Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

aramis-112-804880 If you like big, splashy musicals, "Oliver!" is for you. Well acted (with a young Oliver Reed as the heavy and Ron Moody reviving his stage role as Fagin), well-designed (with David Lean art director John Box recreating mid-nineteenth century London--as it should have been), and chock full of wonderful songs ("Consider Yourself"; "Who Will Buy?"; "Oliver", etc.). SPOILER (for parents): It's solid family entertainment. Orphan flees Undertaker to whom he is sold, is enlisted by gang of thieves who exploit boys as pickpockets, only to escape the thug who abuses him when he accidentally hangs himself after bludgeoning to death his live-in prostitute girlfriend. Okay, the plot ain't "Mary Poppins" but it works . . . the first couple of times you see it. After that, the bigness and splashyness begin to pall.Some of the songs run too long. Oh, sure, back in the thirties they were able to do thirty repeats of "I Only Have Eyes for You" in a Ruby Keeler movie; but these days, when a song only has a verse or two, it gets boring however big it's played. "Consider Yourself" and "Who Will Buy" are amazingly staged, but eventually they're simply SO big you begin to wonder if director Carol Reed (Oliver Reed's uncle, nudge-nudge; that's how you get in the movies) is making fun of the genre.While some great English actors (both serious and comic) enliven the whole shebang, it revolves around the character Oliver Twist, cloyingly played by the altogether too-pretty Mark Lester. Here's why Walt Disney's better movies are better for you. In "Mary Poppins" the kids aren't cute. In fact, they're both kind of strange-looking. In this non-Disney production, Mark Lester is so impossibly cute those of us who used to be boys don't blame the kid who (SPOILER) threw a snowball at him. Fortunately Jack Wild, as the Artful Dodger, makes up for the cuteness factor by being good (and watchable) without being the least bit attractive. Or maybe I can't take my eyes off his hat, wondering how he manages to keep it on as it's too small for his enormous head.Simply by being gorgeous (thanks to John Box and Director Reed) and tuneful "Oliver!" is love at first sight to the splashy-musical lover, and for that it deserves (at least) the seven stars I give it. But after seeing it two or three times one wonders if it's really entertaining or it's simply sensory overload, like the "high" one gets from gorging one's self too many sweet confections at once.WARNING: Dickens is one of those great authors adults shove off on kids, while never cracking his books themselves. I was one of the few who genuinely loved Dickens as a kid (I first read OLIVER TWIST in the sixth grade; it made me a life-long Dickens lover, and I'm fifty-seven now). But while palmed off on children as good for them like spinach and broccoli, Dickens wrote for adults! I tend to think this movie is the sort of show it's makers thought children should like. However, don't expect it to keep today's youth (whose parents grew up on quick-cutting MTV, so you know their children's attention spans are nil) to be anything but bored by the whole ordeal.

