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Oliver Twist (BBC) [2007] [DVD]
 
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Oliver Twist (BBC) [2007] [DVD]

DVD ~ Timothy Spall
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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  • This item: Oliver Twist (BBC) [2007] [DVD] DVD ~ Timothy Spall

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    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Oliver Twist [DVD] DVD ~ Ben Kingsley

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Oliver Twist (BBC) [2007] [DVD]
66% buy the item featured on this page:
Oliver Twist (BBC) [2007] [DVD] 3.0 out of 5 stars (19)
£3.99
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Oliver Twist [DVD]
8% buy
Oliver Twist [DVD] 3.5 out of 5 stars (17)
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Product details

  • Actors: Timothy Spall, Rob Brydon, Gregor Fisher, Edward Fox, Tom Hardy
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • DVD Release Date: 10 Mar 2008
  • Run Time: 176 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0010TG1T4
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,305 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk review

Another costume drama, another classic literary adaptation, and another stellar cast. You can’t help thinking that it all becomes a matter of routine for commissioning editors at the BBC. But panic not: Oliver Twist is, yet again, a strong piece of work, and well worth adding to the corporation’s impressive collection.

Based, as you’d expect, on the Dickens text, and adapted with real skill by Sarah Phelps, Oliver Twist is a strong three hours of drama. The script isn’t ideal for the Dickens purist, as Phelps has brought some new ideas to her work, but it’s hard to quibble with the quality of the drama that results.

Oliver Twist’s outstanding cast is led by Timothy Spall, and also brings together Tom Hardy, Sophie Okenedo, Edward Fox, Sarah Lancashire and Gregor Fisher among others. They inherit and inhabit Dickens’ varied collection of characters with exceptional skill, and they help to vividly bring the tale of the artful dodger to the small screen.

It should be noted that Oliver Twist isn’t a perfect production, with the deviations from the source material presenting a couple of talking points. But it conforms ably to the high standards we’ve come to expect from BBC costume productions, and while it’s not their finest work, it’s a very good piece of television drama that’s well worth investing your time in. --Jon Foster

DVD Description

"A who’s who of acting talent captures perfectly Dicken’s army of exaggerated grotesques..." --The Times

Starring: Timothy Spall, William Miller, Adam Arnold, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okenedo, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Edward Fox, Anna Massey, Morven Christie, Sarah Lancashire, Gregor Fisher, Rob Brydon, John Sessions.

This gripping take on Charles Dickens’ classic remains faithful to the spirit of the novel while delivering a modern, thrilling, tragic and occasionally comic edge. Sarah Phelps (EastEnders), one of Britain's most dynamic television writers, has adapted this powerful story,

Oliver is born into poverty and misfortune – the son of an unmarried mother, who dies shortly after his birth; he is soon delivered to the workhouse. There, the cruel Mr Bumble oversees children tormented by starvation and suffering. When Oliver dares ask for more gruel, he finds himself cast out and forced to make his own way in the world.

Running away to London, Oliver meets the Artful Dodger and his gang, as well as the beautiful Nancy and gets the first warm welcome of his life – but he is soon to discover that this kindness requires its own type of payment.

As Oliver is drawn deeper into the dark and murky underworld, he remains unaware that the kind Mr Brownlow is searching for him, while others – the brutal criminal Bill Sikes, the manipulative Fagin and the mysterious Mr Monks – are vying to ruin and destroy his life…

Special Feature:
Behind-the-Scenes
A New Twist on Oliver Twist
Adapted by: Sarah Phelps.

See all Reviews

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
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 (5)
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable enough, but it's far from Dickens, 20 Aug 2008
By K. Edwards "katie_hobbit_9" (Isle of Wight) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It always makes my heart sink when I watch the "behind the scenes" documentaries of TV adaptations of books, and the focus is on how they've changed things, tried to make it "relevant to the modern age" and, by implication, improved upon the original. This is an enjoyable story, but it isn't "Oliver Twist." Now, I'm not a purist. I've just finished acting in a local version of the musical, Oliver! which also strays far from Dickens' original. But this one just isn't quite right. The characters keep the same names, but are not the same people. My particular gripe is with the way the Artful Dodger is portrayed. Dodger is a boy who thinks he's a man, cynical, arrogant and a joy to read about or watch. Yet here, he is yet another sulky, stroppy teenager. Oliver, on the other hand, the writers have decided to make less wimpy than he usually comes across. No harm in that - yet is there no other way than to have him answering back the whole time? The story itself is fine, for there at least the writers have kept close to the original. But at times the characters are barely recognisable.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible! No where near as good as Alan Bleasdale's version!, 4 Jan 2009
This was AWFUL! The acting was horrible, the story didn't really stand right to me and Fagin was just...not convincing. Nancy was worse, her acting was the worst of the lot. It truely was an awful adaption. And Fagin shows real concern for Oliver - Hello?!

