Scrooge and the tale of a second chance

The rich businessman Ebenezer Scrooge is characterized above all by his cold-heartedness and thriftiness. He also does not want to celebrate Christmas Eve in 1843 and retreats alone at home. At a late hour, he receives a visit from the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley. He tells him that in the course of his life he himself has forged the chains that hang from him and that Scrooge will receive a visit from three spirits on the hour that night. So it comes to pass, and at midnight the Ghost of Christmas Past appears, taking him on a journey into Scrooge's past. Scrooge relives his apprentice years with Fezziwig, his partnership with Marley and how they took over Fezziwig's business, and finally his separation from his fiancée Alice. The ghost of the present Christmas leads Scrooge to the family of his only employee, Bob Cratchit, and to the celebration of his nephew Fred. A third spirit leads Scrooge to the future after his death. He learns how unpopular he was and that his last belongings are being sold off. On Christmas morning, Scrooge awakens and is a completely new man, having learned that his greed and coldness end in a lonely, unhappy life.

The novel A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens in 1843, has been adapted to film many times, including even a version with the Muppets called The Muppets Christmas Story. Very successful is the version here with the title Scrooge starring a terrific Alastair Sim in the leading role, who skillfully transforms from miser to benefactor. With minor deviations, the film adheres closely to the literary original.

Colorized version slightly shortened

The bonus material of the German Blu-ray includes a colorized version, which unfortunately has a few missing parts. Some of the cuts are during the reel changes and others are scattered throughout the film. In itself, there are only small things missing that don't really matter. Presumably, the cuts are due to the source material. If you absolutely want to see a colorized version of the film, you shouldn't let the cuts stop you. Basically, though, you should stick with the original version in black and white. Highly recommended is the German Blu-ray by Filmjuwelen, which features both the colorized version, the German theatrical version and the original uncut version.

Image comparison:

Original version:

Colorized version:

German version:

Runtimes:

Original version: 86:32 min.
Colorized version: 85:49 min.
German version: 73:48 min.

Comparison between the colorized version and the original version.

[00:00:13][00:00:16]

Right at the beginning after the logo fade in, it is missing how the book "A Christmas Carol" is taken from the bookshelf.

OV: 4 secs.


[00:10:12][00:10:19]

Cratchit closes the book, then it fades to the next scene in which Scrooge is walking through the crowd.

OV: 5 secs.


[00:20:58][00:21:10]

After Scrooge is back in bed, the black screen is longer in the original version.

OV: 3 secs.


[00:30:14][00:30:30]

Scrooge glances after Fezziwig for longer.

OV: 4 secs.


[00:33:51][00:34:13]

The black screen is a little longer after Scrooge puts his hands in front of his face.

OV: 1 sec.


[01:07:33][01:07:57]

Joe looks longer at the mortician's small bundle.

OV: 3 secs.


[01:09:02][01:09:29]

Joe pulls the blanket out of the bundle. Mrs. Dilbur says that she only stole from Scrooge because he was such a scoundrel.

OV: 6 secs.


[01:17:32][01:18:05]

Mrs. Dilbur continues running towards the door. After that, Scrooge is shown running to his room earlier.

OV: 8 sec.


[01:20:40][01:21:22]

Fan greets Scrooge a little longer.

OV: 1 sec.