A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. Carol singing took a new lease on life during this time. Dickens's sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

A Christmas Carol remains popular—having never been out of print—and has been adapted many times to film, stage, opera, and other media.

A Christmas Carol (1908 film)

A Christmas Carol is a 1908 silent film produced by Essanay Studios in Chicago, and the first American film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name. Tom Ricketts stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in the film, which is considered lost.

Plot

No prints of the first American film adaptation of A Christmas Carol are known to exist, but The Moving Picture World magazine provided a scene-by-scene description before the film's release. Scrooge goes into his office and begins working. His nephew, along with three women who wish for Scrooge to donate enter. However, Scrooge dismisses them. On the night of Christmas Eve, his long-dead partner Jacob Marley comes as a ghost, warning him of a horrible fate if he does not change his ways. Scrooge meets three spirits that show Scrooge the real meaning of Christmas, along with his grave, the result of his parsimonious ways. The next morning, he wakes and realizes the error of his ways. Scrooge was then euphoric and generous for the rest of his life.

A Christmas Carol (2004 film)

A Christmas Carol, also known as A Christmas Carol: The Musical, is a 2004 television film based on a 1994 stage musical of the same name, with songs written by Alan Menken (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics). The musical is based on Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name, produced by Hallmark Entertainment for NBC. It was directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman and features Kelsey Grammer as Ebenezer Scrooge, Jason Alexander as Jacob Marley, Jesse L. Martin as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Emily.

Plot

The film opens at the London Exchange on Christmas Eve in 1843 where everybody is looking forward to Christmas Day except for the grouchy and greedy miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge who hates Christmas shows his cold attitude to others by refusing to show mercy to a father and his daughter who are in debt, supporting the prisons and workhouses for the poor and refusing to dine with his nephew Fred. That night though as Scrooge dines alone before going to bed the ghost of his seven-year dead partner Jacob Marley appears. He tells Scrooge to repent or suffer the same as him by wearing a chain as Marley wears the one he forged from his own greed. Other ghosts also haunt Scrooge who too wear chains implying they were selfish and cold-hearted when they were alive. Marley tells Scrooge he will be haunted by three spirits and the first will call at One.

1999 in film

The year 1999 in film included Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, the science-fiction hit The Matrix, the Deep Canvas-pioneering Disney animated feature Tarzan and Best Picture-winner American Beauty, as well as critically acclaimed animated works The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2 and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Other noteworthy releases included Spike Jonze's and Charlie Kaufman's breakout film Being John Malkovich and M. Night Shyamalan's breakout film The Sixth Sense, the controversial Fight Club and Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. The year also featured the first installment of a trilogy, George Lucas' top-grossing Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Columbia Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer celebrated their 75th anniversaries in 1999.

Highest-grossing films

The top ten films released in 1999 by worldwide gross are as follows:

Events

A Christmas Carol (1999 film)

A Christmas Carol is a 1999 television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous novel A Christmas Carol that was first televised December 5, 1999 on TNT. It was directed by David Jones and stars Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge and Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit. The film was produced after Patrick Stewart performed a series of successful theatrical readings of "A Christmas Carol" on Broadway and in London.

Plot

In a prologue, Ebenezer Scrooge (Patrick Stewart) buries his business partner, Jacob Marley, in a rural churchyard. The funeral is poorly attended.

Time is shown passing (as the sign outside Scrooge's business grows rusty). It is Christmas Eve, and Scrooge's nephew, Fred, visits the counting house to wish his uncle a merry Christmas. Scrooge believes Fred's marriage is unsuitable, and they argue about it. Fred departs, and two gentlemen arrive seeking donations for the poor. Scrooge denounces such charitable efforts, and the men depart. Scrooge agrees to give his clerk, Bob Cratchit (Richard E. Grant), the day off on Christmas but demands that Cratchit arrive "all the earlier" the following day (December 26).