Oliver! | Johnny Green, Onna White

Oliver! | Johnny Green, Onna White | Excellent set

DVDs:

Oliver!

	Oliver! Johnny Green, Onna White Sony Pictures, 1998 average customer review:based on 147 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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

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A Wonderful Musical

My mom bought this movie on VHS,(it is one of her all time favorite movies) for me when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. I thought my daughter would also love it, but she is still a little young at three years to enjoy it fully. I was a little surprised to find subtitles in English for an English speaking movie, but found them to be quite useful for understanding some of the "cockney" English accents. This movie is a classic and the music is wonderful, especially the songs "Who Will Buy"(this beautiful morning) and "As Long As He Needs Me". I would highly recommend this movie, even if you do not care for musicals in general, it is a wonderful story and the acting is superb. Lots of good clean family fun.

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Excellent set

This is an excellent set for the money. I checked at retail stores, and each individual item costs more. Of course, my 9 year old now knows all the words to all the songs. I particularly enjoy this version of Oliver Twist.

Classic in a great package

The packaging of the soundtrack with the movie together is a great way to celebrate this outstanding film. Like many, this version of Oliver represents The Oliver, so objectivity is thrown to the wind. The characters are all as well developed as possible, given the superficiality of the original Dickensonian serial. How do you take such a biting commentary on modern life and trivialize it with song and a happy ending? The answer to that question lies on this DVD. How to learn all the songs so you can sing them with the family and perform them in local theater? The CD soundtrack provides that. All in a neat package. A good value for fans of the musical and for families.

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Good family Movie!

We watched this with our whole family. Our kids range from 15 to newborn and everyone enjoyed it! The young actor who plays Oliver is absolutely wonderful! His voice is straight out of the Vienna Boys Choir! The songs will be in your head for days, especially Oom Pah Pah!! Anyway, the cast is great, and the movie is well done and fun! Enjoy.

Just okay...

Maybe I should have started with the '48 version first. I liked Moody's Fagin. He really got into the character. I enjoyed the colorful sets and few of the songs, but I never connected to Lester's Oliver. I didn't like the whole domestic violence angle and the killing. Definitely NOT something I think young children should watch. Jack Wild's Dodger was adorable, but for the most part, I did a lot fidgeting in my seat, wanting the movie to end. I'll probably check out the other version later. This production is just okay.

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