Flat out the greatest version of the Christmas Carol ever produced. And easily the creepiest Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come that I've seen in any production.
“If you read the actual hard economics in 'A Christmas Carol,' Dickens portrays Scrooge as a man who was generous to a fault. Bob Cratchit was paid, according to 'A Christmas Carol,' 15 shillings a week. The average clerk in an accounting house was paid 11 shillings, 6 pence a week. Bob Cratchit owned a home. The Christmas feast that the Cratchits had was quite expensive. They had a bowl full of oranges, which were the most expensive imported fruit in London in the winter 1843. And Bob Cratchit had enough money to have 15 rounds of gin punch, and enough goose to feed the entire large family.” - Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, political science professor, New York University, "The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge"
I wish more people thought like this. As much as Charles Dickens denounced greed and coveting, from a twenty and twenty first century perspective, it's hard to argue with the logic presented here. This is less about greed avarice than it is plain common sense. It is wasteful to use the furnace when we have comforters and coats, and even more wasteful to use wheels when you aren't carrying much or going far. That said, I love this version of Scrooge. He is a clear pragmatist as this scene shows, and is less anger prone than most. Like Sim, Scott is essentially dead to the world, and is only concerned with money, yet both go into his relationship with his father and his bitterness to his nephew for the same reasons. Neither emphasizes his dislike for holidays as much as they do his money obsession and apathy for humanity. "If [the less fortunate] would rather die [than go to the workhouse] perhaps they had better do so and decrease the surplus population". He says this not out of malice, but out of apathy and pragmatism. He supports the workhouses and prisons that support those in poverty, and it doesn't affect his business either way if they live or die. Sim did the same. They even removed his dialogue denouncing Christmas and insert a quick line about Dec 25 being irrelevant.
The crazy part is that David Warner could have been just as good as, or even better, of a version of Scrooge than Scott was. Warner is one of the best bad guy actors in screen/TV history. Dillinger/Sark/The MCP in Tron, the torturous Cardassian Officer in Star Trek TNG, Reinard Heydrich in Holocaust, and Evil in Time Bandits. There is no better bad guy for the buck than David Warner.
My favourite adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" Excellent cast...superbly acted. I have the dvd and it has become a tradition to watch it every Christmas Day.
Quite right indeed, but not quite for the right reasons. ''Coal is costly'' sums up his argument and leaves no doubt that the only part of him aching from the overuse of coal is his pocket. He would most likely do plenty of environmental harm if it helped him get it filled with even more money.
There's been lots of good Scrooges over the years, but if the role was like the Highlander and there could only be one. Then that one would be George C. Scott.
If anything, "A Christmas Carol" shows that Scrooge was not a complete ass. He could be, and was, redeemed, after all. He just got lost - he forgot why he was being frugal and he did not do as much good as he could have done.
I truly agree with everybody on this wonderfull scene! Nobody fits the role of Scrooge better than George C. Scott. Although I'm not too fond of the 1951 version however, since I grew up with this movie the 1984 version tops them all! I recently watched the musical version of Scrooge with Albert Finney and subsequently I wasn't really impressed with it simply because it wasn't as good as the others. But, with that said and I hate repeating myself I love this holiday classic more! :)
11 years later - if you are still out there - I love this version, but it is edged out (for me) by the 1951 "Scrooge" starring Alistair Sim. They add many scenes to "the ghost of Christmas past" that I love. The costumes/set/setting can't be beat with the George C. Scott one, though.
I think the definitive Christmas Carol is the 1951 "Scrooge", if only that they add so much to the ghost of Christmas past that, although not in th book, certainly fits and embellishes Scrooges past. The costumes and settings can not be beat in this (George C. Scott) version, though. Classic & practical lines about clothing!
HE REMINDS ME OF MY DAD!!! Scrooge, anyhoo. "Garmets were invented by the human race as protection against the cold." My dad has said the SAME THING about clothes, fire, the wheel... you name it.
