Oliver Twist (2005)

An adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel), Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Stars:

Barney Clark, Jeremy Swift, Ian McNeice

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barney Clark	...	Oliver Twist
Jeremy Swift	...	Mr. Bumble
Ian McNeice	...	Mr. Limbkins
Richard Durden	...	Unkind Board Member
Timothy Bateson	...	Parson / Man with a Punch
Andy de la Tour	...	Workhouse Master
Filip Hess	...	Workhouse Boy (as Filip Hes)
Andreas Papadopoulos	...	Workhouse Boy
Laurie Athey	...	Workhouse Boy
Joseph Tremain	...	Hungry Boy
Peter Copley	...	Dining Hall Master
Andy Linden	...	Mr. Gamfield - the Chimney Sweep
John Nettleton	...	1st Magistrate
Tony Noble	...	2nd Magistrate
Michael Heath	...	Mr. Sowerberry

Storyline

Oliver Twist is an orphan, who is soon kicked out of the orphanage and thrown into a terrible home. The bad treatment Oliver receives, forces him to run off to London. Here, he is soon picked up by the Artful Dodger and taken to Fagin. Fagin treats Oliver well, but is it the life Oliver really wants?

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Plot Keywords:

orphan | pickpocket | runaway | boy | workhouse | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es] Official site [tw]

Country:

UK Czech Republic France Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twist Olivér

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

€50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$695,126 (Spain) (2 December 2005)

Gross:

$312,096 (Hong Kong) (9 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

R.P. Productions, Runteam II Ltd., ETIC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To keep child actors of the Fagin's gang in character, Ben Kingsley kept his mannerisms (speech and hunch-walk) and his physical appearance as Fagin even off-set.

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Goofs

When Oliver runs away from Mr. Sowberry's house to London, his shoes keep changing between shots. He is shown wearing shoes both with and without laces. When he sits and has his meal under the cart in the rain, his shoes do not have laces. Immediately after that, the shoes have laces.

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Quotes

Workhouse Boy: [Woken by boy pacing back an forth] Tom, give it a rest will ya? We're trying to sleep.
Hungry Boy: Can't sleep. Too hungry.
Workhouse Boy: We're all hungry.
Hungry Boy: Yeah, but I'm scared.
Workhouse Boy: Scared? Of What?
Hungry Boy: I'm so hungry I'm scared I might eat the boy that sleeps next to me.

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Connections

Version of Oliver! (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Newry Town"
Performed by Jumbo Brightwell
Courtesy of Topic Records

User Reviews

Absolutely Perfect

Perfect, there is no better way to describe this wonderful production by Roman Polanski. This time honoured story by one of the world's greatest writers has been given excellent treatment by a fantastic director.

First, the acting is quite good, not just as one would expect from Ben Kingsley (who out does himself as the scheming cantankerous Fagin), but from the child actors as well, most notably Barney Clark and Harry Eden (who play Twist and Dodger, respectively). Another notable aspect of the cast is they all speak with a thick 19th century British accent, and yet manage to be perfectly intelligible to the audience.

As for the story, well, what can I say, it's Dickens! Some characters are of course cut from the book, and some plot points and elements are missing, but that is to be expected when a book is translated into a film. Despite the cuts, the movie is very faithful to the book, and one could hardly ask for a better translation of written medium to the visual.

Despite wonderful acting and excellent story, my favourite part of this movie is definitely the visuals. The set and costume crew has done an amazing job of recreating the London in which Oliver lived. Every nuance of London, from the slums to the well to do areas has been very faithfully realized on screen. The squalor of the back alleys is almost palpable as the characters trod through the mud, and one is almost tempted to doff their hat when the scenery moves to the middle class homes.

Overall, I can find very little to not praise about this movie, the only thing I can find some flaw with is the soundtrack, as it seems a bit sparse in some areas, and perhaps a bit too repetitive. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of any genre.