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Movie Details:
If Charles Dickens were alive to see Roman Polanskis faithful adaptation of Oliver Twist, hed probably give it his stamp of approval. David Leans celebrated 1948 version of the Dickens classic and Carol Reeds Oscar-winning 1968 musical are more entertaining in some ways, but Polanskis rendition is both painstakingly authentic (with superb cinematography and production design) and deeply rooted in the emotional context of the story. Both Polanski and Dickens had personal experiences similar to those of young Oliver (played here by Barney Clark)–Polanski in the Nazi-occupied ghettos of Poland during World War II, and Dickens during his hard-scrabble youth in Victorian London–and this spiritual kinship lends a certain gravitas to the tale of a tenacious orphan who escaped from indentured servitude in London society and is taken in by Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and his streetwise gang of pickpockets.As the evil Bill Sykes, who exploits Oliver for his own nefarious needs, Jamie Foreman is no match for Oliver Reed (in the 68 musical) in terms of frightening menace, but even here, Polanskis direction hews closer to Dickens, while the screenplay by Ronald Harwood (who also wrote Polanskis The Pianist) necessarily trims away subplots and characters for the sake of narrative economy. All in all, this Oliver Twist rises above most previous versions, and with the benefit of Kingsleys nuanced performance, Polanski arrives at a compassionate conclusion that captures the essence of Dickens novel in a way that viewers of all ages will appreciate for many years to come.
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