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

At 46:55 on the DVD, after Oliver is punched in the face while running from the crowd, the lettering on a hand held sign ('ELECTION') is backwards, so that those frames have been flipped left for right or, rather to show the crowd upside-down as if from Oliver's perspective, those frames have been flipped top for bottom instead of being rotated 180 degrees - rotating 180 degrees is equivalent to flipping both top for bottom and left for right.

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Quotes

Artful Dodger: You may start by jappaning my trotter case. In plain English, clean my boots.

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Connections

Version of Oliver Twist (1982)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

no soul and no sense

Dear Roman,

After having seen your latest movie I was thinking about it for quite some time and I would like to ask you some questions on it. First of all, production design. Sorry to say, but the streets of London always looked like a film set. Some horse leftovers on the ground doesn't make any difference. Life in those streets was rather artificial, as well. How to describe that in a lively way, you can read in Dickens' book. Some scenery shots were really bad. Was somebody painting glass for you? Who was your gaffer? And then the actors: Most of them come from the London area, I suppose, but does that mean they are authentic ?

What about the children? Nice faces put in old clothes don't make poor homeless pickpockets. They speak like well educated middle class kids and their life didn't appear miserable at all. Head of the gang Dodger looked like he enjoyed playing in a movie. The dog was not scary, Sykes wasn't scary, and what was Toby Crackit for in your version ? Finally Oliver. Well, he had to endure some bad treatment, but I did not see the desperate yet strong boy that Dickens described so well. Did you?

Frankly, Roman, I was bored. I love books, I like movies but this one was all so predictable and uninspired, and it is much too long. You had one excellent idea, however. Ben Kingsley. What a presence! Fagin is the one character that really lives. In the end it seems you wanted to give Ben an extra dramatic scene to let him prove how good he is, but he doesn't need to proof anything anymore, you know that.

So please forgive me when I ask: Why did you make this completely unnecessary movie ? Contract obligations ?

Respectfully,

Hellmao