Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7267 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-13
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 Oscar-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

Synopsis
Acclaimed director Roman Polanski turns a dark eye toward the classic Charles Dickens novel OLIVER TWIST, about a charming orphan boy (Barney Clark) whose life seems to depend solely on the whims of fate. Abandoned early in life, Oliver first seems doomed to life in a workhouse, where he is farmed out to a local undertaker where he regularly is underfed and mistreated. Hoping to improve his lot in life, Oliver runs away to London, where he falls in with a gang of petty criminals led by the fence Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and the young pickpocket the Artful Dodger (Harry Eden). His new situation seems like relief, until he meets Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwicke), who sees Oliver's true character and potential and seems determined to sway destiny. Despite his innocent performance, eleven-year old Barney Clark was already a seasoned professional when Polanski recruited him to play Oliver, including studies at the Anna Scher Theatre and performances in the film THE LAWLESS HEART and British television dramas FOYLE'S WAR and THE BRIEF. Also of note is the moving score by award-winning composer Rachel Portman, which brings to life the gritty life of Victorian London. Polanski can now add OLIVER TWIST to his array of classic films, including THE PIANIST and CHINATOWN, which forever will shape cinematic vision.

Customer Reviews

More beautiful and human than heartbreaking
This recent adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist is just one more in a long, long series, would you say. And you would be wrong. But what can it bring that could be new on a subject we all know since this book and this story are classics that everyone knows and that are even at times kind of over-repeated. Roman Polanski decides to renew the treatment of the theme by using the fact that we know all major events and episodes by going as fast as possible on the core of the episodes and insisting on what is around, before or after. If the episode is hard, like Nancy's death, he uses an ellipse that shortens it. If the episode is over-known, like the begging for more porridge, he centers the scene on the drawing of who is going to volunteer, and then on what comes before and follows. That enables Polanski to avoid melodrama and a sentimentalese treatment and to concentrate on the human side of things. He is helped in his attempt by the admirable acting of Ben Kingsley as Fagan. Of course Polanski cannot bring anything new on the subject and he concentrates on the pictorial and plastic beauty of this color adaptation and on the extreme sincerity of the actors, good or evil. But is it able to erase the unforgettable post-war black and white adaptation in our memory? Probably not, but they are so different that they don't compete.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Polanski made this film for his children!
Polanski himself said that he had always wanted to make a film for his children and Oliver Twist is what he choose.
I thought this was a fantastic film which brought tears and laughter! This is certainly the best Twist we've had and i enjoy watching it again and again!

Brilliant!

STD

Simply amazing!
A truely stunning cinematic experience. The most faithful version committed to film - buy it, watch it, love it!