Scrooge's logic is flawed. Garments do afford some protection against the cold, but if the temperature is low enough (say below 0 deg) then the human body will still suffer unless an artificial heat source is applied. And if your body is fighting to maintain its internal temperature, obviously you are not going to be at your most productive. Hence why coal and fireplaces are in such common use.
Scrooge: “I suppose you want…the whole day off tomorrow, do you?” Bob: “No, I want those programmers out of the system and get me that Chinese language program I asked for. End of line.”
This scene is actually quite sad when you think about it. Scrooge claims that garments will keep them cosy from the cold. However Scrooge though unintentionally is actually rubbing it in Cratchit's face because Scrooge himself can afford such things and sadly Cratchit couldn't because of his measly wage. Now had Scrooge simply raised Cratchit's wages then maybe the latter could afford a decent coat to keep warm. And you can clearly Cratchit is hurt on what Scrooge is saying and wishes to make his point on he couldn't afford better clothing but his hands are tied and knows any back talk can get him sacked.
Not only is clothing reusable, it also doesn't cause pollution. Wearing layers of clothing on a cold day won't cost you a penny or dirty the environment.
I don't think this version works because George C Scott is too much associated with General Patton. Titanic, Time After Time and the 1978 version of The Thirty Nine Steps have made David Warner the epitome of the sinister and villainous character in a Victorian or Edwardian context so he's not quite spot on as Bob Cratchit.
I do have a little trouble seeing Dillinger/The MCP from Tron and Shockwave from the Transformers cartoon being a character like Cratchit. He should have been Marley's ghost.
@@Cool2BCeltic "I've got a little challenge for you, Ghost of Christmas Present. A new recruit. He's a tough case, but I want him treated him in the usual manner. Haunt him for the holidays, let him hope for a while, and then blow him away!!!"
![A Christmas Carol [1984] Final Scene](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/b7Um603B2lI/mqdefault.jpg)
![A Christmas Carol [1984] Final Scene](/img/tr.png)
I quote this every time my wife complains she's cold.
That's funny! I live alone, and keep my thermostat at 62, and remind myself that I have plenty of "vestments" to keep me warm.
Flat out the greatest version of the Christmas Carol ever produced. And easily the creepiest Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come that I've seen in any production.
0:12
One of the best parts about George C Scott's Scrooge was that really mean sounding yell he had.
“If you read the actual hard economics in 'A Christmas Carol,' Dickens portrays Scrooge as a man who was generous to a fault. Bob Cratchit was paid, according to 'A Christmas Carol,' 15 shillings a week. The average clerk in an accounting house was paid 11 shillings, 6 pence a week. Bob Cratchit owned a home. The Christmas feast that the Cratchits had was quite expensive. They had a bowl full of oranges, which were the most expensive imported fruit in London in the winter 1843. And Bob Cratchit had enough money to have 15 rounds of gin punch, and enough goose to feed the entire large family.” - Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, political science professor, New York University, "The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge"
I wish more people thought like this. As much as Charles Dickens denounced greed and coveting, from a twenty and twenty first century perspective, it's hard to argue with the logic presented here. This is less about greed avarice than it is plain common sense. It is wasteful to use the furnace when we have comforters and coats, and even more wasteful to use wheels when you aren't carrying much or going far.
That said, I love this version of Scrooge. He is a clear pragmatist as this scene shows, and is less anger prone than most. Like Sim, Scott is essentially dead to the world, and is only concerned with money, yet both go into his relationship with his father and his bitterness to his nephew for the same reasons. Neither emphasizes his dislike for holidays as much as they do his money obsession and apathy for humanity. "If [the less fortunate] would rather die [than go to the workhouse] perhaps they had better do so and decrease the surplus population". He says this not out of malice, but out of apathy and pragmatism. He supports the workhouses and prisons that support those in poverty, and it doesn't affect his business either way if they live or die. Sim did the same. They even removed his dialogue denouncing Christmas and insert a quick line about Dec 25 being irrelevant.
