Oliver Twist [Criterion Collection]

Director: David Lean David Lean

Overview

"David Lean's adaptation of Oliver Twist is given the deluxe treatment from The Criterion Collection on this DVD. The disc offers a standard full-frame image that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. Subtitles specifically designed for the deaf and hearing-impaired are available. Supplemental materials include a theatrical trailer. This classic film gets the home video release it deserves with this disc, which is recommended for anyone interested in classic movies."

Product Details

Release Date:	01/12/1999
UPC:	0037429128121
Original Release:	1948
Rating:	NR
Source:	CRITERION COLLECTION
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[monaural, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00

Special Features

The original theatrical trailer; Subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Alec Guinness	Fagin
Robert Newton	Bill Sikes
Kay Walsh	Nancy
John Howard Davies	Oliver Twist
Francis L. Sullivan	Mr. Bumble,Actor
Henry Stephenson	Mr. Brownlow
Mary Clare	Mrs. Corney
Josephine Stuart	Oliver's Mother
Henry Edwards	Police Official,Mr. Fang
Ralph Truman	Monks
Anthony Newley	The Artful Dodger
Hattie Jacques	Sibger
Betty Paul	Sibger
Kenneth Downey	Workhouse Master
Gibb McLaughlin	Mr. Sowerberry
Kathleen Harrison	Mrs. Sowerberry
Amy Veness	Mrs. Bedwin
W.G. Fay	Bookseller
Maurice Denham	Chief of Police
Frederick Lloyd	Mr. Grimwig
Ivor Barnard	Chairman of the Board
Deirdre Doyle	Mrs. Thingummy
Edie Martin	Annie
Fay Middleton	Martha
Diana Dors	Charlotte
Michael Dear	Noah Claypole
Peter Bull	Landlord of `Three Cripples'
John Potter	Charlie Bates
Maurice Jones	Workhouse Doctor
Arnold Bax	Composer

Technical Credits

David Lean

Charles Dickens

Stanley Haynes

Eric Ambler

David Lean	Director,Screenwriter
Stanley Grant	Special Effects
Anthony Havelock-Allan	Producer
Ronald Neame	Producer
Joan Suttie	Special Effects
Charles Dickens	Screenwriter
Stanley Haynes	Screenwriter
Eric Ambler	Screenwriter
Les Bowie	Special Effects
Gordon K. McCallum	Sound Effects
Winston Ryder	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

David Lean's ambitious interpretation of this Charles Dickens classic is a powerful but flawed film. Guy Green's hyaline cinematography dominates the picture from its opening shots of a terrified young woman stumbling around in a stormy heath to its closing scenes of mob violence. His camera is perched above the characters, implying moral superiority to the many flawed characters, while making the ever-vulnerable Oliver look cowed and beaten. The turbulent world of mid-19th century London, with its incessant hustle and bustle of human industry, is recreated so carefully that the vibrant set designs almost overshadow the memorable characters that roam these streets. A smorgasbord of urban decay, social disorder, and class conflict imbues the film with a potent sensuality, as both natural elements and human architecture conspire to consume the disadvantaged. An unrecognisable Alec Guinness, endowed with pounds of prosthetics to mask his youthful vigour, creates a sympathetic Fagin out of a potentially racist caricature. Robert Newton's Mephistophelean Bill Sikes is exemplary, particularly in the scene in which he brutally murders Nancy then sits in tortured and hysterical contemplation of the deed. Dickens' faith in the human spirit is well-depicted in Oliver's ability to survive despite the cruelty of this unjust world. Both Dickens when he wrote the novel and Lean when he filmed it were men near the beginning of their careers whose optimism shone through the darkness of the material. However, the film closes with scenes of mob vigilantism and sentimentality that carry messages betraying the social commentary that precedes them.