Oliver! (1968)

Film buffs and critics can argue until their faces turn blue about whether this lavish Dickensian musical deserved the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1968, but the movie speaks for itself on grandly entertaining terms. Adapted from Dickens's classic novel, it's one of the most dramatically involving and artistically impressive musicals of the 1960s, directed by Carol Reed with a delightful enthusiasm that would surely have impressed Dickens himself. Mark Lester plays the waifish orphan Oliver Twist, who is befriended by the pickpocketing Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and recruited into the gang of boy thieves led by Fagin (played to perfection by Ron Moody). The villainous Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) casts his long shadow over Oliver and his friends, but the young orphan is still able to find loving care in the most desperate of circumstances. Full of memorable melodies and splendid lyrics, Oliver! is a timeless film, prompting even hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael to call it "a superb demonstration of intelligent craftsmanship," and to further observe that "it's as if the movie set out to be a tribute to Dickens and his melodramatic art as well as to tell the story of Oliver Twist." --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

oliver

this dvd of oliver,the musical, cost $20.00 anywhere else, i paid much less with amazon! fast shipment too. June 29, 2008

Great movie, mediocre DVD

There certainly wasn't much care taken in restoring this movie for DVD. There are no bonus features or extras included and the picture and sound quality are nothing great. One would expect better since it says on the case "remastered for high definition". It looks like the film was transferred from an old VHS tape, and if you have an old VHS copy of this film you might just as well keep it since it may be of better quality than this DVD.

I love the movie "Oliver!" like many other people here. It's one of the best musicals with memorable songs, great acting, and beautiful photography. But those who created this DVD could have given us something so much better, considering the technology that is available for restoring old films today. I didn't pay much for this product since it's price was greatly reduced here at Amazon, but it wasn't anything outstanding in quality, either. June 29, 2008

A Classic

Oliver! The Artful Doger, Fagan, Nancy and Bill Sikes. Great music and timeless storyline. Watching this with your family is a nice way to spend an evening or rainy summer day. June 18, 2008

great quotes

I love this music and this movie! The music is fabulous! The movie has some of my favorite movie quotes of all time! One of my favorites is, "These sausages is mouldy!" "Shut up and drink your gin!" June 4, 2008

"You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two"

The '68 film `Oliver' is an amazingly entertaining musical adaptation of Charles Dickens classic `Oliver Twist'. I really cannot think of a single flaw in this production that is worthy of mentioning. The storyline, characterizations, production values and musical numbers are sheer perfection with superb performances delivered by Ron Moody (Fagin), Jack Wild (Artful Dodger) and little Mark Lester (Oliver Twist) just to name a few.

As always, the ultimate litmus test of any great film is the repeatability factor. Does it continue to entertain its audience viewing after viewing? In the case of 'Oliver' the answer is a resounding YES! May 22, 2008

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