Oliver Twist (Special Edition) (DVD)

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== OLIVER TWIST ==


I can hear your groans from here, “Oh no, she’s reviewing another oldie!!” and yes I am, and I don’t care!!!!!
You’ve all heard it said that the oldies are the best!!
This review is of David Lean’s 1948 adaption of ‘Oliver Twist’, the restored DVD released in 2008. (ASIN: B001AJ34C6)

I am sure that when most people think of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" ...
...Bill Sikes.

Oliver Twist was an early Dickens work, and it was a work with Dickens at this best trying to publicise the insufficient provision that was made for the poor in England's 19th-century workhouses. Dickens wrote with some experience as in 1823, his father spent a year in debtors prison and Charles had to support himself working in a dye warehouse, not terribly unlike Oliver Twist's experience in the workhouse

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"You have to savour Dickens, you have to enjoy him. You can't just skip through in shorthand......you have to have very strong photography, black shadows and brilliant highlights." David Lean

OLIVER TWIST

I can hear your groans from here, “Oh no, she’s reviewing another oldie!!” and yes I am, and I don’t care!!!!!
You’ve all heard it said that the oldies are the best!!
This review is of David Lean’s 1948 adaption of ‘Oliver Twist’, the restored DVD released in 2008. (ASIN: B001AJ34C6)

I am sure that when most people think of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" on film, their thoughts automatically go to the 1968 musical ‘Oliver!
While I agree that it was a great film, if you are looking for a film however, that is a more serious and truthful, by far the best film adaption of ‘Oliver Twist’ is David Lean’s classic 1948 black and white film.

Although only at the beginning of his illustrious career, Lean had already directed ‘In Which We Serve’ (1942) and ‘Brief Encounter’ (1945). He had also earned an Oscar nomination for his direction of another Dickens book - ‘Great Expectations’ (1946).
In fact, it was in filming ‘Great Expectations’ that Lean had introduced Alec Guinness to film and also where he first worked with the talented cinematographer Guy Green.

THE BOOK

I don’t think that there is any need to go into too much detail about ‘Oliver Twist’, there can be very few people who do not know the story.

Basically it is the story of a poor orphan in 17th century London. He escapes from the life of the workhouse only to be forced into a group of young thieves lead by Fagin and the evil Bill Sikes.

Oliver Twist was an early Dickens work, and it was a work with Dickens at this best trying to publicise the insufficient provision that was made for the poor in England's 19th-century workhouses. Dickens wrote with some experience as in 1823, his father spent a year in debtors prison and Charles had to support himself working in a dye warehouse, not terribly unlike Oliver Twist's experience in the workhouse

I think that some of Dickens characters in the book are a little too unbelievably decent and noble, especially Oliver Twist himself, who, despite the fact that he was born in a workhouse, was practically illiterate and had been raised by cruel masters, is portrayed as rather sickeningly sweet and polite child.
In contrast Dickens lower-class villains are very realistic, in fact the characters that he described brought Dickens all kinds of complaints from Victorian readers..

CASTING

Personally I thought that the casting and acting was superb, with almost every role standing out as being so good.
Perhaps an exception was John Howard Davies who played Oliver, he played the part well enough, but both he and Lean were really stuck with the rather bland character by Dickens himself.
In the same ilk, Henry Stephenson, in the role of Oliver's grandfather Mr. Brownlow, is proficient but easily forgotten; and as for the novel's other sickeningly sweet and ‘wonderful’ members of Brownlow's family that Dickens created - Lean was sensible enough to leave them out altogether.

One wonderful character was the Artful Dodger-16-year-old Anthony Newley made his debut as the ring leader of pickpockets who recruits Oliver to Fagin’s gang off the street, and what a wonderful role he played too. I thought that Lean made the lovable rogue more heroic and a far less superficial character in the film than he is portrayed in the novel

The most controversial role in the film was that of Fagin, described by Dickens a ‘the old Jew’, he is the brains behind Bill Sykes' criminal gang and the young pick pockets.
When the book was written Dickens himself had come in for some criticism for anti-Semitism (so yes there was a PC culture even then!!), and Lean was worried about casting the character; Alec Guinness asked for a screen test and won the role. Jewish groups still protested against this aspect of the film, and certainly Lean's decision to give Guinness a long "Jewish" hook-nose didn't help matters. But anyone who has watched this film cannot possibly imagine any other character playing the role of Fagin – so perfect was Guiness’ role. (Hard to believe that Guiness was only then 22 years old).

