Oliver!

Starring: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Walis, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild
Directed by: Carol Reed
Rating: G
Genre: Musical, Drama
1968

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: An orphan (Mark Lester) runs away from his orphanage and befriends a group of pickpockets and thieves in London.

Review:

Tim: Oliver! is a really, really good movie. It's a fun, entertaining musical adapted from the incredible novel by Charles Dickens. It features interesting characters, catchy songs, and overall, is a quality film. However, I have to say I'm a bit surprised that it won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. I think it's very good, but not great.

The movie also won Best Art Direction (deserved), Best Music (deserved), Best Sound (deserved), Best Director (Carol Reed did a good job, but really?), and the inexplicable Best Picture. The films it went up against weren't exactly all time classics, but 1968 gave us movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, a movie which is far superior to this one. I think the Academy recognized this film was an achievement, but I wish they had thought more innovatively.

The film also received 6 Academy Award nominations (11 total, which is amazing)- including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. This film is definitely well received.

I enjoyed the movie, which brought to the screen the popular stage play. The movie is a fun story, features a strong cast, and has good music. It's not a bad film at all. I really liked the cast, for the most part. Mark Lester was well cast as Oliver, except for the fact that they had to dub his singing voice. This detracted a bit from the film, although otherwise, he gives a good performance. Ron Moody was excellent as Fagin, and I'm glad he received an Academy Award nomination. He was just such a larger-than-life character on screen. He's so incredibly comfortable in the role, and that shows up in every scene he's in. This is an actor completely in control of his performance. We would expect this, though, as he played this part on stage countless times. I'm not always a fan of this in musical adaptations, but Moody was just so much fun to watch in this film. Jack Wild was excellent as the Artful Dodger. He, too, is from the stage production, although he was just one of the boys there. He slips into the role excellently and makes a very nice companion to Oliver. Although young, he perfectly embodied that world weary, wise-beyond-his-years quality that the role needed. I'm glad Wild received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. I also thought Shani Wallis did a good job in her role.

The musical numbers seemed expansive and very well choreographed. They were fun to watch. I really enjoyed a few songs, but most especially the amazing "I'd Do Anything!" The musical sequences are good, but I often felt like they ran on too long. There were a few particular songs that just kept going on and on. I got bored in more than a few places ("Who Will Buy?" felt like it lasted twenty minutes). This contributes to the very long run time of over 2.5 hours. I wish a few of the songs had been cut just a bit.

The movie features a good story, and it's overall an enjoyable, entertaining film. It's a very strong musical, and I had a fun time watching it. However, I think it's a bit overrated. I certainly don't think it should have won Best Picture. Still, I'm harping too much on that. Oliver! is a very good movie and an impressive film. I enjoyed it, and I consider it a very strong film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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