Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
| 15 May 1997 (USA)
Oliver Twist Trailers

Charles Dickens' classical story about the young orphan boy in 1837 England is again re-filmed in grand fashion. Richard Dreyfuss portrays Fagin, the unscrupulous leader of the young pick-pockets Oliver (Alex Trench) initially falls in with after escaping from a sweat shop and going to London to find his relatives. Written by John Sacksteder

Reviews
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
TheLittleSongbird I had heard much about this movie, not very favourably mind you, but loving the book and enjoying several other versions especially David Lean's film, I finally thought let's give it a go. After watching, I wouldn't say it is a terrible movie, but of the versions seen(1948 film, 1968 musical, 1982 film, 2005 film, 2007 series, 1999 series and 1933 film) it is my least favourite. I do give it credit for the production values, which do look lovely and evocative(mostly, some scenes are a little too clean though), the good soundtrack, the professional direction a suitably innocent Alex Trench as Oliver and Richard Dreyfuss as a delightful Fagin. Elijah Wood also had a real sense of cunning and charisma as Artful Dodger but his inconsistent accent, coming across sometimes as Australian to me, let him down. On the other hand, the script feels rather corny and misses on some of the more important underlying themes of the story like the poverty and child abuse. The story does maintain most of the details of the book, like the scene with Oliver's mother at the start and I did like that Widow Corney's role is expanded, but the basic tone like the sub-plot with the locket feels very sugar-coated, with some brutal scenes of the book like Fagin manipulating Bill into killing Nancy and Nancy's death lacking their power, in fact Nancy's death here is only implied. I'd say the same for the characters, Mr Bumble is only seen in one scene, Bill Sikes looks too clean and I imagined a more burly figure, Fagin though wonderfully played is not quite oily enough and Nancy is too much of the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold cliché with not enough vulnerability. The rest of the performances are decent enough, Antoine Byrne does look lovely and does do well with what the role gives her to work with, but again more vulnerability wouldn't have gone amiss. David O'Hara overall I found too restrained for Bill Sikes, never really convincing as a violent bully. All in all, not a disaster but rather disappointing all the same. 5/10 Bethany Cox
cimorene_fantasy There have been better film versions of Dickens' classic novel 'Oliver Twist,' and while this adaptation may not be topping the bill, it is a film to be enjoyed. Richard Dreyfuss gives a brilliant character lead portrayal of Fagin that entertains and delights, and Elijah Wood gives a most endearingly wicked performance of everyone's favorite character the Artful Dodger. I would recommend it to anyone
ourumov I think that this is probably the worst version of Dicken's superb novel ever. I think people should definately give up on making new and "better" films of Oliver, as there are already enough terrible ones. In the first few scenes of being introduced to Fagin in this movie, all the characters pronounced his name wrong.. as if it were Fajin. I nearly burst into laughter at this, and even more so when gradually throughout the feature his name was changed to its correct sound.Overall, I think the entire movie was a schamozzle. It did not revolve much around the book AT ALL.
Vale One of my favorite film characters is Fagin, because if represents some of the human most illustrative sins: ambition, avarice, manipulation; but Richard Dreyfuss doesn't convince me with his characterization. More, the film is low, bored, and too long for the plot.