Very disappointing...

best movie i've ever seen.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Oliver!3 Out Of 5Oliver is a character driven musical about a boy who is adapting and learning as he outgrows difficulties that comes before him in various faces. The camera work is amazing as it lights up the whole screen and fills it up with an energy that can easily feed itself for runtime which may be overstretched but is undeniably glorifying to encounter. It is rich on technical aspects like costume design, production design, choreography, art design, background score and songs whilst is a bit short on editing; it easily could have been of 2 hours. There isn't much work allotted to the writing section as most of the communication is conveyed through musical acts, which are again, beautifully shot and is immensely pleasing on screen. The screenplay by Vernon Harris is neither gripping nor smart, but it certainly has a heart and reasoning in there for the audience to root for its sketchy characters. Carol Reed; the director, has done a decent work on pulling off this act on such a larger scale. The performance by the younger cast is amazing especially all the musical acts that they have pulled off and so are the experienced cast supporting them. Oliver! is neat and essential for the subsequent generations but it may not be as entertaining or wise as it seems.

For a long time it was assumed that there were certain film genres which we Brits just didn't do. These included Westerns (obviously) and also cartoons; "Animal Farm" from 1954 was the first British animated feature, and for a long time thereafter about the only one anyone could name. And musicals. Although plenty of musicals were written for the West End stage, few of these ever found their way onto the screen. There were musicals set in Britain, like "My Fair Lady" and "Mary Poppins", but both were made in America by American studios. And then, suddenly, along came "Oliver!"- an all-singing, all-dancing screen musical in the best Broadway/Hollywood tradition, made in Britain by a British studio with a British director and all-British cast. Far from resenting this invasion of what had traditionally been their territory, our American friends loved it so much that they gave it a "Best Picture" Oscar for 1968.I won't set out the plot because it is so well known. It is essentially that of "Oliver Twist" with a few alterations. The Monks subplot is omitted altogether. (No great loss). Oliver's home town, never named in the book, is established as Dunstable. (Dickens describes it as being about a hundred miles north of London, considerably further north than Dunstable. Was this change made to hide the fact that Mark Lester does not speak with the Midlands accent which Dickens' character would have had?)The biggest change is in the character of Fagin, portrayed here as a loveable old rogue rather than Dickens' cynical corrupter of youth. This change was probably motivated by concerns over Dickens' perceived anti-Semitism; both Lionel Bart, who wrote the stage musical on which the film was based and Ron Moody, who created the character of Fagin, were Jewish. When I first saw the film I did not like this change, but having seen the film again recently I am prepared to change my mind. Making Fagin into a kindly, if less-than-honest, father-figure may in fact have strengthened Dickens' theme of poverty as a cause of crime rather than weakening it. His boys invite the new arrival Oliver to "consider yourself one of the family", and whatever else Fagin may have done he has at least provided them with the only family they are ever likely to know. For them the only alternatives to life as part of this family are either beggary or a workhouse like the one from which Oliver has just escaped. Picking pockets is a minor crime compared to the ones of which the Victorian Establishment were guilty, like imprisoning paupers and orphans in workhouses. "Oliver!" was nominated for eleven Oscars and won six, a remarkable feat for any film but even more so for a British film which stars few, if any, actors who would have been internationally known in 1968. Moreover, few would have been household names even in Britain, apart from Oliver Reed (nephew of the director Carol Reed) as the thuggish criminal Bill Sikes and the well-loved, genial comedian Harry Secombe, cast against type as Mr Bumble, the pompous and heartless overseer of the workhouse. I have never thought that Lester, who comes across as too well-scrubbed and middle-class to be credible as a workhouse boy, was the ideal choice to play Oliver, but with that caveat the acting is generally of a very high standard, with fine contributions from Reed, Moody, Secombe and the young Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. Special mention should go to Shani Wallis (an actress I have never seen in any other film) in the difficult