A Christmas Carol

Disney’s A Christmas carol is a tale from the wit and greed-filled banter to the ghostly apparitions and finally the grand redemption at the end. Director Robert Zemeckis used the perfect 3-D motion capture animation along with a little creepiness as demanded by the story. Charles Dickens classic novel is framed with marvelous detailed and sharp animation with some frightening scenes as per requirements.

A Christmas Carol

In the story, Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter old money lender is confronted by spirits of Christmas to revel him his miserable existence.  His view on the Christmas holiday can be summed up in his sentiment as, those who celebrate the day with merry and cheer should be boiled in their own pudding and “buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” The story goes through spirit of Christmas Eve of the past, present and Christmas yet to come; all in multiple roles by Jim Carry. Gary Oldman plays Bob Cratchit with a mix of innocence, joy, and devastation, and it all translates well on the screen.

In the classic, some scenes are tear-jerkers, others frightening (few shots may cause audience to jump from their seats); complete eccentricity of scrooge is revealed with the help of terrifying character with facial hair and proper gestures. The tone is joyless, despite an extended passage of bizarre laughter, several dazzling flights in sky of London. Ultimately the movie is well-crafted, laborious but explosion of high spirits at end lacks virtue of entertainment. All we can say is that, Jim Carry and Gary Oldman have done justice with their roles and as Charles Dickens has depicted a sense of morality with the Christmas Eve as backdrop in his book, the same has been shown in the movie. It is a good Christmas Movie, fit for all!


How did you like it? Do tell me.

Oliver with a Twist

“Oliver!” – Classic Period Movie with a Twist!

With the stage show of Dickens’ Oliver Twist (Oliver!) hitting recent headlines for still touring the UK after a staggering 50 years, it is appropriate to take a look at the 1968 movie it so closely relates to.

The 1968 version of “Oliver!” has an original take on most period movies as it contains music. All of the script, music and lyrics are by British musician Lionel Bart. Although there have been remakes of the Dickens classic for over one hundred years, another excellent version being the David Lean adaptation from 1948, which stars actor Anthony Newley as the Artful Dodger; “Oliver!” has to be one of the most memorable. One of the reasons for this is the outstanding cast which features Sir Harry Secombe as Mr Bumble, Leonard Rossiter as Mr Sowerberry, Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes, Ron Moody as Fagin and Mark Lester in the title role. The story is played out as follows:

At the start Oliver is living at an orphanage with fellow young boys and dares to ask for more gruel. In this period such insolence was considered outrageous so Mr Bumble ‘Caretaker’ of the workhouse promptly sells him to undertaker Mr Sowerberry. Oliver fights bully Noah Claypole after he insults his late mother and escapes in a commotion when Mr Bumble comes to collect him.

Oliver heads to London and makes friends with the Artful Dodger without realising he’s a pickpocket. Dodger lures a trusting Oliver to Fagin’s lair where he initially believes they make handkerchiefs, only to discover later in the story that they steal them. Oliver meets Nancy, the live-in girlfriend of terrifying Bill Sykes and it is apparent there is a strong bond between them.

Oliver is framed for a crime he didn’t commit when Mr Brownlow, a wealthy man is robbed. However, he happily resides with Mr Brownlow and Mr Brownlow can’t help but notice the resemblance Oliver shares with his niece. Bill Sykes worries Oliver may reveal the whereabouts of the den so Nancy and Bill grab Oliver. Nancy protects Oliver when Bill tries to beat him and Fagin reviews his ways.

Feeling remorseful about taking Oliver, Nancy returns him to Mr Brownlow, after Mr Brownlow has worked out from a locket with the assistance of Mr Bumble that he and Oliver are related. Bill follows them and kills Nancy, grabbing Oliver as his hostage. Two Policemen sneak up on Bill and one fatally shoots him, leaving Fagin again to ‘Review the Situation’.

How successful has this version been?

The financial success of this version speaks volumes, with Box Office figures being recorded as over $37 million domestic and $56.8 million worldwide and rentals. One of the stars to have his name engraved on a prestigious Golden Globe award is the legendary Ron Moody for his portrayal as Fagin. He achieved ‘Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy’.  Additionally to Ron Moody’s award, another engraving the film received was on the Golden Globe for the Best Motion Picture in 1968. It also won 6 Academy awards.



