Oliver Twist

Fantastic adaptation of the Dickens classic by David Lean. Beautiful cinematography and top-notch acting, especially from Sir Alec Guinness, who is completely unrecognizable as Fagin.

Even better than Lean's take on Great Expectations. It's an extremely bleak story, most of it taking place in dingy and unpleasant locations that (with the help of Guy Green's brilliant cinematography) impart an unceasing atmosphere of despair. The acting is uniformly excellent. The weakest point is the score, which really gets shoved down your throat.

A superb adaptation. The visuals are the cornerstone here; the combination of the stunning B&W photography and the dingy sets is perfect for the material, kind of like bringing Cruikshank's illustrations to life. Davies is a bit boring as Oliver, but Oliver is kind of a boring character so it's fine. Guinness' controversial performance can be hard to take, but he is compelling to watch and it is honest to the character as written.

Another Lean/Dickens collab with a god awful ending. I really dug it up until that sappy crap happens. It's Lean so its obviously beautiful to watch. Also, I can't believe that Fagin was Alec Guinness, awesome performance and totally unrecognizable.

Mr. Lean was The Man. He knew how to get the most of this old, oft-filmed story

Superlative realization of Dickens tale.

Treachery, peril and chaos - Oliver Twist walks a tightrope over the cesspool of Victorian London. Robert Newton is just swell as the pop-eyed, vacant murderer Sykes.

Best adaptation of the famous book of Dickens.

Lean's adaptation of "Oliver Twist" is in many ways even better than his adaptation of "Great Expectations", but it has a couple of major flaws. John Howard Davies is pretty weak as Oliver, but that's not a huge problem since Oliver is kind of a void at the center of his own story. The real issue with it is Alec Guinness's Fagin who sees to have wandered in from "Jud Süß".

It's Lean, so it looks great, harnessing the bleakness of the story. It really makes it clear just how bad things can be for poor orphans.

Beautiful almost noir-ish cinematography, and some delightful characterizations, although Guinness sometimes seems to go overboard. Oliver is barely the hero of his own story, though (yes, Pip said that); he's almost an afterthought that just happens to bind a few of the sequences together. If filmed today, we'd likely have a spin-off of the pickpocket gang, which could have potential.

The best example of a movie even better than the source novel (maybe except Jaws).

I have nothing original to add; it is as consummate a combination of direction, performance, and photography as any David Lean film ever was, but it is heavily soured by the vile, absurdly antisemitic portrayal of Fagin. An accurate adaptation of the character, sure, but that character is a shit stain on the legacies of Dickens, Lean, and Guinness.

Oliver Twist estreava há 75 anos na África do Sul. Não consigo gostar das adaptações de Oliver Twist, talvez a menos pior seja a do Polanski justamente pelo cineasta ser judeu, acho o Fagin do Lean de um mau gosto extremo, mas o Sykes do Newton compensa pela asquerosidade não racista. Coleção Folha Grandes Diretores no Cinema.

The quintessential Oliver Twist (1948) movie adaptation?

89.00

A rare adaptation that tries to sand down the rough edges of the source material and make something better. Since it only sands down said edges and not cut them out completely, it has flaws. Still, it is a more than worth adaptation of Dickens' classic.

As one would expect from a Lean film the cinematography is excellent and Dickens' novel really comes to life with some fantastic storytelling. I'm not generally a fan of stories predicated on coincidences but when they're as well done as this one it doesn't seem to matter. My only real gripe is the unnecessarily offensive portrayal of Fagin, though it's still a great performance.

Beautiful and faithful Dickens adaptation from Lean. Some great performances on show, particuarly from Alec Guinness. It is a shame the ending is a little mishandled, and slightly too melodramatic. It doesn't detract from another Lean masterpiece however.

Darker and less successful than Great Expectations.

Lean'owi udalo sie dokladnie odtworzyc klimat panujacy w ksiazce na ekranie. Bardzo dobrze przedstawil tamtejsze czasy w panstwie: bieda, bieda i bieda; ludzie, ktorzy nawzajem podskakiwali sobie do gardel, aby choc troche, choc na moment poczuc sie jak ta 'bogatsza sfera'. A sam film opowiada historie chlopca, ktory trafia do tzw. 'bandy zlodziei', ktorzy nauczaja go swego fachu; nastepnie chlopak musi wybrac miedzy nimi, a malzenstwem, ktore go przygarnie i nauczy dobra i zla. Polecam ;D

A classic and must see.

I really appreciate some of the atmospheric things Lean builds in here--the opening sequence is first rate in its use of sound and shadow. The moodiness of the mise-en-scene brings a sense of dread that is appropriate to the setting.

I haven't read the book, but the film to me felt kind of rushed trying to fit everything in: I'd quite happily have them slice out some of the plot for the sake of putting in more character moments. It's still good, in particular it looks great and it portrays its world and characters fairly vividly and for the most part the plot is engaging. I guess I just find this sort of film-making kind of uninspiring is all...

A very respectable adaptation, with a proper cast and excellent chiaroscuro photography. Lean's crafty and tasteful directing shines.