Kay Walsh makes a fantastic Nancy, right up to the famous murder scene which I have to say is breathtakingly done in the film. I remember the first time I saw the film and my emotions as that dark puddle, we knew was Nancy’s blood ebbing away, emerged from under the door.

Then there was the imposing Bill Sykes, wonderfully and unforgettably played by Robert Newton he was purely amazing.

Not to be forgotten is Francis L. Sullivan as Mr. Bumble, with his famous line "If the law thinks that a husband can be responsible for his wife's actions, sir, then the law is a ass!” pure class!!

Cast
Robert Newton - Bill Sikes
Alec Guinness - Fagin
Kay Walsh - Nancy
Francis L. Sullivan - Mr. Bumble
Henry Stephenson - Mr. Brownlow
Mary Clare - Mrs. Corney
John Howard Davies - Oliver Twist
Josephine Stuart - Oliver's Mother
Henry Edwards - Police Official
Ralph Truman - Monk
Anthony Newley - The Artful Dodger
Hattie Jacques - Singer
Kenneth Downey - Workhouse Master
Kathleen Harrison - Mrs. Sowerberry
Gibb McLaughlin - Mr. Sowerberry
Maurice Denham - Chief of Police

DIRECTION AND CINEMATOGRAPHY

Lean himself said ‘The most important aim of a film is to depict character and episode. The plot is subsidiary,'

So in this adaptation (as he did Great Expectations), he deleted various scenes from the book. Partly to cut the story down to feature-film length, partly to support his own artistic visualization.

The film starts bleakly and dramatically as, through a violent storm, we see a ghostly figure of a young woman, no more than a girl,staggering along road and getting weaker with every step.
Thunder begins to roll ominously to heighten her fate, and lightning flashes in the sky behind her head, revealing the pain in her face. With the last of her strength she falls at the front door of a workhouse - where she gives birth to a baby boy – Oliver – before dying.
This scene is not in the book but it makes a wonderful gothic and intense start to the film, and I for one think that Dickens would have loved it

Guy Green's black and white cinematography is wonderful
It portrays a violent, haunting view of Victorian London .The incredible Gothic darkness of the London we are shown goes together wonderfully with the grim realism of Dickens novel
As in Great Expectations, the sets and cinematography are like the best of German Expressionist , we see buildings shot at odd angles and light mingling with shadows it is perfect filming and the fact that it is shot in black and white adds lots to the whole general atmosphere.

=== DVD ===

This film is over 60 years old and I wasn’t expecting anything like what I saw for a film of it’s age. It has transferred well to DVD and is a lot clearer than what I had thought it would be. If anything the film looks quite dark but I think that that is in the original shooting rather than the transfer.
With the volume I found that I needed to turn it up higher than usual but foir the age of the4 film it wasn’t too bad at all.
Extras
There was a look at some of David Lean’s early films, including Brief Encounter and Great Expectations, some interviews, I especially liked the one with Alec Guiness asking to play Fagin and how he was transformed into the character of Fagin. There is also a collection of behind the scenes photographs set to music, running for approximately two minutes.

WHAT DID I THINK

I LOVED it !!!!!
Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!

Why?
What do I say first?
Was it Lean’s masterful direction work, the incredible filming, the performances,the atmosphere?
It was all of these and more.
This film shows the London of Dickens’ novels better than any other film I’ve seen.The way I look at it is that the sets by John Bryan are as much a part of the story as the dialogue and characters.
I would go as far as saying that this film with its black and white photography and striking sets is one of the best atmospheric films ever made.
 

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