Oliver Twist (1982) [VHS]

Oliver Twist (1982) [VHS]
by Clive Donner

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Product details

Actor: Eileen Atkins, George C. Scott, Michael Hordern, Tim Curry, Timothy West
Director: Clive Donner
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 88 minutes
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Republic Pictures
Studio: Republic Pictures

VHS Movie Reviews of Oliver Twist (1982) [VHS]

Movie Review: Good!.
Summary: 4 Stars

There are a lot of movies based on Charles Dickens classic novel Oliver Twist and I remember watching this version on TV I liked it and thought that George C. Scott and Tim Curry were really good and I would like to see this movie put on DVD! Tim Curry was good as Bill Sykes and the scene in which he attacked Nancy was scary!

Movie Review: Not bad, but could have been better
Summary: 3 Stars

I was a little surprised that I actually liked this version of O.T. The costuming was good, in fact much better than I expected. George C. Scott was a bit too likeable as Fagan, and I agree, the rage simply wasn't there.It's a shame since Scott was/is a fine actor. The Jewish sterotyping wasn't as bad as in other films, although the words "dirty Jew" does crop up from time to time. Dickens would later remove a lot of the more offensive slurs in later editions of the book. Tim Curry sleep walked through the whole film. I'm wondering if he really WAS drunk during the taping. His ragged costume and yellowed teeth did little to help. Others have done a much more menacing "Bill Sikes" and it shows. Robert Newton of "Treasure Island" fame and Oliver Reed are among the better performances. For the purist, the basic storyline is intact, but like any true Dickens fan, you find yourself asking, "please sir, I want some more"

Movie Review: Class consciousness in Victorian London
Summary: 3 Stars

This 1982 British TVM of the Charles Dickens classic directed by Clive Donner has a teleplay by James Goldman, unsubtle class distinction between the rich and the poor where the poor are comic grotesques, but also a gentle performance by George C Scott as Fagin.
Jewish groups took offence at the performance of Alec Guiness' Fagin in the David Lean 1948 version, forcing Lean to cut footage in order for his film to be released in America. Scott's own nose probably helps him pass for Jewish, and here he shows sexual interest in Nancy to counterbalance the subtext of a man who enjoys the company of young boys. However Scott's infamous rage is in check, perhaps because he shares some much tube time with children.
If purists may find this Fagin is more likeable than Guinness' that seems hardly important to those interested in witnessing great acting. It's only a pity that Scott is a relatively minor player in the narrative, but even the title boy becomes a relatively minor player in this adaptation!
As Bill Sikes, Tim Curry is rather non-threatening and his dog seems dubbed, but Eileen Atkins as Mrs Mann, the head of the orphanage, gets some laughs from her duplicitous agenda. With Oliver being an Alice in Wonderland blonde and one half expecting the performers to burst into the songs from the musical Oliver! at any moment, the treatment doesn't achieve a semblence of reality until Scott appears, and after that rises and falls. This Oliver is never really in any serious peril, notably not from Bill Sikes, but at least Fagin retains his dignity.

Movie Review: Class consciousness in Victorian London
Summary: 3 Stars

This 1982 British TVM of the Charles Dickens classic directed by Clive Donner has a teleplay by James Goldman, unsubtle class distinction between the rich and the poor where the poor are comic grotesques, but also a gentle performance by George C Scott as Fagin.
The David Lean 1948 version presented Alec Guinness' Fagin as both lowlife Jew and malignant old homosexual, with protests by Jewish groups forcing Lean to cut footage in order for his film to be released in America. Scott's own nose probably helps him pass for Jewish, and here he shows sexual interest in Nancy to counterbalance the homosexual subtext of a man who enjoys the company of young boys. However Scott's infamous rage is in check, perhaps because he shares some much tube time with children. If purists may find this Fagin is more likeable than Guinness' that seems hardly important to those interested in witnessing great acting. It's only a pity that Scott is a relatively minor player in the narrative, but even the title boy becomes a relatively minor player in this adaptation!
As Bill Sikes, Tim Curry is rather non-threatening and his dog seems dubbed, but Eileen Atkins as Mrs Mann, the head of the orphanage, gets some laughs from her duplicitous agenda. With Oliver being an Alice in Wonderland blonde and one half expecting the performers to burst into the songs from the musical Oliver! at any moment, the treatment doesn't achieve a semblence of reality until Scott appears, and after that rises and falls. This Oliver is never really in any serious peril, notably not from Bill Sikes, but at least Fagin retains his dignity.

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