Oliver Twist (2005)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel)
Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

An adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.

Plot Keywords:

Orphan | Pickpocket | Workhouse | Thief | Runaway

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Barney Clark	...	Oliver Twist
Jeremy Swift	...	Mr. Bumble
Ian McNeice	...	Mr. Limbkins
Richard Durden	...	Unkind Board Member
Timothy Bateson	...	Parson / Man with a Punch
Andy de la Tour	...	Workhouse Master
Filip Hess	...	Workhouse Boy (as Filip Hes)
Andreas Papadopoulos	...	Workhouse Boy
Laurie Athey	...	Workhouse Boy
Joseph Tremain	...	Hungry Boy
Peter Copley	...	Dining Hall Master
Andy Linden	...	Mr. Gamfield - the Chimney Sweep
John Nettleton	...	1st Magistrate
Tony Noble	...	2nd Magistrate
Michael Heath	...	Mr. Sowerberry

Also Known As:

Oliver Twist (France) (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

UK | Czech Republic | France | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | UK:PG (cut) | Ireland:12A | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:14 | Mexico:B | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Malaysia:U | Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Norway:11 | Finland:K-11 | Finland:K-11 (video premiere) (2006) | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

R.P. Productions

Trivia:

Director Roman Polanski's children have parts in the film. Morgane Polanski plays the farmer's daughter and Elvis Polanski plays the boy with the hoop.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At 46:55 on the DVD, after Oliver is punched in the face while running from the crowd, the lettering on a hand held sign ('ELECTION') is backwards, so that those frames have been flipped left for right or, rather to show the crowd upside-down as if from Oliver's perspective, those frames have been flipped top for bottom instead of being rotated 180 degrees - rotating 180 degrees is equivalent to flipping both top for bottom and left for right.

Quotes:

Artful Dodger: I suppose you've been walkin so long on the beak's order?
Oliver Twist: What's that?
Artful Dodger: Don't you know what a beak is?
Oliver Twist: It's a bird's mouth isn't it?
Artful Dodger: [laughs] You are green. A beak's a magistrate, where have you been all your life?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in It's a Happy Movie: The Children's Making-of (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Newry Town

Excellent adaptation

Roman Polanski's film is an authoritative take on Dickens' classic. It is expertly paced, slowly immersing the viewer into the plight of the young orphan and its predicament in Victorian England. Through a meticulous period reconstruction, superb acting, and effective characterization (all the secondary characters are memorable), the typically Dickensian theme of the survival of Innocence against all odds is dramatized with utter conviction. The omission of the excessively melodramatic elements from the original story (Oliver's family back-story for instance) contributes greatly to the story's strength by minimizing any trace of implausibility or mawkishness, thus providing a wide-ranging portrait of the Victorian society with its intrinsic inequalities and its rather warped sense of justice. The visuals are splendid and the prevalent detached and non-judgmental approach to an easily emotive story is simply the signature of master director Roman Polanski, who is functioning here on top form.