The horrors are comfily buttressed by storybook polish
Oliver Twist (2005)
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Reviews Counted:133
Fresh:78
Rotten:55
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Polanski's version of Dickens' classic won't have audiences asking for more because while polished and directed with skill, the movie's a very impersonal experience.
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Sep 23, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $1,987,287
Synopsis: Acclaimed director Roman Polanski turns a dark eye toward the classic Charles Dickens novel OLIVER TWIST, about a charming orphan boy (Barney Clark) whose life seems to depend solely on the whims... Acclaimed director Roman Polanski turns a dark eye toward the classic Charles Dickens novel OLIVER TWIST, about a charming orphan boy (Barney Clark) whose life seems to depend solely on the whims of fate. Abandoned early in life, Oliver first seems doomed to life in a workhouse, where he is farmed out to a local undertaker where he regularly is underfed and mistreated. Hoping to improve his lot in life, Oliver runs away to London, where he falls in with a gang of petty criminals led by the fence Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and the young pickpocket the Artful Dodger (Harry Eden). His new situation seems like relief, until he meets Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwicke), who sees Oliver's true character and potential and seems determined to sway destiny. Despite his innocent performance, eleven-year old Barney Clark was already a seasoned professional when Polanski recruited him to play Oliver, including studies at the Anna Scher Theatre and performances in the film THE LAWLESS HEART and British television dramas FOYLE'S WAR and THE BRIEF. Also of note is the moving score by award-winning composer Rachel Portman, which brings to life the gritty life of Victorian London. Polanski can now add OLIVER TWIST to his array of classic films, including THE PIANIST and CHINATOWN, which forever will shape cinematic vision. [More]
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jamie Foreman, Harry Eden, Leanne Rowe
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jamie Foreman, Harry Eden, Leanne Rowe, Barney Clark, Edward Hardwicke, Mark Strong, Ian McNeice
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Screenwriter: Ronald Harwood
Producer: Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde
Composer: Rachel Portman
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Reviews for Oliver Twist
Polanski has crafted something that already feels like a classic film, beautiful to look at, combining accurate period detail with a certain gothic expressionism and brimming with earthy characters and high drama.
The unspoken sense of youthful post-traumatic holocaust syndrome shock and awe in Polanski's Twist is as palpable as the murky stench and appalling human misery of Dickens' chaotic London streets.
Polanski's film is not a bad adaptation, and it may be a fine way to introduce children to the classic story. But it is not exactly a definitive version of that story.
Probably the thing that Polanski's Oliver Twist does best, is deliver the mood of the day
With intelligence and style (inspired by the art of Gustave Doré and Francisco Solé), Polanski makes a rewarding contribution to Dickens' legacy on screen.
The movie understands what Polanski himself knew upon surviving the Holocaust--you take your kindness where you can find it, weighing its price along the way.
It just might supplant David Lean's 1948 version as the one that students turn to for a 2-hour study guide.
A severely overlooked, exceedingly well-done version of an oft-told tale...One of the best films of 2005.
[T]he maddening thing is not just that we hardly need another movie adaptation of [Oliver Twist] ... but that there are other Dickens books that haven't been given the major movie treatment that would better suit Polanski's temperament.
...respectful without being slavish, nice to look at without ever being breathtaking, well cast and acted without ever deeply engaging our emotions.
Falha ao jamais encontrar um tom adequado para sua narrativa: em certos momentos, é excessivamente infantil; em outros, sombrio demais.
It’s an impeccable production on a visual level and undeniably a well-made film, but the narrative often lacks the spark to bring it to life.
“Oliver Twist” deserves to be recognized as one of the director’s better films.
(Roman) Polanski orchestrates this well-worn chestnut with the same high level of expertise that won him an Oscar for The Pianist in 2002.
Polanski's deft adaptation proves that there's still life in that well-worn story of a boy who beats the odds.
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