Produced by the English movie pioneer R.W. Paul, this version of 'A Christmas Carol' is the earliest surviving adaptation of Dickens' work on film. The only known print, held by the BFI, is incomplete, but manages to tell enough of the story for it to be recognisable.

This first cinematic excursion into Dickens' most popular tale was an ambitious undertaking at the time. Not only did it attempt to tell an 80 page story in five minutes, but it featured impressive trick effects, superimposing Marley's face over the door knocker and the scenes from his youth over a black curtain in Scrooge's bedroom. (Ewan Davidson)

From the oldest film to the newest 3D technology - BFI IMAX, South Bank, London SE1 presents Disney's 'A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience' from 4 November. Dont miss the Christmas event of 2009 on Britain's biggest screen! - http://www.bfi.org.uk/imax

You can watch over 1500 other complete films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive free of charge at the BFI Mediatheque. There are Mediatheques at BFI Southbank, London, QUAD, Derby and the new Central Library, Cambridge: http://www.bfi.org.uk/mediatheque http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/bfi-mediatheque http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/online... (less info)