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It’s not uncommon for a literary classic to arrive on the screen muddled, mangled, or altered beyond recognition. And certainly this flamboyant, musical take on Oliver Twist expands on the source material. Yet, one can’t help but imagine that even Charles Dickens would savor the cinematic delight that is Oliver! right down to its titular exclamation point. Director Carol Reed, skillfully opening up Lionel Bart’s 1960 stage adaptation, wrests once-in-a-lifetime performances from his cast. Mark Lester stars as the workhouse waif who escapes the confines of his orphanage and falls in with a larcenous band of street urchins. His best pal is the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild), an impudent, cunning little rascal who is the right-hand man, so to speak, of wily old Fagin (Ron Moody in an Oscar-nominated performance). Lester is simultaneously mischievous and angelic as Oliver; Wild invests the Dodger with a self-assuredness far beyond his years; Moody portrays Fagin without the malignance usually associated with that character; and Oliver Reed plays Bill Sykes with all the menacing ferocity one expects of that unregenerate evildoer. The songs -- including “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself,” “I’d Do Anything,” and “You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” -- remain fresh and lively. Reed’s adroit handling of Vernon Harris’s screenplay doesn’t miss a beat. Every opportunity to punch up a scene is taken, and it’s hard to imagine how Oliver! could possibly have turned out better. The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences had the same opinion, awarding the film six Oscars, including Best Picture of 1968. Some films retain their excellence but show their age. Oliver! isn’t one of them -- you’ll find it just as exhilarating today as audiences did back in the '60s. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Inspired by Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart's 1961 London and Broadway musical hit glossed over some of Dickens' more graphic passages but managed to retain a strong subtext to what was essentially light entertainment. For its first half-hour or so, Carol Reed's Oscar-winning 1968 film version does a masterful job of telling its story almost exclusively through song and dance. Once nine-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) falls in with such underworld types as pickpocket Fagin (Ron Moody) and murderous thief Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed), it becomes necessary to inject more and more dialogue, and the film loses some of its momentum. But not to worry; despite such brutal moments as Sikes' murder of Nancy (Shani Wallis), the film gets back on the right musical track, thanks in great part to Onna White's exuberant choreography and the faultless performances by Moody and by Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. The supporting cast includes Harry Secombe as the self-righteous Mr. Bumble and Joseph O'Conor as Mr. Brownlow, the man who (through a series of typically Dickensian coincidences) rescues Oliver from the streets. Oliver! won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a special award to choreographer Onna White. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 043396021372
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français
• Time: 2:33:00
• Sales Rank: 389

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Columbia Best Pictures Collection

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