Ron Moody as Fagin

Although the Dickens novel is at times gloomy, this version has uplifting moments and the viewer gets to experience a wide range of emotions. Bart’s musical score is truly excellent, catchy and memorable including songs such as “Food Glorious Food”, which has since been used in many commercials, the moving “Where is Love?” which rather controversially wasn’t actually recorded by Mark Lester and the upbeat “Consider Yourself”. It can only be a positive point that the portrayal of Fagin by Ron Moody in this production is a toned down version of the Dickens original that has been described as anti-Semitic. In fact Fagin is often seen as a likeable rogue by his viewers. In the stage production the character is often portrayed now by Comedians/Comic Actors including Jim Dale and Rowan Atkinson.



Rowan Atkinson



Eagerly awaited Sequel

 A sequel has recently been written called “Dodger!” It is set 7 years after the events in the Oliver Twist novel. Part of the plot includes Artful Dodger being sentenced to an Australian penal colony. Dodger also becomes romantically involved with a friend of Nancy’s called Bet (who appears briefly in the original movie.) I can only hope this will be turned into a movie of the same stature, but there is no doubt “Oliver!”is going to be a tough act to follow!

Period Movies - Nicholas Nickleby - Reviewed

Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Christopher Plummer, Jim Broadbent, Anne Hathaway, Romola Garai

Charles Dickens, like William Shakespeare, is one of those reliable authors to whom filmmakers can turn when they have a desire to produce something with a classical bent. The length and complexity of many of Dickens' novels makes them a challenge to adapt into motion picture screenplays (the ideal format for them is the television mini-series). Nicholas Nickleby is especially problematic. Not only is the book a gargantuan 800+ pages (depending on font size), but it is rather… shall we say… slow.

Writer/director Douglas McGrath, who gave a similar treatment to Emma six years ago, has successfully condensed Nicholas Nickleby to the point where it can fit into a time span of less than two and one-quarter hours without doing irreparable damage to the story's essence. The narrative shows occasional hiccups, but, considering how it has been shoehorned, it is reasonably clear. The characters, while losing some of their depth, are nevertheless well-defined. And the pace has been greatly quickened. Dickens' book is an excellent means to aid the onset of sleep; McGrath's movie zips along. Yet, despite the differences, this still feels like Dickens, perhaps because the best things about Nicholas Nickleby remain, including the uniquely Dickensian setting (19th century England) and characters.

The title character is played by British TV actor Charlie Hunnam, whose good looks prove not to be a detriment to his ability to play the 19-year old only son of a recently deceased country gentleman. When Nicholas' father dies, leaving behind a legacy of debt, the young man is forced to travel with his mother and sister, Kate (Romola Garai), to London to seek the assistance of Nicholas' uncle, Ralph (Christopher Plummer). A notorious miser with little concern for his poorer relations, Ralph nevertheless appears to show signs of humanity by securing a position for Nicholas as the assistant headmaster at a rural boys' school, working for Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent). Soon, however, Nicholas learns that his uncle has given him an unbearably odious job – Squeers is a sadist who delights in punishing the children in his charge. One day, when Squeers is beating the crippled boy Smike (Jamie Bell), Nicholas loses patience with the headmaster and turns the cane on him. He then departs, taking Smike with him. This action enrages Ralph, exacerbating his already prickly relationship with Nicholas and encouraging Ralph to take revenge upon Kate, who is under his "protection."

McGrath's Nicholas Nickleby is set up as a struggle of good, as personified by Nicholas, against evil, as represented by Ralph. Each of these characters has various allies, but the final struggle is between the two of them. In the acting department, Christopher Plummer is vastly superior to Hunnam, who gives a straightforward but unspectacular portrayal of Nicholas. Plummer essays Ralph like Scrooge – sinister, nasty, miserly, and driven exclusively by base emotions and desires. The difference is that, while one dramatic night results in Scrooge's redemption, there is no such light at the end of the tunnel for Ralph. (Dickens wrote Nicholas Nickleby a few years before A Christmas Carol.) The supporting players - including Jim Broadbent as the oily, vicious Squeers; Anne Hathaway as Madeline Bray, the other half of Nicholas' heart; and Billy Elliot's Jamie Bell as Smike - represent a strong group of secondary actors. Nathan Lane, Alan Cumming, and Timothy Spall also have small parts.

The progression of the story is somewhat episodic, as is characteristic of many of Dickens' tales. Purists and die-hard aficionados of the novel may be dismayed by the manner in which it has been adapted, with all of the fat trimmed off (and, as I'm sure some will comment, some of the meat and bone with it), but, for a general movie-going audience, Nicholas Nickleby works. This is the engaging story of an upright man's quest to protect his family, find love, and see justice done. As a means to bring a classic novel to the attention of a modern audience, McGrath's Nicholas Nickleby is a success.

--James Berardinelli, ReelViews

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