Product Details

• Actors: Timothy Spall, William Miller, Adam Arnold, Tom Hardy
• Directors: Coky Giedroyc
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: February 24, 2009
• Run Time: 176 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001J4E1CY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,238 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Oliver Twist" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

OLIVER TWIST (2007) - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you compare it to the book you miss the point, March 3, 2009

By 

David (Utah) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oliver Twist (DVD)

I saw this DVD on sale in a Target store, so I took a chance on it. Luckily, I hadn't read the reviews here or I would have given it a pass. This production of Dickens' famous novel is the least faithful of all the versions I have seen, but I expected that going in. It's basically a stylistic rewrite of the story with a modern audience in mind. Had I been a Dickens purist looking for a mirror image of the book, I would have been appalled, as some reviewers here obviously were.

Instead, it's a fresh take on an old story. It doesn't pretend to be faithful. The result for me is that I was highly entertained, and as someone else has pointed out, instead of looking for how many deviations I could find, I was enthralled by the fact that I did NOT know what was coming next. This in effect freed me from the book, which I have read several times (yes, I like Dickens), and allowed me to judge this fresh approach on its own merits.

I was quite satisfied with the story as it stood on its own two feet, although the original story is much better. But that was a book (a newspaper serial, actually), not a 173 minute television mini-series. Were I to produce a faithful mini-series of Oliver Twist I would require at least ten hour-long segments. It's a very complicated yarn. (I'd love to film the chapter where Oliver is recuperating in the country.)

The cast is excellent for the most part. William Miller (Pieter in "Krakatoa") was an inspired choice for what he was intended to do: portray an appealing yet fearless version of Oliver--a boy who has been subjected to the dreary trials of a workhouse upbringing, yet because of his character has come through it all as a soft spoken, kindly little soul. Adam Arnold as Dodger presents a new "twist" on the character, who is shown as being quite sensitive and vulnerable, and in love with Nancy (who throws him over for Oliver). Bill Sykes is played by Tom Hardy, and while he looks fine in the part, his accent is so extreme I could only understand ever tenth word. He also suffers in my eyes because he's no Robert Newton. That holds true with every other actor who has played Sykes. Similarly, Timothy Spall is no Alec Guiness. I had a hard time swallowing his Fagin, but again this is a rewrite of the story and he does an adequate job with the writer's reconstruction of the character. Mr. Brownlow is played by the ubiquitous Edward? Fox (is he William, James or Edward? I wish he'd make up his mind).

If it sounds like I'm having fun with this review, it's probably because I had fun watching this DVD. The extra on the disk is a "making-of" documentary. I enjoyed meeting Will Miller, Sophie Okonedo (Nancy), and others. However, when you listen to the writer, Sarah Phelps, you begin to get an insight into why this Oliver Twist is so different from all the others. She strikes me as an angry, over-the-top liberal who has strong opinions on Dickens and other societal matters. She rubbed me the wrong way, but at the same time I did like very much what she produced. So there you have it in a nutshell.

The music didn't bother me one little bit. In fact, its spirited tone fit the revised character of Oliver very well, and I felt it was perfect for this particular production. William Miller is a handsome, lovable boy, and I was very pleased to see Oliver Twist as an engaging, sturdy and athletic youngster for once instead of the meek, frail waif we have always seen, a character who we are to pity. It's a fresh outlook. The rest of the cast, the authentic costuming and backgrounds, yes and even the heavily rewritten story, support this new twist on Oliver Twist very well.

It's a good movie. Don't miss it. Take the sour apple reviews with a grain of salt.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not perfect but interesting, February 24, 2009

By 

Philip Ford "Philip Ford" (Lubbock, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Oliver Twist (DVD)

This version of Oliver twist was not a bad film, in fact it was quite good. It should not be compared to Polanski's film or the 1968 film. It should be compared to David Lean's excellent film with Sir Alec Guinness. Many previous films including the 1968 film and polanski's omit an important character in Oliver's half brother "Monks" or Edward as he is called here. Yes in the book Monks was a major villain who employed Fagin to corrupt Oliver, And in this film Monks is a well portrayed villain who threatens everyone he meets and tried to seduce his cousin. True, in the book he does not seduce his cousin but he does everything else. Timothy Spall's Fagin is quite good and shows that poverty has corrupted his soul. To show him as a proper jew honors the true nature of a very complex character of which Dickens only shows one side to Fagan. No this production is not a word for word literal telling of Oliver Twist but it opens up old characters and shows that evil has many faces. It is not a perfect film and sometimes the soundtrack was annoying but it was overall a good production and worth watching.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense Gripping Movie, March 2, 2009

By 

David S. Wages (Southborough, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oliver Twist (DVD)

The cast showed up for work in this darker adaptation of Dickens's novel. They are all terrific and make for a memorable movie. In particular, William Miller plays Oliver with remarkably gritty determination--you're pulling for him throughout the movie. Hardy and Rhind-Tutt are scarily evil as Bill Sikes and Monks respectively. Tim Spall plays an interestingly ambiguous Fagin; Sophie Okonedo wonderfully captures Nancy's sympathy for Oliver despite her trapped circumstances.

This is much more of a thriller/ suspense story than a light-hearted adventure through London's slums. A few annoyances are present such as barely audible dialog in some scenes, occasional jarring music and irritating anachronisms, but they do not seriously damage an emotionally affecting and compelling film. Bravo!
Oliver Twist