Oliver! (1968)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Charles Dickens (freely adapted from "Oliver Twist")
Lionel Bart (book)

Release Date:

5 October 1968 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Family | Musical

Tagline:

More of a Masterpiece Than a Musical! [re-release]

Plot:

Musical adaptation about an orphan who runs away from an orphanage and hooks up with a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.

Plot Keywords:

Orphanage | Pickpocket | Orphan | Boy | Dickens

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Ron Moody	...	Fagin
Shani Wallis	...	Nancy
Oliver Reed	...	Bill Sikes
Harry Secombe	...	Mr. Bumble
Mark Lester	...	Oliver Twist
Jack Wild	...	The Artful Dodger
Hugh Griffith	...	The Magistrate
Joseph O'Conor	...	Mr. Brownlow
Peggy Mount	...	Mrs. Bumble
Leonard Rossiter	...	Sowerberry
Hylda Baker	...	Mrs. Sowerberry
Kenneth Cranham	...	Noah Claypole
Megs Jenkins	...	Mrs. Bedwin
Sheila White	...	Bet
Wensley Pithey	...	Dr. Grimwig

Also Known As:

Lionel Bart's Oliver! (UK) (poster title)

Runtime:

153 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Ireland:G | Australia:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Romulus Films

Trivia:

Early rumors regarding casting included Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as Bill and Nancy, and either Laurence Harvey or Peter Sellers as Fagin; though eventually Ron Moody was asked to reprise his stage role. Jack Wild had played one of Fagin's boys in the London production, but was now old enough to play the Artful Dodger. Shani Wallis finally won the role of Nancy nearly a year after first auditioning when she demonstrated an acceptable Cockney accent - the one she grew up with.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Oliver gets out of bed and goes to the window during the lead-in to "Who Will Buy?", his hair is tousled and sticking up. When the camera angle changes to the outside, his hair is neatly combed.

Quotes:

Fagin: Bill, please, no violence!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Mole People (#9.3)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

As Long As He Needs Me

Wonderful!

I took part in a little mini production of this when I was a bout 8 at school and my mum bought the video for me. I've loved it ever since!! When I was younger, it was the songs and spectacular dance sequences that I enjoyed but since I've watched it when I got older, I appreciate more the fantastic acting and character portrayal. Oliver Reed and Ron Moody were brilliant. I can't imagine anyone else playing Bill Sykes or Fagin. Shani Wallis' Nancy if the best character for me. She put up with so much for those boys, I think she's such a strong character and her final scene when... Well, you know... Always makes me cry! Best musical in my opinion of all time. It's lasted all this time, it will live on for many more years to come! 11/10!!