Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)

What a waste of my time!!!

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

This is a 43 minute Christmas special from over 25 years ago. Well.. what can I say: The whole thing is very British from start to finish, but only rarely actually funny. But this perception may also be because I was never a great fan of Rowan Atkinson's humor. However, I love Stephen Fry and don't mind Hugh Laurie and Jim Broadbent. It's a pretty different version of Charles Dickens' famous "Christmas Carol". The film's director is not particularly known, but the writer is. It's the man behind the very successful "Love Actually".The worst thing about this one is probably the really annoying audience laughter. They are really losing it about unfunny sequences like the "subtle plans" part or also think it's funny to talk about peeling one's tangerines. They really burst out with laughter on that one. Or when Atkinson's character has a fist as a present for the other guy near the end and just keeps hitting him repeatedly. Absolutely not funny at all. Fairly embarrassing try-hard humor, in fact. There are lots of spectacular costumes in here, but the script really leaves me wanting for more. A lot more. The best thing for me was maybe the catchy Blackadder melody in Christmas fashion. Everything else is very forgettable here. Not recommended.

SPOILERS Every Christmas it is the same thing. You wake up on Christmas Day, you spend the day with family and you eat Turkey. Every year as well, we always have at least one version of Charles Dickens' classic novel "A Christmas Carol". Talking about the transformation over night of Ebenezer Scrooge from nasty to nice, the tale is one of the most well known around.In 1988 however, we had an alternative to life. A spoof of Dickens' novel saw the light of day. Poking fun at the story and fitting it into the Blackadder family, we were given a Christmas present to remember.In Victorian London, one of the nicest men around was Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson). A kind businessman who constantly gave money and food away to the poor, Blackadder and his associate Baldrick (Tony Robinson) were short of money, but happy none the less. On Christmas Eve however, Blackadder was visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) and things were about to change.This retelling of the classic tale but in a sort of reverse is brilliant because it allowed us to see new sketches for the Elizabethan and Georgian Blackadders. Bringing back all the old characters, Melchett (Stephen Fry), Queen Elizabeth (Miranda Richardson), Nursie (Patsy Byrne) and Prince George (Hugh Laurie), this episode also granted us a view into the future with the two ways the Blackadder family might evolve.Not without flaws, this episode did contain the incredibly annoying character of Millicent (Nicola Bryant), but written that way, it's difficult to really fault the character. Likewise the three fat orphans and their master Beadle (Denis Lill). Ultimately though, whether these characters are irritating or not, it is so good to see the old ones return, as well as a spirited performance (get it?) by Robbie Coltrane as the Ghost of Christmas, that all the negative characters are forgiven.All in all, "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" is brilliant. Funny throughout, it reminds us of why we love the series and it continues to entertain after multiple viewings. Well worth getting a copy of.

A fantastic idea, this one. Take the old chestnut 'A Christmas Carol', give it a shake-up, and turn it on its head.Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson in fine form as ever) is a good guy, who gives away anything to anyone, and is truly chock-full of the Christmas spirit. Time for the Spirit of Christmas (a rip-roaring turn from Robbie Coltrane) to work his magic, invoke the spirits of Ebenezer's ancestors and descendants, and inform him of the errors of his ways.We're reminded of Blackadder's former incarnations, in Tudor and Regency times, and of the cunning plans and twists of the long-gone relatives. We meet again with the likes of Queenie (Miranda Richardson), Melchett (Stephen Fry), Nursie (Patsy Byrne), and Prince George (Hugh Laurie). And of course the Cratchit character - Baldrick, who else! - suffers more and more as the story unfolds.A scary turn from Miriam Margoyles and Jim Broadbent (Victoria and Albert), and a mind-boggling look into the distant future completes the transformation.Not shown often enough, this is a real plum-pudding of a piece.

A grand reversal of "The Christmas Carol".Very funny, but *perhaps* viewing the BlackAdder series is a prerequisite so you know the characters. (Well at least the first 3 series.)Amanda Richardson does the switch from Elizabeth I to the future perfectly.And BlackAdder's progression, vs. Baldrick's progression are shown well.An annual event here!