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Plot:
Abandoned at an early age, Oliver Twist 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 es...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 5, 2008
Pretty well done, a good remake of the book. Barney Clark made a perfect Oliver Twist, and Ben Kingsly as Fagin was excellent. Good acting and clever plotline. It ended very abruptly, though. Oliver goes to see a disillusioned Fagin in high security prison, and then goes back into town with Mr. Brownloe. I wish it told us what happend to the other street kids, because it just left that part.
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MCT:July 6, 2008A classic tale; I liked it! It was done well. Quality film, good acting, good story, good costumes, good sets and good scenery; a quality film. I would recommend it.
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MCT:June 25, 2008ok. this is kinda a joke between me and my cousin. ^.^ the songs in this movie make me laugh. truthfully, i fell asleep during it. *Shifts the eyes* no one make fun of me. it just kinda... whats the phrase im looking for? oh!! bored me to death.
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MCT:June 7, 2008
Polanski's version is very interesting and well done, but has a more cruel ambientation and is more crude. That's the only thing I didn't like, and the reason I prefer David Lean's version and Carol Reed's musical.
82/100 -
MCT:June 1, 2008
I don't know which fact I find the most astonishing: that somebody thought the world needed yet another adaptation of "Oliver Twist", or that that somebody was Roman Polanski. His version is as respectful as it is respectable, but it's unlikely to captivate anyone already familiar with the story. The digitally tweaked cinematography is not to my taste and, aside from rose-tinting Dickens' abject poverty, the harsh sunlight of the first half suggests that Polanski has been in extradition-wary exile from England so long that he's forgotten our climate! Little more than a puppet for the story's four genuinely interesting characters (Fagin, Bill Sykes, Nancy and the Artful Dodger) to toy with, Oliver is traditionally a thoroughly dull hero, though Barney Clark is especially weak in the role here; the rest of the cast are fine, if unremarkable. If the whole barely satisfies, there are incidental pleasures for the sharp-eyed, such as Oliver's brief, upward glance at the rope from which Bill Sykes will swing as the Dodger ushers him to meet Fagin.
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MCT:April 12, 2008
The first time I saw an Oliver Twist movie, it was the musical. Watching this, I kept expecting for them to break into song - and they never did T_T I'm not particulary fond of this version, because of that, but it managed to do very well and it's nice to see such a recent remake, n'est pas? The actors were all wonderful... I just miss the music...
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MCT:March 22, 2008
....good story, though central themes were cut out that were in the book. Like Rose for instance?...
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MCT:March 13, 2008
Charles Dickens classic tale of 'Oliver Twist' is brought amazingly to life by Roman Polanski. Everything is in the film just like it would be in the novel. There are amazing set pieces which look so realistic, you wouldn't think they would on a film set. The acting talents are good, especially Barney Clark, who fits into the film role so well. Sir Ben Kingsley is amazing as Fagin. Everything about him is nothing like your typical Kingsley character. The film might be a bit longer, especially when Polanski considers it a children's version, otherwise its an amazing film.
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MCT:March 6, 2008It's really hard to figure out why I hate Oliver Twist the way I do. Maybe it had too high expectations (It's Roman Polanski and Ron Harwood, how can you not expect greatness?) but even if I didn't I still wouldn't like this movie. Oliver Twist is a great novel and if you look into the history of Roman Polanski you would know how he shares so much of Twist's struggles that if done right it could have been a masterpiece. Instead we just get prove that even the best filmmakers will shamelessly dumb down a great family story. Yes it's a well made piece but none of it feels as though there was any real heart or care put into it. What a waste of great promise.
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MCT:February 11, 2008oliver was abandoned at an early age, and he was forced to live in a workhouse by awful Mr. bumble. Oliver Twist escape to the streets of London .
Starring by Ben Kingsley, Barney Clark,....
Directed by, Roman Polanski. -
MCT:February 8, 2008
i actually liked this movie. ive always wondered what oliver would be like if there was no music... i thought it was still really good!!! oliver started to get a tad annoying after awhile. i dont know. but overall if you liked oliver and ever wondered what oliver was like without all the music definately check it out!!
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MCT:January 12, 2008
Gosh, I hated this movie only for the reason of what children had to go through. Gah, good story, but sad either way.