The crazy part is that David Warner could have been just as good as, or even better, of a version of Scrooge than Scott was. Warner is one of the best bad guy actors in screen/TV history. Dillinger/Sark/The MCP in Tron, the torturous Cardassian Officer in Star Trek TNG, Reinard Heydrich in Holocaust, and Evil in Time Bandits. There is no better bad guy for the buck than David Warner.
"Misterrr CRATCHIT!!!"
Evil: “NEVER SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY AGAIN!!!”
Fantastic version. No other version comes close.
I didn't know scrooge was a fan of clean energy.
My favourite adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" Excellent cast...superbly acted. I have the dvd and it has become a tradition to watch it every Christmas Day.
In 2018, I made it a tradition to watch Patrick Stewart's version before going to bed on Christmas Eve.
Simply the best, and a must watch every Christmas. Other versions are fine. This one is transcendent.
I "like" how Scrooge menaces Cratchit in an ironic way...even as he was old, he was a handsome man, George C!
Scrooge is quite right, and nowadays environmentalists would love him.
Scrooge is inaccurate. The actual reason people invented clothing was because Adam and Eve disobeyed God.
Quite right indeed, but not quite for the right reasons. ''Coal is costly'' sums up his argument and leaves no doubt that the only part of him aching from the overuse of coal is his pocket. He would most likely do plenty of environmental harm if it helped him get it filled with even more money.
@@abeverly85 stfu
JahJah At least you didn’t spell that one out. But still, a curse is a curse.
@@twistedteller Very true.
He must have had so much fun with his role.
What a great version of this timeless classic!
---It would have been much 'less' of a film had Geo.C.Scott not played the leading role.
There's been lots of good Scrooges over the years, but if the role was like the Highlander and there could only be one. Then that one would be George C. Scott.
This is my favorite version! I wish I could find the whole movie...
ua-cam.com/video/r1vMnZ0AhYE/v-deo.html
I can totally recognize the voice of Percival Mcleach
A character who was obviously made to be voiced by him. Percival McLeach looks precisely like GCS, does he not?
I grew up on this movie every year. It made me associate christmas with gothic/horror themes ❤️
My favorite Scrooge ever!
If anything, "A Christmas Carol" shows that Scrooge was not a complete ass. He could be, and was, redeemed, after all. He just got lost - he forgot why he was being frugal and he did not do as much good as he could have done.
I really love this version! I liked a lot George C. Scott!
I truly agree with everybody on this wonderfull scene! Nobody fits the role of Scrooge better than George C. Scott. Although I'm not too fond of the 1951 version however, since I grew up with this movie the 1984 version tops them all! I recently watched the musical version of Scrooge with Albert Finney and subsequently I wasn't really impressed with it simply because it wasn't as good as the others. But, with that said and I hate repeating myself I love this holiday classic more! :)
Vote for Scrooge as "Minister for Conservation of Energy"
Listen to me....
This is the best film version of the book.
This is THE MOVIE that you watch after reading the book.
100%
I really loe this version!
I'll second that. I grew up on this version and have no interest in even seeing another version. To me, this one cannot be beat.
11 years later - if you are still out there - I love this version, but it is edged out (for me) by the 1951 "Scrooge" starring Alistair Sim. They add many scenes to "the ghost of Christmas past" that I love. The costumes/set/setting can't be beat with the George C. Scott one, though.
He's very handsome. Bob Cratchet that is.
This is what I say to all the people who whine about living where winter actually occurs.
Bob Cratchit: "The fire's gone cold, Mister Scrooge."
Bill Murray: "I CAARRREE!"
Oops, wrong Scrooge ...
Scrooge: MISTER CRATCHIT!!!!
Evil (After blowing him up): NEVER TALK TO ME THAT WAY AGAIN!!!
that's literally my wife, the resemblance is uncanny.
