Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

terephiel First, I have to say that I'm very impressed with how close to the book this version is. Nearly every detail is exact, which will more than satisfy Dickens purists. This is the only version I know that even includes the other Maylies! Many performances are memorable, including Eric Porter's Fagin, Julian Firth's Noah Claypole, and Miriam Margoyles' Widow Corny. Godfrey James also plays the cruelest Mr. Bumble I've ever seen.Despite the many strengths, however, this version also has its flaws. Though few liberties were taken, they're quite obvious. The first and foremost is the portrayal of Oliver himself. Scott Funnell is a very adorable Oliver, nice looking and playing the character with the same angelic passiveness the character had in the book. Funnell is definitely my favorite Oliver, next to Sam Smith and John Howard Davies of course.In this version, Oliver's age has been drastically changed. Instead of leaving the baby farm on his ninth birthday, he's eight; when working for the Sowerberrys, he's thirteen as opposed to ten. I understand the whole child labor laws back then, but he's even older than the character was at the end of the book (twelve)! Ben Rodska bears absolutely no resemblance to Funnell or Lysette Anthony (who played both Agnes and Rose), and on top of that, is absolutely hideous. Last time I checked, Oliver wasn't red haired, freckled, and speaking in a Cockney accent like Dodger or Claypole would. I also don't believe Oliver would be drinking wine of his own free will, as he is when staying with Mr. Brownlow. If I remember correctly, the only time he did in the book was when he was being forced to rob the Maylies, and though he didn't want to drink it, Sikes and Crackit forced him.There's also the matter of the film quality. It's rather poor, though being from the eighties, it isn't all bad. Personally, I the film should have been shot like a movie, even though it's not one. As someone else has said before, if one were to remake this today with professional sets and the liberties removed, it'd be the greatest Oliver Twist adaptation of all time. All in all, this particular series wasn't half bad. Even so, despite their own liberties, Alan Bleasdale and David Lean's versions will always be my favorites.

maksquibs OLIVER TWIST films live or die by their Olivers and this ultra-faithful six-hour British mini, dies with two inadequate Olivers. Not that the rest of the cast does much better. No one seems able to sustain the heightened characterizations Dickens needs, giving us a sort of loud, generic hamminess that quickly wears out its welcome. Even so, it's a treat to (just once) get all the story (the Artful Dodger has some surprising character turns), and it's certainly preferable to a recent mini-series which added a 'clarifying' preface. Memorable versions by Frank Lloyd, David Lean & Carol Reed each lose almost half of the story; for the better say I. With early Dickens, small sins of omission do wonders for story construction, especially in keeping Oliver in personal danger for the climax.

godfreye-1 This is an excellent version, well-acted, long enough to permit inclusion of Dickens' myriad confusing plots that keep the viewer guessing. It is broken into 12 28-minute episodes, reminiscent of the way Dickens serialized his novels. I dare anybody to watch just one - every one's a cliffhanger inviting you onwards. The acting is outstanding, though the strong dialect caused me to miss some lines. As Scott Funnell has noted in an earlier comment, the child actor who coincidentally has the same name does an outstanding job (and is rather adorable) as the young Oliver, as does the actor playing the larger (but according to Scott less important) role of the older Oliver.This is one of a whole series of superb BBC adaptations of the major Dickens novels, every one a gem. Like some of the others, the DVD re-release of Oliver Twist includes as an extra an excellent performance by Simon Callow as Charles Dickens, reading a lengthy passage from the novel, recreating Dickens' own reading tours that played to packed houses. Don't miss it!

scottfunnell I thought that this was an exceptional production, particularly because it starred a young Scott Funnell. At such a young age, his performance was nothing less than remarkable, evoking emotions on a primeval level. I cannot speak more highly of this young superstar, except to say that he has a bright future ahead, matched only by his aspirations and delusions of grandeur. The supporting cast put in an admirable performance too, despite the show stopping form displayed by the Funnell. It was something i wish i did in my youth. Watch this because you will soon find that nothing can match it for sheer pluck and tenacity.