Oliver! (The Movie)

[CapnHook]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 6:51pm

I *LOVE* this movie and wonder why this BEST PICTURE hasn't received 2-disc Special Edition DVD treatment?

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 7:01pm

Yes, I adore this movie. Brilliant!

This is one of those movie musicals that was better than the original stage show. I played in The Artful Dodger once and I remember there being so much frustration with the final sequence. Following our script (which was from the original production), Oliver and Nancy are waiting on the London bridge. After she gets killed, Bill drags Oliver down some steps and they are suddenly at Hell's Kitchen...um...okay. Then, as the mob discovers Nancy's body, Bill is seen above in one of the lofts. I remember wondering what our director was doing, but it was all there in the script. Anyone know if there are different versions out there. The film (for obvious advantages) executes that final sequence beautifully.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 3:22am

I hate to rain on your parade, but I hated, hated, HATED this movie!!! I tried watching it several times and I never finished it. I can't believe it won for Best Picture in the year of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 3:23am

I think it's one of the best movie musicals of all time - fully deserving of it's Oscar wins.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 10:58am

It's a gorgeous movie that I love very much, even though I think Mark Lester's Oliver is pretty wimpy. I am always disappointed in his "Where is Love?", compared with the strong sound of Bruce Prochnik on the Broadway Cast recording.

That said, though, it is a wonderful film, with every other roles cast perfectly, and directed by a true master. (And how can you not love Onna White's "Who Will Buy?" sequence? Brilliant.)

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 11:01am

love...Shani...Wallis!

[once a month]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 11:07am

RIP Jack Wild.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 11:10am

You do know that the Producer's daughter sang all of Oliver's vocal parts, right?

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 11:12am

I love Shani but Georgia Brown's voice is just so damn good on the OBCR. And yeah, Mark Lester's voice was dubbed by a girl. Heeeheee...

[jimnysf]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 1:05pm

I agree. A great film. Not to be missed!

[shiksa_goddess]

Posted: 4/4/06 at 1:10pm

My favorite movie as a child! This opened up the world of Broadway to me. I have a two sided DVD of this, but there needs to be a more complete DVD!

[Colle]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:10pm

Overall, I liked this movie; it kind of made me wish I show the last U.S. when it came to my city. The highlights for me were the song "Reviewing the Situation" and Shani Wallis performance as Nancy. I liked Shani approach to the song "As Long As He Needs Me," She started off sad and it became angry. It was interesting because it was hard to tell who Nancy was madder at, Bill or herself for continuing to stand by him.

Posted: 4/5/06 at 4:16pm

I loved this movie, but didn't like Shani Wallace. Georgia Brown played the role in London and on Broadway and was sensational. Patti Lupone reminds me of Georgia Brown a bit. She should have done the film. I wish they'd bring it back to Broadway.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 5:34pm

One of my favorite movies ever!

As far as a double disc coming out, my guess is Sony is waiting to see how Blu-ray does, and will likely release a Hi-Def version of this classic film first.

Note about Oliver's dubbing: Interesting... Well, I've seen a detailed discussion on TV about how Mark Lester sang the last part of "Where is Love" LIVE, because he was crying through the final verse in a close-up, and they knew they wouldn't be able to match his voice with lip-syncing. They actually had him do it live and added the full orchestra in later.

So... someone is wrong here. The interview I saw aired about 10-12 years ago. Maybe certain notes were dubbed (?), but this documentary I saw clearly implied he did his own singing in the film. (…Even though he sounds a bit like an anemic choirboy. I've gotten used to his voice, and I like his "waif-like" quality in the film. He looks and sounds like he sprang right out of a novel.)

And Jack Wild, Ron Moody and Shani Wallis are all top-notch! I wish Shani had done more film work and/or recordings. She had quite the voice!

[grizzabella]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 7:19pm

I'm with you and others, Best12bars, who loved this film. I think this was the first musical I actually fell in love with. I thought the casting was brilliant, and I think Lester's waif quality served the role well. I had no problem with Shani Wallis, maybe because I didn't see it with Georgia Brown, but she was fine for me. I also liked Ron Moody's Fagin and Oliver Reed's Bill Sykes, though I was disappointed that "My Name" was cut. Did the song just not work on film?

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 8:34pm

Grizzy---I think they made the right choice cutting "My Name" and making Bill Sykes a non-singing character in the film. (Although you can hear his song in the underscoring almost every time you see him on screen.) Oliver Reed (incidentally the director's nephew!), did a great job with Sykes's menacing, quiet intensity. He was truly frightening, and this would have been far more difficult to achieve if the character had sung this straight-forward song. Sykes remains more of an unsettling enigma in the movie. We don't know too much about him, except that he's certainly no good. The song tells us that he's a basic thug that likes to scare people and make them tremble at the mention of his name. I'd rather have the “fear of the unknown” working here… not knowing who this man really is, or what he's thinking. It keeps the audience guessing.

And I agree with cutting "I Shall Scream" (with the Bumbles) as well as the undertaker's song. Just not really needed, and they slow the plot down. We want Oliver to get on to London faster than that on film. Sir Carol Reed was such a marvelous (if not too obvious) a choice to direct this movie, and I think he gave it the extra darkness and suspense elements it needed to work so well cinematically.

My favorite change has to be moving "Oom-Pa-Pa" from its throw-away drinking song spot that opens Act II to a clever “smoke screen” device Nancy uses to sneak off with Oliver near the end. Such a brilliant decision and it adds so much to the tension of the scene (and the movie itself). The Oscars it won were well-deserved!

Updated On: 4/5/06 at 08:34 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/6/06 at 2:31am

I guess I'll have to revisit this movie AGAIN and this time try to watch the whole thing. Who knows? Maybe it'll surprise me and I'll actually like it. I see that a lot of the people watched it as children and maybe that has something to do with it. I had just become an adult when I first attempted to watch it several years ago.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/6/06 at 2:33am

Maybe hate is too strong a word, but I found it insipid.

[Blanche]

Posted: 4/6/06 at 12:29pm

Count me as one who fell in love with this movie. I saw it when I was a kid, yes, but I still love it today. Best12Bars, I agree with all your observations on what was cut, etc. I like so much that Oom-Pah-Pah was used as the diversion to sneak Oliver away. So much better than the stage version, which I have done.
Also, heartfelt condolences to Jack Wild's family. I have always been a huge fan of his ever since Oliver!. I was terribly sad to hear of his passing.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/6/06 at 12:56pm

I agree with everyone who said that seeing this movie as a child had a profound effect on them. After all, the main character is a child and we see this story unfold through his eyes.

I only have my own experiences with this film to go on, so I don't know what it would have been like had I discovered the movie version of "Oliver!" later on, as an adult. But it was magical, scary, thrilling and beautiful to experience as a child.

...And it still is to me, to this day!

Updated On: 4/6/06 at 12:56 PM

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 4/6/06 at 11:38pm

It's a thrilling, beautifully realized adaptation and the decision to use only strings for AS LONG AS HE NEEDS ME a stroke of genius.



Martin Chuzzlewit
London, England