#32: LEAN, David: Oliver Twist (1948)

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LEAN, David (United Kingdom)
Oliver Twist [1948]
Spine #32
DVD


Expressionistic noir photography suffuses David Lean's Oliver Twist with a nightmarish quality, fitting its bleak, industrial setting. In Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home. Here Alec Guinness is the quintessential Fagin, his controversial performance fully restored in Criterion's new digital transfer.

116 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 1998

Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Charles Dickens.
Screenplay by David Lean and Stanley Haynes.


After the great success of Great Expectations ([1946]; Spine #31), choosing another Dickens novel seemed logical enough.



Darker in tone and tint (DP Guy Green), and with such terrific performances (Guiness; Newton, Walsh, Sullivan [always charming], and of course the kid, John Howard Davies) this film well deserves its status as one of the all-time greats.

What a challenge it is to find fault with any film directed by Lean! But the long nose in the room is, of course, the antisemitic Fagin. Lean and Guiness portray him exactly as Dickens did.

Dickens himself later went so far as to halt the printing press and reduce the frequency of “the Jew.” How interesting it is to learn about Eliza Davis. This archived article is excellent.

Film Rating (0-60):

57

The Extras

Pretty skimpy — booklet & trailer — an extra of any kind would have been welcome … but these early releases are often pretty bare-boned.

The Booklet

Four-page leaflet featuring an essay by Michael Sragow.

“Lean primes the tear ducts and adrenal glands simultaneously; you feel his characters’ poverty and want not just in your hearts, but in your muscles, tendons, and joints … no movie has better captured Dickens’ blend of sensitivity and violence”

Commentary

None.

Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

34

57 + 34 =

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