Oliver Twist

Director: Roman Pola?ski

Overview

Director Roman Polanski gives one of Charles Dickens' best-loved stories a new and dynamic interpretation in this period drama. Oliver Twist (Barney Clark) is a young orphan in Victorian England who has been sent to a dank workhouse run by the miserly Mr. Bumble (Jeremy Swift) when it is learned there is no one to care for him. When Oliver dares to ask for more gruel, he is sent away to live with an undertaker, who treats him poorly. Preferring life on the streets to the treatment he's been receiving, Oliver runs away to London, where he falls in with the Artful Dodger (Harry Eden), a youthful pickpocket. The Artful Dodger is one of a gang of young thieves overseen by Fagin (Ben Kingsley), a paternal but sinister criminal mastermind. While Oliver finds a home of sorts with Fagin and his young cohorts, he also falls into a dangerous life made all the more threatening by the presence of Fagin's menacing overlord, Bill Sykes (Jamie Foreman). Oliver Twist was Polanski's first feature film after enjoying a major career resurgence following the international success of his Oscar-winning World War II drama The Pianist.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/22/2007
UPC:	0043396130654
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Sony Pictures
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:10:00
Sales rank:	2,608

Special Features

Closed Caption;Twist by Polanski: the director reflects on the making of Oliver Twist; The Best of Twist: an in-depth look at the film through the sets, costumes, cinematography, editing and music; Kidding with Oliver Twist: meet the young stars as they discuss filming Oliver Twist

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ben Kingsley	Fagin
Barney Clark	Oliver Twist
Leanne Rowe	Nancy
Mark Strong	Toby Crackit
Jamie Foreman	Bill Sykes
Harry Eden	Artful Dodger,Barman
Edward Hardwicke	Mr. Brownlow
Ian McNeice	M. Limbkins
Jeremy Swift	M. Bumble
Frances Cuka	Mrs. Bedwin
Michael Heath	Mr. Sowerberry
Gillian Hanna	Mrs. Sowerberry
Alun Armstrong	Magistrate Fang
Andy de la Tour	Workhouse Master,Workhouse Master
Peter Copley	Dining Hall Master
Andreas Papadopoulos	Workhouse Boy
Laurie Athey	Workhouse Boy
Filip Hess	Workhouse Boy
Lewis Chase	Charley Bates
Jack Curran	Barney
Chris Overton	Noah Claypole
Richard Durden	Unkind Board Member
Timothy Bateson	Parson
Joseph Tremain	Hungry Boy
Andy Linden	Mr. Garmfield
John Nettleton	First Magistrate
Tony Noble	Second Magistrate
Teresa Churcher	Charlotte
Gerard Horan	Farmer
Morgane Polanski	Farmer's Daughter,Boy with Hoop
Liz Smith	Old Woman
Levi Hayes	Nicky
Ophelia Lovibond	Bet
Patrick Godfrey	Bookseller
Anezka Novak	Woman in Street
Andy Camm	Policeman
Frank Mills	Elderly Officer
Turbo	Bullseye
David Meeking	Policeman in Court
Paul Brooke	Mr. Grimwig
Kaeren Revell	Other Woman in Street
Andrea Miltner	Other Woman in Street
Kay Raven	Woman at Window
Lizzy Le Quesne	Barmaid
Robert Orr	Man in Pub
Nick Stringer	Insp. Blather
James Babson	Policeman
Richard Ridings	Warder
Rachel Portman	Composer

Technical Credits

Ronald Harwood

Charles Dickens

Roman Pola?ski	Producer
Alain Sarde	Producer
Robert Benmussa	Producer
Ronald Harwood	Screenwriter
Charles Dickens	Screenwriter
Timothy Burrill	Executive Producer,Producer
Petr Moravec	Executive Producer,Producer
Loic Bouineau	Special Effects
Philippe Amouroux	Sound Effects
Nicolas Becker	Sound Effects
Jean-Marie Blondel	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Katia Boutin	Sound Effects
Tomas Cervenka	Sound Effects
Milos Brosinger	Special Effects
Adam Kulhavy	Stunts
Michael Schwarz	Producer
Celestia Fox	Casting

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Oliver Twist
1. Start [2:25]
2. Time for Education [3:08]
3. "I Want Some More" [3:39]
4. Liberal Terms for a Boy [3:11]
5. At the Undertaker's [3:32]
6. Settling In... and Out [6:51]
7. The Road to London [3:20]
8. A Little Kindness [2:24]
9. Breakfast With the Dodger [3:38]
10. Fagin's Warm Welcome [5:22]
11. Learning the Game [7:08]
12. "Stop, Thief!" [2:52]
13. On Trial [3:36]
14. How to Find Oliver? [3:06]
15. A Loving Home [7:13]
16. An Errand Gone Awry [5:38]
17. Chat About Hanging [4:44]
18. Bill's Lecture [6:09]
19. Bungled Burglary [6:34]
20. Plans for the Boy [4:21]
21. An Urgent Message [3:41]
22. No Going Out Tonight [4:19]
23. The Dodger Dodges [4:16]
24. Flight of Thieves [2:50]
25. Silence... and News [4:19]
26. Bull's-eye's Not Fooled [3:23]
27. Desperate Bargain [5:41]
28. "You Were Kind to Me" [12:44]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Oliver Twist
Play Movie
Languages
Audio Set Up: English
Audio Set Up: French/Français
Subtitles: English
Subtitles: French/Français
Subtitles: Subtitles Off
Scene Selections
Special Features
Twist by Polanski
The Best of Twist
Kidding With Oliver Twist
Trailers
Fun With Dick and Jane
The Pink Panther (2005)
The Da Vinci Code
Open Season
The Baxter
Trailers
Fun With Dick and Jane
The Pink Panther (2005)
The Da Vinci Code
Open Season
The Baxter

Editorial Reviews

Few literary masterpieces have been adapted to the screen as frequently as this Charles Dickens classic; Roman Polanski’s recent version is the 26th we know of -- and one of the very best, to boot. We suspect the Polish-born director identifies very strongly with this tale of a young orphan cast adrift on the ramshackle streets of London’s shabbiest neighborhood: In 1943, at the age of ten, Polanski saw his parents carted off by Nazis and was left to fend for himself in the Warsaw Ghetto. Unlike earlier versions of Oliver Twist that romanticized the protagonist’s situation and surroundings, Polanski’s adaptation depicts an even filthier, less hospitable city. The story’s essential details remain the same: young Oliver (Barney Clark), having left the orphanage, falls in with the Artful Dodger (Harry Eden) and other street urchins working as pickpockets under the guidance of the shifty Fagin (Ben Kingsley). The lad becomes part of this seedy little fraternity and runs afoul of the cruel Bill Sykes (Jamie Foreman), whose kindhearted lover, Nancy (Leanne Rowe), ultimately falls victim to his murderous impulses. Dickens made Fagin a Jew and presented him as an anti-Semitic caricature. More than any other filmmaker who’s tackled the story, Polanski softens the character and makes him almost sympathetic. That’s an interesting innovation, and one that enables Kingsley to contribute a more fully rounded portrayal -- it is, in fact, one of his best. For that matter, Oliver Twist is one of Polanski’s best as well.