I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a perfect Christmas movie, but Scrooge (dir. Ronald Neame) comes quite close. Unsurprisingly, it's an adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and not the last that we'll see this month either. But although Ebenezer Scrooge is almost as common as Santa Claus in these films, I have to say that I'll be shocked if anyone plays him as well as Albert Finney. He's a marvel in this, and I was stunned to see how young he actually was when he was out of the old man makeup in a different scene. I was honestly convinced that he was actually elderly until that point.
Transforming the story into a musical works surprisingly well; the songs are very catchy, and their reprises in the final minutes of the movie were especially delightful. Compliments are also owed to all the various visual design staff, as the visual style, sets, and costumes are quite appealing.
Scrooge uses its inherited Dickensian wit well, but also nearly brought a tear to my eye on a few occasions as Scrooge drifted through his past. There are even some surprisingly ghoulish parts, particularly the skeletal face of the Spirit of Christmases Yet to Come and the decaying masks of the spirits Marley shows to Scrooge.
It's hard to top this.
10/10
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