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"Oliver Twist" (1999)
17 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
I Want Some More, 27 February 2004
Author: TemporaryOne-1 from Orlando, Florida, USA
This adaptation of Oliver Twist surpasses David Lean's spectacular version.
Oliver Twist is dark, brutal, and gritty, and it truly depicts the The Slums Of London, the Filthly Slums as Dickens' himself experienced it.
Alan Bleasdale penned the screenplay, and Oliver Twist was apparantly a labour of love for him. He had envisioned making Oliver Twist for his whole life, and finally sat down in 1997 to actualise his Twistian visions.
The first installment is Bleasedale's own creation; the 2nd & 3rd are the core of Oliver's hard life. The violence depicted in the series is harsh - this is not the same Masterpiece Theatre that we grew up with. The Artful Dodger is a cruel rogue in this one. Nancy is a whipping post. Sikes is woman-beater. Mr. Bumble is a nasty gold-digger. Oliver is physically abused, starved, and even walled up briefly.
This version features outstanding performances by Michael Kitchen, Robert Lindsay, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren, and Sam Smith, the young boy who plays Oliver. When Smith says, "I want some more", you get the chills.
Serkis & Marc Warren give exemplory, BAFTA-worthy performances as their characters. Warren reaps the benefits of Bleasedale's writings. Edward Leeford/Monks was a shady character in the novel; Bleasedale developed Monks, giving him a history, and Warren externalizes that history with shocking, authentic realism.
Thank you Alan Bleasedale, thank you PBS/BBC.
8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
What an eye-opener!, 24 October 2005
Author: Lew Graham from O'Sullivan Beach, South Australia
I have just been watching this for a second time on cable TV here in Australia and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. Full marks to Robert Lindsay as Fagin...but what an eye-opener for me was Edward Leeford/Monks played by Marc Warren. I thought to myself, "Where has this guy been hiding?" but then looking at his profile on IMDb he has done - and is doing - so much work that I can't believe that I've only just noticed him. No-one has made this much of an impression on me since I was awakened to the talents of Tim Roth. Who will be the next brilliant actor - male or female - to come out of hiding and surprise us all?
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely marvelous!, 13 June 2006
Author: farwesternsky from United States
I am a huge Dickens fan. I have read Oliver Twist, and have even written college papers on the novel. This movie is by far the best version of Oliver Twist ever made (this includes David Lean's movie, the Polanski version, and the musical). The casting is superb; Robert Lindsay (Fagin) is one of the best character actors I have ever seen, Michael Kitchen plays Mr. Brownlow to perfection, and Andy Serkis (Bill Sykes) brings out every ounce of Bill's brutal personality with excellent feel for the character. Yes, the movie necessarily takes what the novel originally revealed in the last pages (concerning Oliver's parentage and the mystery surrounding his birth) and more fully dramatizes it; this is the nature of the beast. Making movies about books is difficult enough, especially with Dickens' panache for complicated plots. But this version of the movie brings out every element of Dickens' story with taste and excellence. One of the best Dickens adaptations out there.
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Times!, 26 December 2001
Author: Kara_007_40 (Kara_007_40@hotmail.com) from Canada
This was a great film! The actors were born to play these roles, the characters suited them quite well. The costumes were splendid, and the setting really took the viewer back to the "Twist" times. Might I add that Marc Warren was quite good, award winning if you will. He played the role of Monks beautifully, and although he was a rough guy, you feel sorry for him. (Plus he's cute with out all the black!) Anywho, back to the movie! The movie also added more stuff that the book left out, and it wrapped up the lose ends. And I'm glad to say that there is a happy ending. I recommend buying the film from Amazon.com, I don't know if you can plug other sites here, but oh well. It's a 3 video set.
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent adaptation, 30 March 2000
Author: Bernie-56 from Melbourne, Australia
Surely Oliver Twist has been 'done to death' by now. It must be one of the popular standard novels for dramatisation; and nearly every fan of historical dramas must have seen several versions of it.
And now for something completely different. This version is a modern re-writing of the story and does not follow the novel closely. Or at least, it follows it very loosely. At the end of episode one Oliver has only just been born. And born in graphic detail -- rather more realistic than a midwifery video. Half the first episode is spent in Rome.
In this modern re-telling Oliver's antecedents are explained in detail: his parentage, his weak-willed father, his exploited mother, his evil, murderous mother and insane half-brother. How Agnes Fleming's portrait is found in Mr Brownlow's house is explained; the story of the locket is told in loving detail. And all this with the excellence in recreating the 19th century that only the British can muster.
