-
Trust Weighted
Great
-
12Trust Points
jasonhurwitz's Review
Summary - Great 4.0
This “children’s” movie, a loose adaptation of the Charles Dickens book “Oliver Twist,” is a musical trip into antiquated London that received 6 Academy Awards, including “Best Picture.” I remember watching it years ago with my parents, but decided to re-watch it a few days ago since it had been more than 15 years. #1) Some of the songs are great (“Consider yourself at home/Consider yourself part of the family” is my favorite). #2) Even though it has a musical setting, there are many very adult themes that permeate the storyline — abusive relationships, possible pedophilia, theft and more serious crimes, death, etc etc. So, as a warning, if you’re going to watch this movie for family night some time soon, plan to either prepare your kids in advance or be ready to do a lot of explaining as the movie goes along.
This film has taken a lot of its cues from the earlier (1948) movie (Oliver Twist).
Acting - Very Good 3.5
Ron Moody (Fagin), Oliver Reed (Bill Sikes), Mark Lester (Oliver Twist), and Jack Wild (The Artful Dodger) lead a pretty great cast. Although Lester’s portrayal of Twist is sometimes over the top, one must remember that he’s a child actor and not actually the somewhat socially-awkward character he’s portraying. Ron Moody is, by far, my favorite actor in the film.
Male Stars - Very Good 3.5
Female Stars - Very Good 3.5
Female Costars - Very Good 3.5
Male Costars - Very Good 3.5
Film - Very Good 3.5
Direction - Great 4.0
Dialogue - Very Good 3.5
Music - Very Good 3.5
Visuals - Great 4.0
Edge - Risqué 2.0
The violence is shown, though much more off-screen and implied than actually shown. There is no blood, guts, or gore, but we do, for example, see a man hanging from a rope after being shot.