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, Ben Kingsley, Jeremy Swift

2 wins & 4 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

In the Nineteenth Century, orphan Oliver Twist is sent from the orphanage to a workhouse, where the children are mistreated and barely fed. He moves to the house of an undertaker, but after an unfair severe spank, he starts a seven day runaway to London. He arrives exhausted and starving, and is soon welcomed in a gang of pickpockets lead by the old crook Fagin. When he is mistakenly taken as a thief, the wealthy victim Mr. Brownlow brings Oliver to his home and shelters him. But Fagin and the dangerous Bill Sykes decide to kidnap Oliver to burglarize Mr. Brownlow's fancy house.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title | orphan | pickpocket | workhouse | boy | 

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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 [Spain] Official site [Taiwan]

Country:

UK Czech Republic France Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Olivers Tvists

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

€50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$68,447 (USA) (23 September 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

The Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist has many more characters and subplots than can be fit into a just-over-2-hours film. This version narrows down and streamlines the story to focus on Oliver Twist, Mr. Brownlow, Fagin, Bill Sikes, Nancy, and the Artful Dodger. The novel's other characters Mr. Bumble, Mrs. Mann, Mrs. Corney, Noah Claypole, Charlotte, Mr. Monks, the Maylie family, the Fleming family, and the Leeford family, are all either relegated to brief cameo roles or omitted entirely from the story.

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Goofs

The shop "John Lobb - Bootmaker" is visible in the background in London. The story takes place in the late 1830s, but the well- known London boot maker John Lobb wasn't founded until 1866.

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Quotes

Mrs. Sowerberry: Is the boy mad?
Mr. Bumble: Tis not madness, Ma'am, it's meat
Mrs. Sowerberry: Meat?
Mr. Bumble: Meat, ma'am, meat! If you kept the boy on gruel this would have never have happened.
Mrs. Sowerberry: Oh my, this is what comes of being liberal.

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Connections

Version of Boy Called Twist (2004)

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Soundtracks

Newry Town
Performed by Jumbo Brightwell
Courtesy of Topic Records

User Reviews

Polanski the great

Roman Polanski never ceases to amaze me at all the things he can do. He can make so many different kinds of films well. His range is truly extraordinary. The man who gave us Chinatown, Pianist, Rosemary's Baby has now directed Oliver Twist. I've seen most of the versions of Twist but this is by far the best. David Leans version is often talked about but it is overpraised. It tends to be overly sentimental an very slow in certain places. I'm not for fast moving movies but his version can be quite dull at times. Polanski's film has updated a great story with lush photography of pastoral settings and the narrative moves briskly. He manages to develop the characters quite well despite the pace. The acting from all is superb especially Ben Kingsley who is barely recognizable. I've never been a fan of great books that have been adapted to film but Polanski seems to have a real knack for this sort of thing. He filmed Tess (also an adaptation) 25 years back with an Academy award nominated direction. That film is one of my all time favorites but Oliver Twist is even better. Polanski seems to get better with age. I can't wait to see what he does next.