If you are a purist who likes your Dickens to follow the book as closely as possible then this recreation may not be for you. I love Dickens but nevertheless found this version -- the story behind the story -- to be a marvellous, entertaining dramatisation.
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
This is a truly inspired version of the classic Dickens story., 15 March 2000
Author: martinu-2 from Oxfordshire, England
This is a truly inspired version of the classic Dickens story.
Alan Bleasdale has devised an explanation of the events which lead up to Oliver's mother arriving at the workhouse, and fleshes out minor characters such as Monks and Mrs Leeford.
Some characters stand out:
- Fagin is mesmerising when played as part-villain and part-magician: the final scenes in the condemned cell are powerful as well as surprisingly moving, even if some of Robert Lindsay's nervous tics are rather too reminiscent of his portrayal of Michael Murray in GBH!
- Michael Kitchen makes a perfect Mr Brownlow: his rather pompous Oxford-English accent is exactly as I imagined Mr Brownlow having read the novel.
- Andy Serkis is superbly cast as Bill Sikes - I cannot imagine a more terrifying and brutal portrayal.
- Marc Warren's portrayal of Monks makes this rather shadowy character come alive in a way that Dickens' description never could, even if the double-act between the domineering Mrs Leeford and the inept and epileptic Monks is comical and farcical at times.
A few minor details have been altered: the "crib at Chertsey", owned by Mrs Maylie and her daughter Rose, becomes Mr Brownlow's country residence, and Rose Maylie becomes Rose Fleming, Oliver Twist's aunt. However (in my opinion) these changes serve to bring together several unrelated threads of the novel and actually improve the story.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
An incredible version of a Dickens classic., 10 May 2006
Author: Eric Endres from United States
Some have taken Alan Beasdale to task for rewriting some aspects of the original Dickens story, but I think it was all for the best. It may not match the original story, but taken completely on its own it is nonetheless very compelling and captures the essence of the original well enough while adding some nice new elements.
This is a top notch production in every respect... writing, direction, acting, music, sets, costumes, etc. Robert Lindsay as Fagin is astounding among an absolutely terrific cast, with Sam Smith playing just the right light note as Oliver and Marc Warren a dutifully creepy Monks.
I've seen the whole thing twice now and enjoyed it even more the second time, with the six hours of it seeming to fly by. 10 out of 10
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Hoots, 30 December 1999
Author: dennis-77 from St. Helens, UK
Oliver Twist was on at the same time as another costume drama so we taped Oliver and the other one and also watched the other. It was dull, so the next week I watched Oliver Twist. I wish I had watched it from the start. It inspired me to read the book, although I wish I hadn't, I much prefer this version. The writer has changed much over it making it seem more vicious but more human as well. On the acting front it was hilarious, very nearly over the top and just right for a Dickens melodrama. The one character who I thought was fantastic was Monks, the actor who played him deserves a BAFTA or something. In the book he is a thoroughly nasty and boring character, in this he is nasty but interesting as well. I liked the way it looked, it was very grubby, and you could see why Oliver was liked by everybody, which was a bit different. The end episode is great and had me nearly in tears. A really good production.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Dicken's would be very happy!, 11 November 2005
Author: Ciaran_haggerty from United Kingdom
The Oliver re-make cycle can stop now that we have this amazing version. I saw it when it first played on Itv back in 1999. After seeing the downfall that was Oliver Twist (2005) I made it my business to find this version so i was able to see an amazing, moving and thrilling story.This four part series is directed beautifully and magically enough it includes something that the Roman Polanski version forgot Emotion! The story of Oliver Twist runs on emotion and great characters! Through-out this version the audience are invited to follow and believe the story about the poor boy that asked for more. With great direction and performances (Julie Walters, Robert Lindsay, David Ross, Andy Serkis and Sam Smith as Oliver) along side stunning lighting and costume this mini series will provide high entertainment. If you were unimpressed by the Polanski version I highly recommend this one!
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Why change a great story?, 22 December 2003
Author: terraplane from London
This production suffers from two problems. The locations in Prague look exactly like..........locations in Prague. There are plenty of places in London and even Paris that have the right Victorian look. But Prague is cheaper. Secondly, if you making a mini series then there is enough screen time to really get into the detail of Dickens' book. So why get in scriptwriters that seem to think they are better writers than Dickens and allow them to change significant parts of the story, leave out whole chapters of perfectly valid storyline and finally change the whole Bill Sikes death scene? On the whole the acting was very good, Julie Walters and Robert Lindsay deserve a special mention.But ultimately this was very disappointing.
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