- Actors: Robert Newton, Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Francis L. Sullivan, Henry Stephenson
- Directors: David Lean
- Writers: Kay Walsh, David Lean, Charles Dickens, Eric Ambler, Stanley Haynes
- Producers: Ronald Neame
- Classification: U
- Studio: Carlton
- VHS Release Date: 29 Oct 2001
- Run Time: 105 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005NFDJ
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,184 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
There have been many film and TV adaptations of Oliver Twist but this 1948 production from director David Lean remains the definitive screen interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic. From the ominous symbolism of its opening storm sequence (in which Oliver's pregnant, ill-fated mother struggles to reach shelter before childbirth) to the mob-scene climax that provokes Bill Sikes's dreadful comeuppance, this breathtaking black-and-white film remains loyal to Dickens while distilling the story into its purest cinematic essence.
Every detail is perfect--Lean even includes a coffin-shaped snuffbox for the cruel Mr. Sowerberry--and as young Oliver, eight-year-old John Howard Davies (who would later produce Monty Python's Flying Circus for the BBC) perfectly expresses the orphan's boyish wonderment, stern determination and waifish vulnerability. Best of all is Alec Guinness as Fagin, so devious and yet so delightfully appealing under his beak-nosed (and, at the time, highly controversial) make-up. (Many complained that Fagin's huge nose and greedy demeanour presented an anti-Semitic stereotype, even though Lean never identifies Fagin as Jewish; for this reason, the film wasn't shown in the US until three years after its British release.) Likewise, young Anthony Newley is artfully dodgy as Fagin's loyal accomplice, the Artful Dodger.
Guinness's performance would later provide strong inspiration for Ron Moody's equally splendid portrayal of Fagin in the Oscar-winning Oliver! and while that 1968 musical remains wonderfully entertaining, it is Lean's film that hews closest to Dickens' vision. The authentic recreation of 19th-century London is marvellous to behold; Guy Green's cinematography is so shadowy and stylised that it almost qualifies as Dickensian film noir. Lean is surprisingly blunt in conveying Dickens's theme of cruelty but his film never loses sight of the warmth and humanity that Oliver embodies. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.co.uk Review
An astonishingly good David Lean double-bill featuring his two Dickensian adaptations, Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), this is a reminder that cinema does not necessarily have to debase its literary sources, sometimes it can enhance them. Lean's painterly eye for evocative locations--be they windswept marshes or bustling London streets--provides the backdrop, but his focus on smaller details--the ominous tree in the graveyard with its almost human face, the reaction of Bill Sikes' dog to Nancy's murder--adds the vital ingredient that brings both place and character to life.
Starring a youthful John Mills as Pip, Lean's Great Expectations is an unadulterated delight, a serendipitous gelling of screenplay, direction, cinematography and acting that produces an almost perfect film. The cast is exemplary, with Alec Guinness in his first (official) role as Pip's loyal pal Herbert Pocket; Martita Hunt is a cadaverous Miss Havisham; Finlay Currie transforms himself from truly threatening to entirely sympathetic as Magwitch; while the young Jean Simmons makes more of an impact as the girl Estella than Valerie Hobson does as the older incarnation. Perhaps best of all, though, is Francis Sullivan as the pragmatic but kindly attorney Jaggers.
