Oliver! 1968
It seems like this movie was a staple of my childhood. I feel like my parents took me to see it at the theater, but it was also on TV. I had not seen it recently, but it seemed like a good pick since it won Best Picture for 1968. It is kind of dark for a G rated movie, but it is certainly lighter than Charles Dickens' famous book (which I have never read, but I enjoyed reading the plot summary to see some differences from the movie). The movie has a ton of songs and I remember them being favorites, though some I did not remember at all. I was surprised when some of them popped up, having forgotten they were from this musical. There are also a lot of big production numbers with some great sets and costumes depicting England in the 1830s. I feel like the dancing is heavy on prancing and is otherwise not that remarkable except for the large number of people involved. Oliver's singing voice is awfully high, which I didn't like, but he is supposed to be a child afterall. The plot is pretty solid and I had forgotten what became of Oliver at the end, so that was a nice surprise. The songs add a lot of time to the movie which means that less time is spent on developing characters. I thought Bill Sikes should have gotten a little more backstory and examples of how violent he could be. Ron Moody is very good as Fagin, of course. The kids do a decent job, especially Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger and Mark Lester as Oliver, who have to carry a lot of the movie. The story, songs, and production design are really the strongpoints. It was fun revisiting this movie from my childhood.
Written: 25 Jul 2024
Owned on: Digital