The 1948 David Lean film is a classic, that is well worth watching for the outstanding performance of Alec Guiness. This adaptation was very good indeed, but I do think it is inferior to the 1948 film.

The film does look splendid, with fine period detail, and the cinematography is gorgeous. I also thought the score by Rachel Portman was beautiful, and very fitting. Roman Polanski's direction is excellent, and although it is a long time since I read the book, it is fairly true to the source material. Barney Clark gives a charming and vulnerable performance in the title role, and the Artful Dodger and the other boys are well done. Nancy was well portrayed and her character's death was very disturbing, I have to admit. The end scenes were very well staged and perfectly captured on camera.

However, the film does have some less impressive bits. I will confess I was disappointed in Ben Kingsley as Fagin, he wasn't terrible, he just wasn't quite my idea of Fagin. Fagin is supposed to be oily and manipulative, and while Kingsley occasionally had these in his performance, compared to the outstanding performance given by Guiness, it was somewhat anaemic. Jamie Foreman looks the part of Sikes, and evidently has the acting ability, however I felt that something was holding him back, as if he was reluctant to be violent. The dog wasn't quite as convincing as the dog in the 1948 film, in the case of the 1948 film, if there was such thing as an Oscar for animals the dog should've got it. I did like the fact that the film tried to be faithful to the spirit of the book, but it felt a little bloated at times.

Don't get me wrong, it is not a terrible movie, it's just that I preferred the David Lean film, but I did like this film a lot. 7/10 Bethany Cox

In the Nineteenth Century, the orphan Oliver Twist (Barney Clark) is sent to a workhouse, where the children are barely fed and mistreated. He moves to the house of an undertaker, but after an unfair severe spank, he starts a seven day runaway to London. He arrives exhausted and starving, and is welcomed by a gang of pickpockets leaded by the old crook Fagin (Ben Kingsley). When he is mistakenly taken as a thief, the wealthy victim Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwick) brings Oliver to his home and shelters him. But Fagin and the dangerous Bill Sykes (Jamie Foreman) decide to kidnap Oliver to burglarize Mr. Brownlow's fancy house. Oliver is wounded, while Mr. Brownlow tries to save Oliver.

Roman Polanski's version of Oliver Twist is another great adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel. The careful production tells the beautiful story using an excellent cast (I did not recognize Ben Kingsley) and the landscapes, scenarios and costumes are amazing. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Oliver Twist"

The story of Oliver Twist is well known. The book has been read by generations of children and adults and there have been TV and film adaptations aplenty.

The most well remembered version is the musical Oliver! with Mark Lester, Oliver Reed and Ron Moody.

Roman Polanski has dared to do a slightly different adaptation, he keeps faith with Dickens expression of the brutality of Victorian life for the have nots and the wretched.

When Oliver meets Fagin we get a homage to the musical Oliver as Fagin teaches him how to pick a pocket or two.

What is strange is the narrative moves rather rapidly from Fagin's gang to him being taken care of by the kindly Mr Brownlow to being snatched by Sykes.

Jamie Foreman seems to have been miscast as Sykes, a big man but seems to lack menace even though his father was a real life London villain.

I felt Mark Strong would had been an interesting Sykes but he plays another character in this film.

Kingsley has the difficult job of re-interpreting Fagin by I think he does a functional job, Ron Moody is still tops.

Barney Clark has the face for Oliver and holds the film together well as the unfortunate orphan.