gretchiekc

I watched this when it first aired on NBC in 1996 and loved it then - recently rewatched and am happy to report it has aged well. I loved -absolutely loved that this made for tv movie (with a stellar cast) interwove real-life tragedies from the Titanic (the Allison's and Alice Cleaver/Harold Bride and Jack Phillips desperate attempt to save lives before desperately trying to save their own) with fictional stories. This movie gave these real stories a spotlight of their own, whereas Cameron's bloated film uses real life tragic characters as nothing more than background props to fuel his unbelievable love story between jack and rose.

I remember seeing James Cameron's film when it came out and feeling disappointed that it missed the mark. That disappointment has only grew - the cheesy lines, the ridiculous storyline, the fact that Rose basically killed Jack because she wouldn't keep her a$$ on the lifeboat...no no, she'd rather go down with the ship and then take over the whole damn door that Jack could have kept for himself. Ugh... I hated the jack and rose storyline. Jack popping up to first class whenever he wanted? Come on. Those gates were locked...as was the law to keep the spread of infectious diseases to a minimum. The mini series details this showing the third class passenger sneaking up above decks by way of the laundry and later, with the help of a less than honorable crew member. Again - Much better and more believable storyline.

If this mini series would have had the multi-million dollar budget Cameron had and the cinematography, it would be hands down the superior film in every respect.

Sigh. Where to begin? If there had even been a half decent attempt to remain true to the period, this might have been decent. Instead, they chose to put jazzy, Broadway-esque forgettable songs in Victorian England. If that was the score you wanted, you should have modernized it.

Then there's the casting - Luke Evans as Scrooge was a horrible choice. He over sings anyway, but as Scrooge? Here's a man who is supposed to be elderly and he's singing and riffing, belting out these songs like the young man he is. No. Just NO.

Horrible acting...horrible script....horrible music. I'll take Muppet Christmas Carol over this any day of the week.