Christmas Movies...

I love Christmas movies, but this one in this version is my favorite far above all the rest. It is the musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Albert Finney who plays the best Ebenezer Scrooge ever. I love the music.. "Thank you very much, thank you very much! That's the nicest thing that anyone's every done for me!" I love that number, but all of them are good. There is one really dumb sequence where Marley takes Scrooge and shows him his office in hell. The special effects are really poor there and it detracts from the rest of the film which is pretty perfect I think.

I think the story of The Christmas Carol really lends itself well to a musical format and the music is great, but I also love the ending and this is what really gets me. It's long enough that you feel very confident that Scrooge has changed his ways. You are really able to see how he's made everyone else happy. Movies, especially these days show 2 hours of horrid struggle and conflict and then they show a 30 second resolution and the whole thing is over (can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine?). This movies is different, it ends not just as you let the wind out of your lungs, it gives you a chance to take another breath.... breath in breath out, wipe your tears and smile...then it's over.