The cinematography alone (courtesy of Guy Green) would qualify Oliver Twist as a classic: the opening sequence of a lone woman struggling through the storm is an indelible cinematic image. Fortunately, Lean's film has many more aces up its sleeve thereafter, notably Alec Guinness' grotesque Fagin--a caricature certainly, but a three-dimensional one--and Robert Newton's utterly pitiless Bill Sikes. The skewed angles and unsettling chiaroscuro lighting transform London itself into another threatening character. --Mark Walker
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Most definately the best adaptation of Dickens' novel. The opening sequence builds up a great sense of horror and drama which keeps you on the edge of your seat. Frances Sullivan is wonderful at playing the cruel but comical beadle. He and Mrs Mann are a great contrast to each other and make a great double act on screen. Perhaps the best and most memorable actor from this film is the wonderful Sir Alec Guiness who is so convincing as the roguish but kind Fagin - and who would guess that Sir Alec was only 22 at the time of playing the character! Robert Newton is also convincing as the horribly cruel Bill Sykes - he livens up the screen with his cruel ways and bad manners and scares the life out of the viewer with the horrifying murder of Nancy. Right up until he dies he holds the screen in the palm of his hands and never fails to frighten or shock the viewer. Of course I must credit John Howard Davies who played the orphan Oliver brilliantly and held you, the viewer in the palm of his hands. One thing that has made the film so successful is the ammount of research the director has put into the film, the sets are magnificent and very believable for its day. Even down to the coffin snuff box of Mr Sowerberry - every prop is true to the story and makes the film all the more believable.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Dickens' tale of workhouse dehumanisation, middle-class arrogance, urban poverty, street crime and domestic violence balanced against moments of extreme tenderness and altruistic warmth is superbly conveyed in Lean's monumental cinema adaptation. Although significant parts of the novel are missing, such as the events occurring during Oliver's walk to London and his involvement in a botched house robbery in Chertsey, the overall impression is one of an enormous sensitivity to Dickens's work, particularly the characterisation - the fragile, victimised Oliver, the monstrous but likeable Fagin, the harrowing Bill Sykes and his wonderful dog Bulls eye. I recommend a look at Cruikshank's drawings which accompanied the novel - the likenesses to the actors in the film is remarkable. Cinematic moments of genius include the opening sequence with Oliver's mother, the snuffed out street lamp after Nancy's murder and Bulls eye's betrayal of his master. The foreshortened sets depicting the squalor and claustrophobia of early nineteenth-century working-class London are incredibly realistic. And to think this was all filmed in a studio lot at Pinewood! For me this is the best Oliver Twist on celluloid - I only wish David Lean had the time and money to make a much longer film and include all the bits of the novel that are missing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A must see for fans of Dickins.Robert Newtons performance as Bill Sykes and Sir Alec as Fagin will never be topped!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
oliver twist.
Just as I remembered it from many years ago,a real trip down memory lane.Even though I created a problem everything was sorted out smoothly,Oliver! [DVD] [1968] brilliant!
Published 1 month ago by TopCat
A hard hitting and faithful adaptation
I was stunned by just how powerful this film is - from the opening scene of Oliver's mother on the moor, to the final struggle on the roof, I was amazed at what an impact it had on... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Norman Cheeseworthy
So atmospheric you can almost smell London in the 1800s
Rather hard to award less than five stars for this wonderful adaptation. These notes are NOT for the double disc edition with Great Expectations bundled into a two film set, it's... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kilrymont
The Dickens It Is !
As 2012 marks the centenary of the birth of our greatest novelist it seems fitting to pay renewed tribute to what may be the finest ever big screen adaptation of one of his novels... Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. J. Nelson
Brilliant
David Leans follow up to the highly regarded Great Expectations was this wonderful adaptation of Dicken's most popular novel Oliver Twist. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. G. Robinson
Movie with a twist
This is the original, never-a-dull-moment classic that has most of what is needed in a movie, especially feelings! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rock Historian
Superb adaptation of the Dickens novel
A young boy (John Howard Davies) given the name of Oliver Twist is born and raised in a workhouse. He is apprenticed to a coffin maker at the age of 8 but escapes to London where... Read more
Published 9 months ago by The CinemaScope Cat
Oliver Twist
This is in my opinion the finest film ever. Oliver Twist just had to be made in black and white - just as London was in those cold Edwardian/Victorian days. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Pony Moores
A classic film
I got this film because my late father and his brother appear in the workhouse scene as extra's. I enjoyed this film as it is a classic.
Published 20 months ago by Lesley
Great Expectations and Oliver Twist
This is a transcription of two very early films of these Dickens classics and is in black and white only. Read more
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