role of Nancy. Nancy is a prostitute (although this aspect is played down in the film to keep the family audience), the associate of a gang of thieves and the mistress of a violent criminal. Yet she is also the film's heroine, someone with whom the audience must sympathise as she struggles to reconcile her innate decency with the realisation that the man with whom she has fallen in love is not just bad but irredeemably bad. Her dilemma is expressed in the film's most heart-rending song "As Long as He Needs Me", although Nancy also gives expression to the lighter, fun-loving side of her nature in "It's a Fine Life" and "Oom-Pah-Pah".The musical numbers are nearly all tuneful and memorable, with some fine lyrics. Besides those already mentioned the ones that stood out for me were "Food, Glorious Food", in which the workhouse boys sing of their hopes of a better (or at least better-fed) life, "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" and "Reviewing the Situation", in both of which Fagin sets out his cynical philosophy of life, and screenplay directed by and "Consider Yourself" and "Who Will Buy?", both exuberant song-and-dance numbers set against a vividly recreated Victorian London. Yes, "Oliver!" can be sentimental at times, but that is something often associated with the musical genre, and also often with the novels of Dickens, a man never afraid to wring his readers' hearts. Watching the film again recently I was surprised by just how well it still stands up today, fifty years after it was made, as a rare example of the Great British Musical. 8/10A goof. One of Nancy's friends wears a bright purple dress. Later in the 19th century purple was to become a popular colour for all social classes, before the invention of synthetic dyes in the 1850s) there is no way a working-class girl could have afforded such a thing. At the time the film is set (the late 1830s), purple dye was notoriously expensive and reserved for the wealthy; there is a reason why royalty are said to be "born to the purple".

The first time I saw Oliver!, I was not too fond of it. I must have been in a foul mood that day or perhaps my younger brain didn't appreciate the film as I do today. It's not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a fun, harmless musical that brings the words of Charles Dickens to life-musically speaking of course. Those who are familiar with classic literature will know that this film is based of the classic Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. The novel was previously made in a film adaptation by David Lean (which I have yet to see), and that was more of a straightforward narrative, while this film acts more like a musical.This film is a musical, and its damn proud to be one. The tone of the film is relatively dark and serious at times especially in the second act, but I was able to detect some lightness in the tone. I attribute that because of the music, which was overseen by John Green who overseen musicals at MGM during the heyday of musicals in the late 1940's. There are just some songs here that will swell you up with happiness and wonder. Two songs that come to mind is the lovely "Who Will Buy" which is the leadoff song of the second act, and the relatively comical song "Reviewing the Situation." Out of the other songs, I enjoyed the one called "Food, Glorious Food." That song sounds like a cheerful song, but it's not because it's about the young boy who is yearning for food after suffering from meager rations. I mostly liked the songs on the whole, although sometimes they seemed a little stuffy.Unlike the novel, the film focuses away from the main character of the story-Oliver, and focuses more on the villains and there are quite a few of them. If you think about it, there's nothing that interesting about Oliver himself. He's not a bad kid, but he does not elevate the story. This is where the villains come in. We have Fagin who is an elderly man who runs a group of child pickpockets. There is the malicious Bill Sykes who is a former pupil of Fagin's and is a very dangerous man. There is the "Artful Dodger" who is a kid who works with Fagin as the number one pickpocket. It's a very interesting cast of villains and it was a pleasure watching them develop on screen.Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) is a poor orphan who is kicked out of the orphanage after asking for more dinner one day. Then he is received by Fagin (Ron Moody) and his merry gang of pickpockets. He is taught the trade by Fagin and the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild). After being accused of a theft, he is taken in by a kinder, richer gentleman who may know something about Oliver's past. That raises the interest of Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed) and his love Nancy (Shani Wallis). Bill attempts to use Oliver as mean to get rich while Oliver finds an ally in Nancy.The performances are not bad, but there are nothing truly memorable outside the performances of Ron Moody and Oliver Reed. Moody delivers a dynamite performance as Fagin and he really embodies his character through song. He is one of cinema's most underrated and memorable villains. Reed also transcends the screen with his memorable performance as the overly violent Sykes. Jack Wild had a decent performance as the Artful Dodger, but I don't think his character was developed as well. As for Mark Lester, well I believe his performance was bland. Not bad nor good, but just bland. I actually saw in my research that Mark Lester was awful at singing, so his voice had to be dubbed by the director's daughter. Ouch! The film looks amazing. The production design gave the film a moody feeling and we see the darkness arise on their makeshift cobbled London streets. The sets are great and they did a good job with the costumes. They did not go overboard with everything. They struck the perfect balance when it came to the looks of the film, so I was pleased about that.This film was directed by Sir Carol Reed and he delivers a smooth direction, especially when it came to the tone of it. He was able to strike the fine line between the serious and light tones when needed. Despite all of the darkness, this is an excellent family film. I found, on discussion forums, that people enjoyed watching it with their families. When that happens, you know you have a successful movie on your hands. It certainly did well when it came to the awards pundits. It was nominated for eleven Oscars, and won six of them including Best Picture and Best Picture. An interesting fact is that this is the only G-rated film that has ever won Best Picture. I found that piece of trivia mind-blowing.All-in-all, I found Oliver! to be an entertaining musical, even if it suffers from flaws. The film looks beautiful and it works due to fluid direction, solid performances, and some good music.My Grade: B+

British film studios have not been known for turning out large numbers of first-rate musicals. But "Oliver" is a HUGE exception.The 1968 version of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," based generally although not slavishly on his original story, absolutely sparkles with great music, very fine acting, and some lessons about life, and people, that many of us may not notice the first or second time we see the film. Which is a good reason to watch it several times -- as I have, over the years.Oliver Twist is a little boy in a British orphanage, where the unfortunate youths are forced to perform hard manual labor all day, and are fed almost solely on thin gruel by the miserly managers of the place. Emboldened by his mates to tell the head whip-cracker, "Please, sir, I want some more!", poor Oliver is expelled from the orphanage and sold ("Payment upon liking," says his new "owner," a skinflint undertaker)as a virtual slave.Events enable Oliver to escape the undertaker's cellar, where he has been cast down for "misbehavior," and he winds up in London, where a vagrant boy about his age, The Artful Dodger, introduces him to the "orphanage," so to speak, run by a criminal named Fagin, who teaches "his" boys to pickpocket, and fences goods stolen by a burglar named Bill Sikes.It is worth noting that, while Fagin exercises strict control over the young boys living with him, he appears to feed them better, and to treat them with more respect, than the establishment orphanage bosses.Oscar becomes the favorite boy of Sikes' beautiful live-in girlfriend, Nancy, and that eventually leads him into trouble. Sikes' first appearance in the film comes at a crowded pub, late at night, after he has pulled a very profitable burglary. Preceded by his large, ominous-looking shadow as he walks in, he is a tall, unsmiling thug -- someone who "you wouldn't want to mess with," as we would say in the U.S.Sikes is good at bullying and intimidating elderly men (Fagin), women (Nancy) and boys (Fagin's wards at his evil orphanage). But in the disturbing climactic scene, as he attempts to escape the London bobbies and outraged citizens after killing Nancy, while holding Oliver as hostage, a policeman's gun proves to him that all bullies and thugs, eventually come to a bad end.The music, and the dancing, in "Oliver," are absolutely superb. One extended music and dancing scene, which takes place in a circular plaza in an upper-class neighborhood, was so good that it caused me goosebumps.Ron Moody as Fagin; Shani Wallis, as Nancy; Oliver Reed, as Bill Sikes; Mark Lester, as Oliver; and Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger, play their parts to absolute perfection. This film won five Academy Awards, and in my opinion, should have received more. If you're a Dickens fan, and you want to see a really great musical with a different accent than the usual Hollywood kind, go see "Oliver."