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Starring:
Timothy Burrill,
Ben Kingsley,
Harry Eden,
Allan Starski,
James Freedman (III),
Directed By:
Roman Polanski,
Laurent Bouzereau,
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Release Date: 2005-09-30
Studio: Sony Pictures
Format:
AC-3,
Color,
Dolby,
Dubbed,
DVD-Video,
Subtitled,
Widescreen,
NTSC,
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Editorial Reviews and
DVD Information
Description
Roman Polanski directs the classic Charles Dickens story of a young orphan boy who gets involved with a gang of pickpockets in 19th Century London. Abandoned at an early age, Oliver Twist (Barney Clark) is forced to live in a workhouse lorded over by the awful Mr. Bumble, who cheats the boys of their meager rations. Desperate yet determined, Oliver makes his escape to the streets of London. Penniless and alone, he is lured into a world of crime by the sinister Fagin (Academy-AwardŽ winner Sir Ben Kingsley) -- the mastermind of a gang of pint-sized pickpockets. Oliver's rescue by the kindly Mr. Brownlow is only the beginning of a series of adventures that lead him to the promise of a better life.
Amazon.com
If Charles Dickens were alive to see Roman Polanski's faithful adaptation of Oliver Twist, he'd probably give it his stamp of approval. David Lean's celebrated 1948 version of the Dickens classic and Carol Reed's OscarŽ-winning 1968 musical are more entertaining in some ways, but Polanski's rendition is both painstakingly authentic (with superb cinematography and production design) and deeply rooted in the emotional context of the story. Both Polanski and Dickens had personal experiences similar to those of young Oliver (played here by Barney Clark) -- Polanski in the Nazi-occupied ghettos of Poland during World War II, and Dickens during his hard-scrabble youth in Victorian London -- and this spiritual kinship lends a certain gravitas to the tale of a tenacious orphan who escaped from indentured servitude in London society and is taken in by Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and his streetwise gang of pickpockets. As the evil Bill Sykes, who exploits Oliver for his own nefarious needs, Jamie Foreman is no match for Oliver Reed (in the '68 musical) in terms of frightening menace, but even here, Polanski's direction hews closer to Dickens, while the screenplay by Ronald Harwood (who also wrote Polanski's The Pianist) necessarily trims away subplots and characters for the sake of narrative economy. All in all, this Oliver Twist rises above most previous versions, and with the benefit of Kingsley's nuanced performance, Polanski arrives at a compassionate conclusion that captures the essence of Dickens' novel in a way that viewers of all ages will appreciate for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon
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Customer Reviews
It truly looks beautiful; it just feels rather bland...
The story of `Oliver Twist' is very widely known and has been done time and time again for the big as well as the small screen. When you attach an Oscar winning director like Roman Polanski to the more recent adaptation of the Dickens classic you start to get your hopes up, because in all technicality it should be amazing. Well, technically speaking it is. The sets are flawless, the costumes are accurate, the mannerisms and speech of the characters seems to fit well. Everything seems to work, but for some reason it just doesn't. I found myself dreadfully bored throughout most of the film, and the facets of the film that were so lauded upon its release (they actually threw Kingsley into contention during the Oscar race) were found by me to be ridiculously over-praised.
I don't think I need to go into the story behind `Oliver Twist' since just about everyone knows what this film is about. Young Oliver, an orphan, finds himself taken in by a band of young thieves, all controlled by the devious Fagin. When Oliver jeopardizes Fagin's livelihood and dastardly Bill Sykes makes it his mission to take care of Oliver.
The acting is decent at best, aside from a few standouts. Barney Clark is not very strong in my opinion. He manages to grow with the film, and by the films closing I either was used to his blemishes or he had actually corrected most of them. Jamie Foreman is no where near as villainous as he should have been. Sure, we hate the character of Bill Sykes, but here we are more or less hating his actions as apposed to his person. A better actor would have really made us loathe everything about him. Kingsley is a mess as Fagin. In my humble opinion he is the worst thing about this movie. His performances is ridiculously comical and honestly takes away from the seriousness of the film. Then there is Leanne Rowe and Harry Eden, two shining stars in a vast sea of mediocrity. As Nancy and the Artful Dodger respectively these two actors really `get' their characters. Rowe is soft and sincere and Eden is superbly cast in a role that really should have been the only one getting any sort of Oscar attention.
