Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Movie Adaption of Oliver Twist, February 14, 2006
The poor reviews this movie has received (in both the DVD and VHS formats) I feel are totally unwarranted. This is my favorite put-to-film Dickens novel (except for the various "A Christmas Carol's" out there), and I am ecstatic that this version is finally available on DVD.
Now, in this adaption, I believe the prequel works very well. I think it makes this a much more comprehensive movie and gives the characters involved (especially Monks) much more depth. And, because of the length of this version that I am reviewing, it allows the viewer to get to know each character much deeper than the other filmed versions available. We get to know Oliver's parents and Aunt Rose up close, although it is done through liberties taken by the producer and not necessarily Dickens himself. I do feel, however, the great novelist would not particularly mind in this case.
The acting is as good, if not better, than pretty much most period epics I have seen. The actors play off of each other well - they match their roles perfectly. The costumes and sets are excellent. They have captured the early Victorian period so well - both the good and the bad - it's almost as if the viewer is peering through a looking glass into the past.
As for the story following Dickens' original novel...well, I have yet to see any movie follow a novel to a "T." It just doesn't happen, unfortunately, with virtually any put-to-film novel. But this follows the original, as a whole, much much closer than the other versions I have seen - definitely more than "Oliver," and infinitely more than the Disney version with Richard Dreyfuss, which was made into a totally different story than what Dickens had intended.
Don't let the nearly 6 hour length scare you off - there is no time during this whole version where one is bored (unless they are a child - definitely not a children's movie!). Being a fan of epic period movies, I found this to be as enticing as any other epic novels put to the screen.
Bravo to all involved!
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing short of Superb, May 9, 2004
If you love Masterpiece Theatre, Charles Dickens, terrific writing and superb acting...then your life is not complete without this DVD.I first saw this adaptation of my favourite Dickens novel when I was about 13 when it was first released. Since then I've watched it over 30 times and memorized almost every single eloquently written line. I fell in love with the plot and the characters, however villanous or cheeky they may be. Just to name a few - Andy Serkis as Bill Sikes is the perfect frightening bad guy. Robert Lindsay must be the greatest Fagin ever portrayed on the film; he is a rich, infamous, and slightly comical delight - a wonderful perfomance. Marc Warren as the pathetic half-brother to Oliver, Monks aka Edward Leeford, acts his heart out, and one cannot help but love the character that we are supposed to hate. Sam Smith who plays Oliver is marvelously innocent in his debut role. That's just a few of the roles that stick out, but there are others who must be mentioned. Julie Walters and David Ross are hilarious characters; Emily Wolf is a wonderful and beautiful Nancy; the now very recognizable Keira Knightley is a charming Rose Fleming; and Lindsay Duncan portrays the dispicable mother to Edward Leeford with perfection. If you are looking for a word-for-word adaptation of Dicken's Oliver Twist, this is not it. This takes many liberties with the story, and goes far beyond it, spending 1/3 of the story on life before Oliver. It devolops every character, travels through every bit of Olivers life, and tells stories about his family, with a short but sweet epilogue. It is incredibly believable and will impact you in some way I can garuntee. It is one of those stories and films that will influence you, whether it is to be a writer or an actor. I highly, highly recommend it.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
supernal, May 14, 2007
Having no life, I make a point of trying to see every "Masterpiece Theatre" or BBC-type historical drama that I can.
And I would have to say, this is probably the best I've ever seen. It's just so shattering, so beautiful, so emotionally exhausting to watch. It's one of those movies that are so good that you forget you're really watching a bunch of actors, with lights, cameras, clapboards, etc. You find yourself totally immersed.
One thing you should know is that, whether you get this movie on DVD or on VHS, there are three parts, each about 2 hours.
Surprisingly, though, only the second and third parts are, strictly speaking, adapted from Dickens's novel. The first part is the prequel: in the novel, the exact circumstances of Twist's provenance are left murky. The first part of this series, made only for this "Masterpiece Theatre" production, is a two-hour spelling out of where he came from. They've definitely taken some license there.
But incredibly, the first part -- the one not based directly on Dickens's writings -- is for me the most gripping and well-written of the three! I can't believe how good it is. Fits right in and then some.
One other note: I'm probably not giving away anything by announcing that in the end, everything is set right and just desserts are apportioned to all. Yet so crushing and infuriating is the Hell through which the waif Oliver must pass, that one is left to wonder if, even though the bad guys do get what's coming to them, the horrors we have seen are really made up for.
To tell you the truth, notwithstanding my regard for this production, I find myself unable to sit through it a second time. The actors playing Monks, Bill, and Fagin do such a convincing, harrowing job of being evil to Oliver, that I simply can't take it, even though I know everything will be all right in the end. It's just too much for me.
I also find this true of the book. It's probably the only work of Dickens that leaves me with the feeling, when I put it back on the shelf, that the moral universe is still fundamentally out of whack.
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