All right, all right...I'm about to add my gushes to all those remarks you've probably already read, if you've gotten this far.
I like "Citizen Kane" and appreciate its story and its technical wizardry. I adore "Casablanca" and love "Dark Victory." All are outstanding movies. But pick the "Best Movie of All time"...a Christmas Movie????
YES. Alastair Sim IS Ebeneezer Scrooge. He turns a caricature into a multi-faceted, truely believable person. The script is deftly turned, and the "added material" works astoundingly well. There's good cinematography, exceptional vision in the directing, a powerful supporting cast...but above all, Sim turns in a stellar performance. You can't help but be swept into this pitiable man's predicament...and as a result, your eyes weep not for pity, but for joy, at the end. Every time Sim springs his change of heart on Cratchet at the end, then breaks into giggles saying, "I don't deserve to be so happy," throwing his pencil over his shoulder...tears of true joy come squirting out of my eyes, and I laugh and cry at the same time. NO OTHER PERFORMANCE has ever evoked such a response from me. And I've watched a lot of movies, believe me! It wouldn't even matter much about the movie's other qualities. Simply on the strength of Sim's single most powerful acting performance I've ever witnessed, I'd happily recommend this for your consideration as, if not THE best, certainly one of the ten best movies ever made. And without a doubt, the best version of this perennial tale of change and redemption, ever put on film
I like "Citizen Kane" and appreciate its story and its technical wizardry. I adore "Casablanca" and love "Dark Victory." All are outstanding movies. But pick the "Best Movie of All time"...a Christmas Movie????
YES. Alastair Sim IS Ebeneezer Scrooge. He turns a caricature into a multi-faceted, truely believable person. The script is deftly turned, and the "added material" works astoundingly well. There's good cinematography, exceptional vision in the directing, a powerful supporting cast...but above all, Sim turns in a stellar performance. You can't help but be swept into this pitiable man's predicament...and as a result, your eyes weep not for pity, but for joy, at the end. Every time Sim springs his change of heart on Cratchet at the end, then breaks into giggles saying, "I don't deserve to be so happy," throwing his pencil over his shoulder...tears of true joy come squirting out of my eyes, and I laugh and cry at the same time. NO OTHER PERFORMANCE has ever evoked such a response from me. And I've watched a lot of movies, believe me! It wouldn't even matter much about the movie's other qualities. Simply on the strength of Sim's single most powerful acting performance I've ever witnessed, I'd happily recommend this for your consideration as, if not THE best, certainly one of the ten best movies ever made. And without a doubt, the best version of this perennial tale of change and redemption, ever put on film