilers -- the changes he makes in his life afterward are much more uplifting and realistic. He's just much, much more interesting than Scrooge. (Sorry, Chuck!) I could go on. These writers do Dickens better than Dickens. The 1930s New England setting is brilliant; the small town works better than London (which comes off like a small town in the Dickens story, but it's not.) And, gosh Henry Winkler is outstanding! A young actor, playing "old" in a ton of make-up, and totally believable. Anyway, I won't rave on. Like many other reviewers here, I say, Give it a try! I'm astonished to see this movie get two stars in TV listings and hear commentators in the media sneer about it, like it's the dumbest Dickens "adaptation" ever. First, it's not; I could write a book about the total crap passing for "Dickens'" Christmas Carol. And second, it's not. As in "not Dickens". It's a little bit better, and a whole lot fresh.

boll-weavil The attractions of setting an adaptation of A Christmas Carol during the Great Depression are obvious as it allows the messages behind the immediate storyline to be driven home in the same direct way as Dickens managed when attempting to mitigate the harshness of Victorian utilitarian philosophy.However, the success of this film doesn't lie in capitalising on this parallel.For me, it comes more in the excellent script, characterisations and great moments.I believe a really good adaptation should contain moments to take you to the very bottom of your soul - maybe to even question what you're not doing more of that you could be. In this, the film succeeds very well.There are some genuinely dark moments - eg the Ghost of Christmas Future's pointing at Scrooge's forgotten headstone and telling Scrooge that no one even remembers him "That is the only real death" Indeed that ghost, given a rare speaking part, never seems convinced that he will give Scrooge another chance after all and that uncertainty adds weight to the performance. (It can also be comic - what would the miser think at being confronted with a spirit dressed in a seventies disco outfit. That is truly scary !) All the scenes with the Cratchit family (the Thatchers as they are called here) are much more understated than the original and this makes the whole thing easier to accept.Henry Winkler makes a good jump from his role of The Fonz. Like Finney, one of the few other younger men to take the older role as well, he overdoes the tottering about a bit but generally its an assured performance.This isn't the greatest film adaptation but it joins a select group of others that does justice to the original concept in adapting it for another era.

burntmattr It takes a great movie "for me" to voice my opinion, but this is such a great version I had to speak out. Although there are other versions "and there are many" this is the one that puts a jump in my step, this is the one that I go out of my way to watch. I actually plan my TV viewing time around it every year, the President could be declaring war, and I'll change the channel on him. One year it was not playing on any of the station so I went out and bought a copy. Now I have it on file forever, and can watch it any time I choose "but seriously" it literary kills me to have to wait until Christmas time to watch it. One year "I couldn't wait" so I whipped out my disk "slid it in the player" and watched it in July. Be cool John, R.I.

scott88-4 While I love almost all of the "Christmas Carol" films, this one really has a special place in my heart. I saw this movie many years back when I was not really a fan of Christmas movies and never went out of my way to watch them. This film changed that. I enjoyed it so much that I now eagerly await every December as a time once again to enjoy some of the classic holiday shows from times past. "An American Christmas Carol" is easily one of my favorites. And, as a previous reviewer felt, the ending of the Winkler version may be the best of all of the versions, although I still love the Alistair Sims ending (standing on his head!) Excellent film. And it deserves a place in the "Christmas Film Hall Of Fame".