Rating: G
Genre:
Musical
Release Date: 08/12/1998
SubTitles: English/French
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 153 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
Inspired by
Charles Dickens' novel
Oliver Twist,
Lionel Bart's 1961 London and Broadway
musical hit glossed over some of
Dickens' more graphic passages but managed to retain a strong subtext to what was essentially light entertainment. For its first half-hour or so,
Carol Reed's Oscar-winning 1968 film version does a masterful job of telling its story almost exclusively through song and dance. Once nine-year-old orphan
Oliver Twist (
Mark Lester) falls in with such underworld types as pickpocket
Fagin (
Ron Moody) and murderous thief
Bill Sykes (
Oliver Reed), it becomes necessary to inject more and more dialogue, and the film loses some of its momentum. But not to worry; despite such brutal moments as
Sikes' murder of
Nancy (
Shani Wallis), the film gets back on the right musical track, thanks in great part to
Onna White's exuberant choreography and the faultless performances by
Moody and by
Jack Wild as the
Artful Dodger. The supporting cast includes
Harry Secombe as the self-righteous
Mr. Bumble and
Joseph O'Conor as
Mr. Brownlow, the man who (through a series of typically
Dickensian coincidences) rescues
Oliver from the streets.
Oliver! won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a special award to choreographer
Onna White.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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