If you want true class acting then i suggest you buy Alan Bleasdale's version of Oliver Twist. It has a better story, and better actors/actresess. It's the one with Robert Lindsay, who plays Fagin AMAZINGLY!.

All in all, this is a shocking adaption and mocks the BBC and Dickens.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Open to debate, 20 Dec 2009
By Brian Barratt (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
I'm a bit late with these comments because I've only just seen this version of "Oliver Twist" on TV. I will not be buying the DVD even though Amazon have already reduced the price by 75%, which seems to reflect a need to clear the stock.

I found the changes from the original story to be somewhat problematic.

Fagin and the boys keep calling Oliver "Nolly". This is grating. Dickens used that nickname only three or four times in the novel.

Rose sings "Abide with me". The novel was finally published in 1839. The music for the poem, making it a hymn, wasn't published until 1861.

The dialogue is an uncomfortable mix of mid-19th century street talk and early 21st century slang.

Nancy is described by Dickens as "stout and hearty", not as of mixed race and skinny.

Timothy Spall, as others have commented, turns Fagin into a less-than-believable caricature but he does use the right accent and turns of phrase to suit his character. His costume is extraordinary, but perhaps it would be deemed anti-Semitic to portray him in the same way as he is drawn by Cruikshank in the original novel.

Edward Fox was, for me, the greatest disappointment in a rather two-dimensional portrayal of Mr Brownlow.

William Miller, a photogenic boy with a face to tug the heart-strings, had been coached to play a more resilient Oliver but he seemed to finish up without much feeling at all.

The background music is jarring and distracting.

Some of the sets seem to have been borrowed from an earlier film version of the story.

On the other hand, I have no disrespect for people who enjoyed it. The photography and lighting are very good. The essence of the story is still there. It's good entertainment. So I'm not arguing -- just pointing out that it's less than perfect.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Sally Rout's Review Sheet 1
I thought the product was very good, I especially liked the part at the beginning menu of the DVD where I could choose which chapter to watch which I thought was a good innovative... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. A. Rout

5.0 out of 5 stars It has subtitles!
I just want everyone to know that this dvd has English subtitles.
I loved the film, and I do not care if it is not completely accurate from the book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marie

4.0 out of 5 stars Left wanting more
Everytime I've watch a new film version of a Dickens' work, I think I've seen the best and that it couldn't be beaten - well this version of Oliver Twist is right up there. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Terry F

1.0 out of 5 stars Oliver Twisted.
This production bears no resemblance to the Charles Dickens classic. In fact it makes you wonder if the people involved have read Oliver Twist. Read more
Published 7 months ago by big al

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear!
A version of Oliver Twist made by people who either don't know or don't like the original book. Good production values are negated by poor scripting and bad acting. Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. Morrison

5.0 out of 5 stars Well I enjoyed it..
When I saw this advertised I was wondering whether to watch this but I'm glad that I did.
I thought 'Monks' was a nasty piece of work. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Book Worm

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T LISTEN TO ALL THE POOR REVIEWS
This BBC adaption of Oliver Twist is absolutely brilliant, if there was 6 stars I would go for that! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mrs. K. David

1.0 out of 5 stars Very poor
Undoubtedly the poorest adaptation of Oliver Twist I have ever seen, and after last years superb adaptation of Bleak House, a really huge disappointment. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2008 by Mr. L. N. Taylor

5.0 out of 5 stars What are the bad reviews on about?
I was so suprised to see the bad reviews that this has got.
I think that this adaptation is by far the best Oliver Twist ever. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2008 by Wheeler Dealer

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing
I gave up watching in disappointment. The acting was poor and shallow and as for the plot - well, it certainly didn't stick to the book. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2008 by Mungo

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