Got to admit he had a point.
I think the definitive Christmas Carol is the 1951 "Scrooge", if only that they add so much to the ghost of Christmas past that, although not in th book, certainly fits and embellishes Scrooges past. The costumes and settings can not be beat in this (George C. Scott) version, though. Classic & practical lines about clothing!
HE REMINDS ME OF MY DAD!!! Scrooge, anyhoo. "Garmets were invented by the human race as protection against the cold." My dad has said the SAME THING about clothes, fire, the wheel... you name it.
Scrooge is wrong. The actual reason people invented clothing was because Adam and Eve disobeyed God.
@@abeverly85 He is an Antitheist.
Scrooge for president!
Scrooge's logic is flawed. Garments do afford some protection against the cold, but if the temperature is low enough (say below 0 deg) then the human body will still suffer unless an artificial heat source is applied. And if your body is fighting to maintain its internal temperature, obviously you are not going to be at your most productive. Hence why coal and fireplaces are in such common use.
Keep adding layers with the outer most water proof you'll be fine.
Best Scrooge ever!
Scrooge: “I suppose you want…the whole day off tomorrow, do you?”
Bob: “No, I want those programmers out of the system and get me that Chinese language program I asked for. End of line.”
This scene is actually quite sad when you think about it. Scrooge claims that garments will keep them cosy from the cold. However Scrooge though unintentionally is actually rubbing it in Cratchit's face because Scrooge himself can afford such things and sadly Cratchit couldn't because of his measly wage.
Now had Scrooge simply raised Cratchit's wages then maybe the latter could afford a decent coat to keep warm.
And you can clearly Cratchit is hurt on what Scrooge is saying and wishes to make his point on he couldn't afford better clothing but his hands are tied and knows any back talk can get him sacked.
He's rather supposed to be Scrooge from the 19th century Charles Dickens story!
I guess some literature lessons are required here ;-)
Makes sense
Not only is clothing reusable, it also doesn't cause pollution. Wearing layers of clothing on a cold day won't cost you a penny or dirty the environment.
Yeah Cratchit! Buy some dern clothes and let Ebeneezer make some money. It's hard out here for a pimp, even in the early 19th century.
The unreformed Scrooge is not evil, nor good, but a product of his times and his own childhood and early adulthood.
I have a question...in the credits, it apears production designerNORMAN FOSTER...THE FAMOUS ARCHITECT?
I have a question...in the credits, it appears production designerNORMAN FOSTER...THE FAMOUS ARCHITECT?
Scrooge had better watch himself talking to the MCP like that. He’s liable to get put on the game grid!!!
Scrooge is a complete jerk who ... well ... who happens to be completely right in this instance.
I don't think this version works because George C Scott is too much associated with General Patton. Titanic, Time After Time and the 1978 version of The Thirty Nine Steps have made David Warner the epitome of the sinister and villainous character in a Victorian or Edwardian context so he's not quite spot on as Bob Cratchit.
I do have a little trouble seeing Dillinger/The MCP from Tron and Shockwave from the Transformers cartoon being a character like Cratchit. He should have been Marley's ghost.
@@michaelnewton1332 I'd say you're right. He'd be great as Marley's ghost.
@@Cool2BCeltic "I've got a little challenge for you, Ghost of Christmas Present. A new recruit. He's a tough case, but I want him treated him in the usual manner. Haunt him for the holidays, let him hope for a while, and then blow him away!!!"
@@Cool2BCeltic shoot, with David Warner’s track record as a villain, he’d be an even better Scrooge!!!
@@michaelnewton1332 He'd carry the role of effortlessly. Sadly, now that he's turned 80, he's too old.
Yea the only problem I see with Scrooge is he could have been kinder to his Clark otherwise really dont have a problem with his behavior.
I wouldn't call it "kind" as much as I would call it professional.
"Clerk" is the proper spelling. "Clark" is the British pronunciation.
The Jim Carrey one is even better