More action than singing, may be a relief for some! (Oliver Twist (DVD))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Oliver Twist (DVD)
Date:	07/04/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for those who don't like musicals, story flows well

Disadvantages: Oliver looks rather healthy!

This version of Oliver Twist sees one of my favourite actors (Ben Kingsley) and one of my favourite producers (Roman Polanski) come together to create a relatively authentic version of Oliver Twist.

Devoid of the cheerful tunes of the musical, which either make it wonderful or gooey, depending on your point of view - this has a bit of a grittier outlook, it's not all doom and gloom though, it delves in to the emotional side quite a lot. Kingsley was outstanding as Fagin, I forgot that he was in it in fact and didn't recognise him until the titles at the end!

The story is more true to the book but Oliver is a bit older than he should be and his laughable attempts at fainting due to hunger and tiredness in the early part of the film look a bit paltry due to his seemingly healthy looking body. This runs along nicely as a film and whilst Bill Sykes is no way near as nasty as the Oliver Read version, he's still not someone you want to mess around with. The storyline runs smoothly and builds up pace towards the end and there are moments of suspense.

It's a pretty good addition to the versions of Oliver Twist and it provides a much needed variation on the much played musical version. I have to say, I did miss "You've got to pick a pocket or two" though.

Summary: Pretty cool version