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Critics Consensus: It has aged somewhat awkwardly, but the performances are inspired, the songs are memorable, and the film is undeniably influential.
Critic Consensus: It has aged somewhat awkwardly, but the performances are inspired, the songs are memorable, and the film is undeniably influential.
View All Oliver! News
All Critics (32) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (6) | DVD (2)
Oliver! is a timeless classic that will be as lovable in 10 or 20 years as it is today.
The focus of the movie is so wide, and the logistics of the production so heavy, that Oliver himself, dutifully played by 9-year-old Mark Lester, gets flattened out and almost lost, as if he had been run over by a studio bulldozer.
There's plenty of mileage left in the famous story.
After a season of watching inane twitching in the name of dance, the viewer is most happily greeted by Onna White's choreography, an exuberant step-by-step exploration of Victorian zeal.
In retrospect, it seems emblematic of the triviality Reed descended to in the last years of his career. The Third Man it's not.
Reed is craftsman enough to make an efficient family entertainment out of Lionel Bart's musical, but not artist enough to put back any of Dickens' teeth which Bart had so assiduously drawn.
[A] picture that will as firmly imprint itself on the imagination of the young as did some scenes in Snow White more than a generation ago.
Mistrust a movie with too many close-ups of Bisto Kid children and doleful dogs: they suggest a director cleverly boxing his way out of some very tight script corners.
Even if you're not a fan of the musicals, Oliver is so witty, so bright and so endearing that even the iciest viewer should start melting in its corona.
Today, it works well as a child's introduction to Dickens.
In adapting Lionel Bart's lavish musical for the screen, director Carol Reed tempered the sticky sentimentality with suitably Dickensian scenes of squalor.
Glorious musical based on Dickens' Oliver Twist.
They made this in Britain?!? Yes, it's hard to believe, but somehow the Brits got their ducks in a row and turned out this big, rich, snazzy product of such high quality (and without a lot of talking, their national strongpoint) that you'll be left wondering. The music is highly contagious, the performances (except for young Olivier himself) very strong, and everything else is simply very well done. Standouts include Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, and the undeniable Jack Wild.
Super Reviewer
This multi-Oscar winner is the film version of the satge musical adaptation of the classic novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. As you might expect, it's a sumptuous well-done British affair filled with excellent sets and costumes, good music, and some decent performances. As for how it fares as an adaptation? Well, pretty decently. It's certainly entertaining, though I can't say I've ever really been all that into Oliver Twist (in any form). That makes my praise seem odd no doubt, but I'm the sort of person who can give praise to something when it is well done, even if it's really not my thing. The casting is good, as are the performances, but special credit must be given to Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes, a chilling performance that the Nostalgia Critic (Doug Walker) rightfully included on his list of the Top 11 Scariest Performances. He's a real creep, and Reed's take is wonderfully done. Shani Wallis's Nancy and Ron Moody's Fagin are pretty good too. Mark Lester is capable as the title character, but his voice (mostly singing) is a bit much for me. I know I can't fault him for not hitting puberty by the time this film was made, but damn. It's not distracting enough to take the movie down though. Carol Reed, the director behind the masterpiece that is The Third Man, does a really good job of bringing this musical to life on the big screen. There's nothign really cinematically showy going on, but it's solid and well played nonetheless. If you happen to like musicals or the source material, then yeah, give this one a go. Unlike almost all 1960s movie musicals, this one is at least under 3 hours.
not my type of film
Extremely enjoyable musical, perfectly cast with great songs and a great story from Dickens.
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