A Christmas Carol DVD and Blu-Ray- The Different Christmas DVD/Blu Adaptions of the Classic Tale

Over the years many Christmas Tales have become well-beloved of people of all ages. A Christmas Carol is one of these and is one of the most loved and well known holiday stories.  Even though it was written by Charles Dickens in the 1800’s this classic tale has been adapted into many different film versions over the years.  There are many different versions of A Christmas Carol DVD that appeal to all ages and across many different genres.  They use star studded casts that each give a little of themselves to these loved characters.   

We all have our own movie preferences. Some like comedies, others like musicals and some are stuanch believers that a movie should not stray at all from the books they come from. No matter how you fill A Christmas Carol should be adapted you will find a DVD version of A Christmas Carol that you will love and can enjoy for many years to come. 

The classic and referenced adaption of “A Christmas Carol” was made in 1951 and stars Alastair Sim who gets to be grumpy old scrooge and is in good old black and white. Over the years they have continued to release new versions of this and remaster making the dvd and picture quality much better. They even released this one on Blu Ray. Many people don't believe any modern adaption can compare to this classic and the actors who acted in it.

In the 1990’s Patrick Stewart picked up the role as Ebenezer Scrooge and made a TNT version that is both classic and contemporary.  Before taking on this role Patrick Stewart had done a stage version of Scrooge that was highly successful and got great reviews making him perfectly cast for this part.
This version will appeal to people who struggle through watching black and white’s, no matter how hard they try, due to the fact that they are used to full vibrant and rich colors.  As with most movies that are remade many will never think it can hold up a candle compared to the original.  Some criticize this version for being too dreary and trying to overuse special effects. 

The most recent addition came out was released by Disney in 2009 and featured Jim Carrey as Scrooge. He also adapted his performance to portray all of the ghosts. Even though this film version was made for kids to enjoy younger ones will find it a little too frightening.

Younger kids will enjoy the Mickey Mouse version or the Muppet’s Christmas Carol. My personal favorite still remains Mickey’s and I talked about it in kids christmas dvds post. I loved it as a kid and still enjoy my favorite characters from Disneyland acting out this well-beloved holiday story. What kid doesn't like Mickey and his friends. The Muppet's film can out in 2005 on a "Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition." Academy award winner Michael Caine got to be Scrooge acting along side Kermit and Miss Piggy and some of our other muppet favorites.

By the way, there are tons of other great kid's Christmas DVD's, check out my post I wrote about it.

Kelsey Grammer also stepped into the shoes of other Scrooge’s in a 2004 musical movie based on the broadway. Jason Alexander portrays the haunting Marley. Movies are a matter of personal taste. While some may rave about the music and portrayal of the classic others will hate it. I personally haven't seen this one so I can't give a person review one way or the other.  If you want a different take on the movie though it will at least give you a new perspective on the classic holiday story and I think it's worth a try. 

The one movie that has to be mentioned in this post is Scrooged starring Bill Murray in 1988. Bill Murray is a comedic genius and is great at portraying unlikable characters. Getting into his role he portrayed a TV exec that was particularly rude and angry. A lot of people never liked this version but like the musical I think it’s a matter of preferences. Most of the movies I like most of the people I know don’t and my opinions usually are different than other critics.

Even if this movie doesn't meet your expectations of how A Christmas Carol should be made it will be an entertaining selection and you can watch Bill Murray do what he does best.