What the film lacks in the cast it does make up for in picture. The cinematography is splendid to say the least; truly gorgeous to look at, and like I mentioned, the set pieces and costumes and all that comes with it are fantastic as well. Polanski captures a mood with this film, and I admired that, but for some reason the film as a whole comes across rather dull and uninspired to me.
I know that my distaste for this film is not really the popular vote here. Maybe I just watched this on a bad day or something and probably should give it another try before I go around condemning it (which is not what I'm doing for it does have its redeeming factors). I just don't think that this is the version to go with. It looks updated and glossy and prettier than the previous adaptations, but the older versions in my opinion have a little more heart and are much more endearing. This version just doesn't have that extra something to keep my interest. Polanski is a masterful director and this style really suits him (`The Pianist' is one of my favorite films) but this is not one of his grandest attempts and the end result is much less than I personally expected.
Oliver Twist Lite
Polanski's version of Dickens' classic is visually stirring (its use of computerized backgrounds sets a new standard) and has real heart and soul, particularly in the form of Ben Kingsley's sympathetic Fagin, and Leanne Rowe's endearingly charming Nancy, but this tale strayed too far from the novel to be either the definitive or even one of the top adaptations of this 150-year-old best seller. Well worth seeing, for sure, but not a replacement for the experience of reading the source material. And, hey, didn't the canine actor who played Bill Sykes' dog, Bullseye, look like he could be the many-times-great-grandfather of Petey from The Little Rascals?
(BTW, this is my second, and censored, attempt at submitting this review. Apparently Amazon doesn't like comments on this filmmaker's past...)
Trim "Twist" ala Polish Polanski , an absolute eye catcher
I love my Dickens trimmed down by Oscar winning screenplay writer Ronald Harwood (The Dresser,The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and The Pianist),imbued with the genuine empathy of Oscar winning director Roman Polanski (The Pianist,Rosemary's Babyand Chinatown (Special Collector's Edition)) and add the parsley on the plate of the music of Oscar winner Rachel Portman (Emma: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture,The Cider House Rules: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture,Chocolat: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture (2001 Film)) and outstanding cinematography which lends to the authenticity of the story, and this makes for me the best screen adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic.The DVD special features are a film makers dream as you get to hear these greats discuss their very unique vision for this retelling of "Oliver Twist."In hindsight, I would watch these fascinating special features first in order to understand their vision.It is dark and foreboding. Purists of the book may or may not care for it as Harwood,whose classic book on the teaching of screenplay writing Another Time,cuts and trims Dickens' story,but really captures the essence better than I have ever seen it done! (IMO) .As a film, it zinged for me and was as palatable as Beef Wellington with a robust Shiraz!
Oliver Twist
I am enjoyed on watched on the DVD'Oliver Twist'.
I like Oliver Twist becasue great story and classic story.
I like a DVD because I have lots of DVDS and this is brllaint story.
I like a DVD because I am relax and fun watch to on the DVD.
Polanski's Twist
I have always been a fan Of Roman Polanski movies. I have seen all the Oliver Twist movies, and this one stands out as my favorite. It has a new upbeat feeling, with an unexpected ending. Fagin in this one isnt a vicious, calculating, abusive character, rather a help mate to the young boys fallen into his care. At the end of the movie you feel sorry for him rather than disdane. Timothy Burril an unknown actor is a wounderful talent here as Oliver, such convincing acting from such a youg actor is reminesint of Christian Bale in Empire of the sun, and the young actor from I Am David, infact these to movies have the same mood and acting from their young actors. Polanski was involved in some legal dealing and was banned from the USA. Thank Goodness his movies were not because this one is a must see, especially of your a Polanski fan. I saw it 3 times and ralized the detail Polanski puts into this work. Youll like this one.
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