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A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color)
 
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A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color) (1951)

Starring: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner Rating: NR (Not Rated)   Format: DVD
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (499 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.99
Price: $16.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Frequently Bought Together

A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color) + It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition) + Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition)
Total List Price: $54.96
Price For All Three: $50.96

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  • This item: A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color) DVD ~ Alastair Sim

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    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
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  • It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition) DVD ~ James Stewart

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  • Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition) DVD ~ Edmund Gwenn

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color)
89% buy the item featured on this page:
A Christmas Carol (Ultimate Collector's Edition)(B/W & Color) 4.7 out of 5 stars (499)
$16.99
It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
4% buy
It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition) 4.7 out of 5 stars (593)
$18.99
A Christmas Carol
3% buy
A Christmas Carol 4.5 out of 5 stars (136)
$9.49
A Christmas Carol
3% buy
A Christmas Carol 4.7 out of 5 stars (250)
$14.98

Product Details

  • Actors: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley
  • Format: Black & White, Color, Digital Sound, Subtitled, Full Screen, NTSC
  • Language: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: VCI Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: October 23, 2007
  • Run Time: 86 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (499 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000SR0DDE
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,497 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #16 in  Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Holidays & Festivals > Christmas
    #93 in  Movies & TV > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Fantasy Adventures

Special Features

  • Audio Commentary by Marcus Hearn and George Cole
  • "Spirit of Christmas Past"--George Cole remembers Alistair Sim
  • "Richard Gordon Remembers George Minter & Renown Pictures"
  • "Charles Dickens--His Life and Times"
  • Bonus: Colorized Version
  • Before & After Restoration Comparison
  • Optional Narrative for the Blind
  • Photo & Press Book Gallery
  • Cast Bios
  • Original American and British Theatrical Trailers
  • "Scrooge" (1935 Seymour Hicks Version)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is the desert-island choice of the many versions of A Christmas Carol, with a magnificent, full-bodied portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge by Alastair Sim that leaves everyone else in the dust. Lean and direct, this film's version of the story wastes no time trying to impress viewers with the magical nature of the spirits' visitations. Director Brian Desmond Hurst keeps the focus on Scrooge's life story, beautifully simplifying and underscoring the theme of lost women with a haunting musical refrain from the folk song "Barbara Allen." Sim's commitment to the role is at times astonishing; his Scrooge's Christmas-morning ecstasy is a marvel of giddy technique. Watch for Patrick Macnee (Steed in The Avengers) as the young Jacob Marley--the actor made his screen debut in this 1951 production. --Tom Keogh

On the DVD
This ultimate collectors' edition is crammed with special features, on both discs.

Amazon exclusive video:
George Cole, who played the
young Ebenezer Scrooge, reflects.Watch here

Find out what’s new on
this restored version of A Christmas Carol. Watch here

Never-before-seen U.S. and
U.K. trailers. Watch here

Film (and Charles Dickens) fans won't want to miss a single screen. The audio commentary by Marcus Hearn and George Cole adds depth and perspective to Sim's amazing performance, and the groundbreaking special effects for the time. Cole also gives a homey remembrance of working with Sim during World War II and living in the English countryside to avoid the Blitz.

One of the most compelling extras is a short bio of George Mintner, the film's executive producer who would go on to found his own successful distribution company, Renown Pictures. An unlikely film mogul, the British Mintner was shy and bookish, but managed to build a reputable mini-studio in the '50s, out of the Hollywood limelight. He produced mostly B-movies, though after A Christmas Carol (originally titled Scrooge), he produced another Dickens adaptation, The Pickwick Papers. There's a great mini-bio of Dickens, who grew up in the poverty that later fascinated him in his writings. Other extras include the colorized version (what were people thinking back in the '80s?), cast bios, original trailers, and a features that more film companies might want to consider, an optional narration for the blind. Nothing is left out for film fans--God bless us, every one.--A.T. Hurley

Beyond A Christmas Carol

1938 version starring Reginald Owen

1984 version starring George C. Scott

1999 version starring Patrick Stewart

Stills from A Christmas Carol







Product Description

Alastair Sim's tour-de-force performance as the ultimate miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, has almost single-handedly made this beloved version of Charles Dickens' story into one of the best-loved Christmas films of all time. Some of Britain's best filmmakers united behind Sim, who was joined by a delightful cast of accomplished and acclaimed English actors; creating what many today believe to be the best and most faithful production of Dickens' immortal tale. Cranky and curmudgeonly Scrooge learns the error of his unkind ways and is taught the true meaning of the holidays when he is visited by the ghost of his late business partner and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future. Bonus Features: Audio Commentary by Marcus Hearn & George Cole, "Spirit of Christmas Past" - George Cole remembers Alastair Sim, "Richard Gordon Remembers George Minter & Renown Pictures", "Charles Dickens - His Life & Times", Bonus Colorized Version, Original American Theatrical Trailer, Original British Theatrical Trailer, Before & After Restoration Comparison, Optional English & Spanish Subtitles, Optional Narrative for the Blind, Photo & Press Book Gallery, Cast Bios, "Scrooge" (1935 Seymour Hicks Version) Specs: 2-DVD9s; Dolby Digital 5.1; 86 minutes; B&W / Color; Aspect Ratio: B&W Restored Version - 1.33:1; Optional 16x9 Enhanced for Widescreen Monitors; Colorized Version - 1.33:1; MPAA - NR; Year - 1951; SRP - $19.99.

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Customer Reviews

499 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (499 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
125 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Collector's Edition indeed!, October 1, 2007
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I only discovered this movie about four years ago but have watched it every Christmas since. To me it's the best version of the Christmas Carol ever made, and now it gets the best treatment you could have ever hoped for. This two disc collector's edition contains two different versions of this movie. First is the colorized version, but then the second is the real treat. They went back to the original prints of this and worked from there. After carefully removing the skips, scratches, and jerky frames, they digitally restored the movie to a version that looks as if it were made yesterday! The sound has been changed to 5.1 digital surround, and there's even a widescreen version for 16:9 televisions.