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MCT:December 27, 2007
A somewhat flat but correct adaptation of Dicken's classic tale. Ben Kingsley plays an amazing Fagin. but Barney Clark needed to apply more feeling to his performance. Polanski shaped a lighter portrait of victorian England.
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MCT:October 21, 2007
best oliver twist version ever...the story was fuller and the characters more real...ben kingsley was awesome....
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MCT:October 14, 2007We've seen this done so many times before and there really isn't anything especially original about this one.
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MCT:October 10, 2007
From what I remember of Charles Dickens book (which I read 40 years ago), this movie is true to the book. The movie is OK, nothing special
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MCT:August 30, 2007
I thought this version focused to much on the unnesesery, and therefore rushed the more important parts of the story. the dialogue was rather plain, and relationships of the characters weren't portrayed that well... especially between Bill and Nancy. Also, what happened to Fagins boys... the Dodger, charlie etc. After Bill and Oliver climb out the window, you don't see the boys again!
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MCT:August 20, 2007
Roman Polanski's adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel is a nicely made film (I must admit I have never read the book or seen any of the other big screen adaptations). The cast are all fine (Ben Kingsley is great in the role of "Fagan"), the production/costume design is extremely well done and the script is well written. There were some scenes where it surprisingly became a bit dark and violent but they didn't bother me too much (although I don't think that very young kids should watch it even despite the fact that this is Polanski's first family film). Overall this is a wonderful film that is really enjoyable.
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MCT:August 16, 2007Abandoned at an early age, Oliver Twist is forced to live in a workhouse lorded over by the awful Mr. Bumble, who cheats the boys of their meager rations.
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MCT:August 2, 2007We are not without Oliver twist movies. There was the classic 1950's flick with the great Alec Guiness, there was that appauling one in 1997 with Elijah wood, and of course the one fondest of my memories Oliver! The one that was with the music of Lionel Bart. But this wasn't the movie that was fond in my memory. It wasn't musical, it didn't have you singing at the end.
Roman Polanski is an odd individual. He's a fellon, and if he ever enters American soil, he will be immediately arrested. But this may be one of this triumphs as a director. He isn't too "Hollywoodised". He can put a more, alternative, style spin on his movies. And this one, much like The Pianist deals with great relevance to him. His parents were in a concentration camp, so that gives him that orphan mentality to draw strongly from. He knew what the characters were doing, and you could feel that presence throughout the film.
As many people know the story of Oliver Twist by now, I think acting merits are of more significance. Ben Kingsley. No I never thought of him as a Fagin, I still have steeped in my mind his amazing portrayal of Itzhak Stern, and Gandhi. But he really didn't play Fagin. He didn't act Fagin. For all purposes on film he was Fagin. It was convincing, whimsical, and dark. Jamie Foreman's portrayal of the ultimate bad guy in the story Bill Sykes was amazing. He just had that look that made you wanna deck the swine. The cast ensemble was played well, the children had animated portrayals, and not wooden like some child actors can be in a performance of this large a scale.
Some of Polanski's style is diminished, but he is quoted to have said it was a movie for his children, and a Chinatown-esque portrayal of Oliver Twist wouldn't have gone to well with producers and distributors. I think in all honesty this is just Polanski going about his vision of the book to movie in the same way he would for his darker movies, but slightly rose tinted for the younger viewer.
The music is average, nothing much to rave about, but the shot design is quite well done. For a movie that is set in the 1830's we need to see how being in the 1830's was. And this was brilliantly done. The sights and sounds of a bustling Victorian ghetto, and how life may have been. The locations were meticulously developed, and developed well into a cohesive well layed out movie. Watch the movie if only for the location and city-scaping, f you are that way inclined.
It was gritty enough to be enjoyed by an adult, but still full of childlike wonderment that was present throughout Charles Dicken's celebrated novel. Polanski heavily pulls from Dicken's dark satire, and black humour, to bring one of the greatest pieces of social narratives to the screen. It is an all rounder film, and should be enjoyed by all generations, young and old. -
MCT:July 25, 2007
This story's been done to death, but Polanksi managed to re-imagine it in such a way that the material seemed fresh and exciting while remaining true to the text. Completely brilliant.
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MCT:July 10, 2007A very conservative adaptation, with little that stands out. Surprisingly bland, coming from Roman Polanski.
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Comments
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taylorsfitposted 560 days ago