gab-14712 The first time I saw Oliver!, I was not too fond of it. I must have been in a foul mood that day or perhaps my younger brain didn't appreciate the film as I do today. It's not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a fun, harmless musical that brings the words of Charles Dickens to life-musically speaking of course. Those who are familiar with classic literature will know that this film is based of the classic Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. The novel was previously made in a film adaptation by David Lean (which I have yet to see), and that was more of a straightforward narrative, while this film acts more like a musical.This film is a musical, and its damn proud to be one. The tone of the film is relatively dark and serious at times especially in the second act, but I was able to detect some lightness in the tone. I attribute that because of the music, which was overseen by John Green who overseen musicals at MGM during the heyday of musicals in the late 1940's. There are just some songs here that will swell you up with happiness and wonder. Two songs that come to mind is the lovely "Who Will Buy" which is the leadoff song of the second act, and the relatively comical song "Reviewing the Situation." Out of the other songs, I enjoyed the one called "Food, Glorious Food." That song sounds like a cheerful song, but it's not because it's about the young boy who is yearning for food after suffering from meager rations. I mostly liked the songs on the whole, although sometimes they seemed a little stuffy.Unlike the novel, the film focuses away from the main character of the story-Oliver, and focuses more on the villains and there are quite a few of them. If you think about it, there's nothing that interesting about Oliver himself. He's not a bad kid, but he does not elevate the story. This is where the villains come in. We have Fagin who is an elderly man who runs a group of child pickpockets. There is the malicious Bill Sykes who is a former pupil of Fagin's and is a very dangerous man. There is the "Artful Dodger" who is a kid who works with Fagin as the number one pickpocket. It's a very interesting cast of villains and it was a pleasure watching them develop on screen.Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) is a poor orphan who is kicked out of the orphanage after asking for more dinner one day. Then he is received by Fagin (Ron Moody) and his merry gang of pickpockets. He is taught the trade by Fagin and the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild). After being accused of a theft, he is taken in by a kinder, richer gentleman who may know something about Oliver's past. That raises the interest of Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed) and his love Nancy (Shani Wallis). Bill attempts to use Oliver as mean to get rich while Oliver finds an ally in Nancy.The performances are not bad, but there are nothing truly memorable outside the performances of Ron Moody and Oliver Reed. Moody delivers a dynamite performance as Fagin and he really embodies his character through song. He is one of cinema's most underrated and memorable villains. Reed also transcends the screen with his memorable performance as the overly violent Sykes. Jack Wild had a decent performance as the Artful Dodger, but I don't think his character was developed as well. As for Mark Lester, well I believe his performance was bland. Not bad nor good, but just bland. I actually saw in my research that Mark Lester was awful at singing, so his voice had to be dubbed by the director's daughter. Ouch! The film looks amazing. The production design gave the film a moody feeling and we see the darkness arise on their makeshift cobbled London streets. The sets are great and they did a good job with the costumes. They did not go overboard with everything. They struck the perfect balance when it came to the looks of the film, so I was pleased about that.This film was directed by Sir Carol Reed and he delivers a smooth direction, especially when it came to the tone of it. He was able to strike the fine line between the serious and light tones when needed. Despite all of the darkness, this is an excellent family film. I found, on discussion forums, that people enjoyed watching it with their families. When that happens, you know you have a successful movie on your hands. It certainly did well when it came to the awards pundits. It was nominated for eleven Oscars, and won six of them including Best Picture and Best Picture. An interesting fact is that this is the only G-rated film that has ever won Best Picture. I found that piece of trivia mind-blowing.All-in-all, I found Oliver! to be an entertaining musical, even if it suffers from flaws. The film looks beautiful and it works due to fluid direction, solid performances, and some good music.My Grade: B+

grantss Oliver Twist is a poor orphan, living at a workhouse. He angers the powers-that-be at the workhouse when, one dinner, he asks for more food. They decide to sell him and he ends up working for an undertaker. The undertaker treats him badly and he escapes, heading for London. Once there he falls in with a gang of boys, thieves who steal for their adult leader, Fagin. Great musical adaptation of Oliver Twist, the Charles Dickens novel. I'm generally not into musicals but this works. The music isn't overdone and fits in well with the story, plus it propels the story along.Good performances all round.Won the 1969 Best Picture Oscar.

Richard Dominguez I Really Really Tried To Write How Much I Love This Movie Without Turning It Into A Small Novel ... But I Can't ... So Let Me Just Point Out That At Times This Movie Makes Me Laugh, Jump For Joy, Fills Me With Sadness, Every Now And Then Brings A Tear To My Eyes And Then It Fills Me With Hope And Inspiration ... And Throughout The Whole Thing It Manages To Keep Me Singing Along To All The Songs ... The World Wide Winner Of 12 Movie Awards And 25 Separate Movie Nominations ... This Is An Amazing Story Put To Amazing Music And Allowed To Shine On The Big Screen ... The Actors Are "ALL" Flawless In Their Performances And The Scenery Capture Is Remarkable To Say The Least ... The Choreography Is An Amazing Undertaking And Achieves A Level Of Perfection I Have Yet To See In Any Other Musical ... Among It's Peers This Musical/Story Will Always Stand Over All The Others Before And After It