Oliver [1968]

Oliver [1968]
Film buffs and critics can argue until their faces turn blue about whether this lavish Dickensian musical deserved the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1968, but the movie speaks for itself on grandly entertaining terms. Adapted from Dickens’s classic novel, it’s one of the most dramatically involving and artistically impressive musicals of the 1960s, directed by Carol Reed with a delightful enthusiasm that would surely have impressed Dickens himself. Mark Lester plays the waifish orphan Oliver Twist, who is befriended by the pick-pocketing Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and recruited into the gang of boy thieves led by Fagin (played to perfection by Ron Moody). The villainous Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) casts his long shadow over Oliver and his friends, but the young orphan is still able to find loving care in the most desperate of circumstances. Full of memorable melodies and splendid lyrics, Oliver! is a timeless film, prompting even hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael to call it “a superb demonstration of intelligent craftsmanship,” and to further observe that “it’s as if the movie set out to be a tribute to Dickens and his melodramatic art as well as to tell the story of Oliver Twist”. –Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Customer Review: Best British Musical - but not very true to the Book.
I have always loved this film, since seeing it when it was pretty new, and perfoming in a school production of it shortly afterwards -

it is a fantastic musical, and in my mind definitely the best ever British film musical.

The performances of Jack Wild, Ron Moody and the young Oliver Reed are all fantatsic, the songs and the choreography are a joy to behold.

However, I have just read the book Oliver Twist for the first time. It is a brilliant early Victorian novel, but the film is quite far from being true to the storyline or intention of the novel.

In the book, the portrayal of Fagin is much more negative than in the film; there is little or nothing pleasant about him, and he is purely out for himself, but in a conniving way. In the film he is more of a figure of fun.

There are whole episodes in the book which have been cut from the musical, and the story has been simplified. The end for Bill Sykes is somewhat different, more dramatic in a sense, but less horific.

I think the original story makes more sense but was quite a shocking book at the time, satirising the Poor Laws, the legal system, and workhouse system as cruel and unfair.

Much of this is lost in the film, in which only Bill Sykes is really painted as unpleasant, plus possibly Mr Bumble the Beadle.

anyway, it’s still a great film, and can be enjoyed onit’s own merits.

Customer Review: One of the Best Musicals Ever Made
Simply put, Oliver! is one of the greatest musicals of all time. It is filled with memorable songs - “Food Glorious Food”, “Oliver!”, “Consider Yourself” and “Oom-Pah-Pah” to name just a few - and equally memorable characters.

The film is a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel and much like the story of Oliver Twist itself, it is a perfect family film. There are some frightening moments - the villain Bill Sykes played by Oliver Reed is scary enough on his own - but overall, the film will appeal to children of all ages as well as adults.

The story - which almost everyone is surely familiar with by now - revolves around a little orphan boy named Oliver and his life growing up in London. At first he lives in the workhouse with the rest of his fellow orphans but after daring to question Mr. Bumble, the overseer, he is sold to a family as a servant.

After a series of mishaps and close shaves, he meets the Artful Dodger - superbly played by a young Jack Wild, who gives his all in the role - and through him, the greedy Fagin (Ron Moody), who trains young boys to pick pocket treasures which he keeps for himself.

The film was shot solely in studios and on soundstages at Shepperton Film Studios but this does not translate at all to film. The sets perfectly replicate Victorian London, as do the costumes worn by the characters. A multi-Oscar winner and a massive success on its release, Oliver! is a worthy contender for the best musical all of time and will delight anyone who loves film.

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