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Tempted by the positive reviews, we decided to purchase the DVD. It did not live up to our expectations. The production was obviously dated but even making allowances in that area, it does not forgive the woeful acting. Most of the cast were well known at the time or have achieved some status since.Perhaps they were hamstrung by a thin script. They seemed unable to cope with the slow direction. For example, in the scene when the hero finds himself in the water, is he ever going to manage to get out as he crawls across the mud? And then we wait for ages to find out if he can ascend the ladder.Who were the various villains and what did they represent? It was never clear. One saving grace; the ending was quite unexpected; perhaps another half mark?

The best thing one can say about this version is that it may offend no-one. The novel is hard hitting and the characters are often larger than life. Only Bill Sykes comes anywhere near the character portrayed in the novel and the much praised condensing of the plot in the screenplay gives us an emasculated story. For example, the whole point of Oliver being taken to meet Fagin in Newgate before the hanging was to elicit from him the last link in the quest to establish who Oliver actually was. This vital theme was not touched on in the movie and the gaol scene therefore was weak, pointless. The scenes in the countryside were not England in the 19th century. Where were the hedgerows? The sets and architecture were not authentic for those locations and that period. The best version remains the BBC one of some years ago with Eric Porter as Fagin. The scene in the goal for example had real point and real emotion