The special features include an earlier version of Christmas Carol (not as good as this one), as well as several featurettes on the movie, interviews with the stars, a feature on Alistair Sim, and others.

You can tell the distributor put a lot of effort into this restoration and it shows. I wish they'd do the same for other great films like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Bishop's Wife".

Highly recommended as the best version of this classic you'll find anywhere.
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141 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Still the Standard, November 25, 2002
By History Man (Potomac, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   
There are two superb film adaptations of this Dickens classic; this one and the 1984 TV film starring George C. Scott. Both do justice to the original novella far beyond any other dramatizations. However, it is this 1951 British version that got there first and no doubt inspired the 1984 remake. Both Alastair Sim and Scott breath life into the character of Scrooge and make him a three-dimensional personality whose life and fate take on far greater meaning than they do in the hands of other actors who have taken on this role. Sim, of course, became the definitive Scrooge by first taking the character seriously and by portraying Scrooge as more than a simplistic cardboard cutout. For those of us who were raised on this version of the film, Sim will always "be" Scrooge. That does not detract from Scott's performance at all and he was quoted as saying he knew from the start that he could never hope to match Sim's effort. Nonetheless, he succeeded in carving out his own highly credible, compelling portrait of Scrooge which stands beside that of Sim's, like two magnificent paintings sharing the same wall. Both films should be enjoyed and appreciated as the fine, individual achievements that they are and both will stand as "definitive" for a very, very long time. We are the richer for having such a marvelous choice.
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Meticulous restoration of a holiday classic, October 7, 2007
By Penumbra (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Although this 1951 classic film takes some liberties with the Dicken's novel, it remains the film most faithful to the original story. Some of the sets and costumes were directly inspired by the memorable illustrations in the first edition of the book. Alastair Sim is very convincing as the miserly Scrooge who, after a terrifying night of ghostly visits, is transformed into a man who knows how to keep Christmas in his heart.

There have been many DVD editions of this holiday favorite in recent years, several of them from VCI Entertainment. In this package, VCI has included some things featured on previous releases (commentary, Dickens biography, etc.), but the real star of this set is the beautifully restored version of the black and white film. According to a short feature on the restoration of the film, VCI has finally been able to obtain film elements from the original master. Apparently they didn't have access to a complete master, so they used several of the best prints they could gather and digitally read them to determine which frames were the best available. The rest was cleaned up by hand. It sounds like a labor of love, and the result is visible on the screen. The restored print is available in 4x3 and 16x9 in 1:37:1 format. (According to the Amazon product description page, the aspect ratio is given as 1:87 and elsewhere as 1:33, the DVD box says 1:37.) There are a few seconds of less than pristine audio, but overall this is a gorgeous effort.

A nice touch I've never seen on a DVD before is an optional audio track for the blind, in which a narrator describes the action on the screen pausing for dialog from the actors. A wandering commentary track with Marcus Heard and George Cole (young Scrooge) is included. Much of the commentary is reprised in a feature interview by Heard in which Cole reminisces about Alastair Sim, "Spirit of Christmas Past." The audio is in English only. Subtitles are in English or Spanish.

The second disc offers the original 1935 Seymour Hicks' film version of the story. A colorized version of the 1951 film is also included on Disc 2; the brief introduction by Patrick McNee (young Marley) has been seen before on previous releases of the colorized version. There are also theatrical trailers from the UK release ("Scrooge") and the US release ("A Christmas Carol").

VCI has given us a beautiful package here. They've done a great job with the restoration of a film treasure. Many viewers will never have seen such a good print of this holiday favorite before. The bonus features are a nice inclusion, but the restoration is the real reason to get this edition. Highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars PRESENTED IN ORIGINAL 1.37:1 FORMAT
This 2-disc restored 1951 edition of the timeless classic is presented in the ORIGINAL 1.37:1 format. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Adam Love

5.0 out of 5 stars Scrooge 1951
This version of the classic story by Dickens is my favorite. Alastair Sim brought more life, for me, to the character of Scrooge than any other actor that has played the role... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Ronald Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful restoration of classic film
This 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol used to be shown on at least one TV station every holiday season but disappeared in recent years. Read more
Published 23 days ago by katperson

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Service
I can't believe I ordered in the pm and received it the next am. Wow, best service ever on line.
Published 23 days ago by East Coast Laker

5.0 out of 5 stars The REAL Christmas Carol
I have been looking for this for several years. Bought another version that was fluff. This is the movie that really describes Scrooge's transformation, without any ironic tone.
Published 25 days ago by Anonymous

5.0 out of 5 stars Sims is the best.
I watched all the different versions of this story, even the female versions.
My opinion is no one can top A Christmas Carol better than Sims.
T
Published 26 days ago by Theresa Johnson

5.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas Carol With Allistair Simms
I'm 58 years old and have seen all the versions of this movie, and by far this is the greatest. The actors portray their roles with such realism. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Alfred M. Lindquist

5.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas Carol DVD
I received the DVD in a timely fashion and it was priced fairly. It was a gift so I have not actually viewed the DVD.
Published 28 days ago by N. Whitson

5.0 out of 5 stars Best 'Christmas Carol' Movie
I've seen many versions, but this 1959 'Christmas Carol' with Alistair Sim is the best ever made. This Amazon package included the original in black and white, a colorized... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dorothy Kane

4.0 out of 5 stars very nice
The DVD was everything we had hoped for..actually two DVDs one in color and one black and white...great buy...
Published 1 month ago by Rusty Henry

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