Oliver!

My review is for the blue ray DVD priced at $12.70. This appears to be a a European release, but it is ALL REGION and plays fine on my American DVD player. Forget about loading it to the cloud though. the code expired on12/16. Again it is blu-ray and the image is fine and consistent with what you would expect. The Audio also seemed fine to me. The English is fairly thick and ,if you want to understand all of the word of the songs, you may need closed caption. it should have it ,even though I have not checked. I will update. The movie is one DVD and ONE SIDE. The STANDARD DVD splits it up to two sides, so this eliminates one of the most common complaints . Also you get a much nicer picture for only slightly more money. The color is nearly like I remember it when on the big screen. Back then, they spent a lot of money on color film and it was much brighter and more intense than today s movies.

Buyer Beware -- BAD DVDPrompt replacement of the first DVD only problem is it has the same problem as the first that there is only 1/2 of the movie on the DVD.The quality of the DVD was good until it got to the intermission, time to turn the DVD over. When turning the movie over there was no second side, just started from the first all over again. On the back of the disk case in very light blue letters and also obscured with other writing, it says Disk Made In Mexico.

Not all films stand the test of time, but those that do... become classics - well, many. And some of the ‘older’ films are amazing to visit time and again - like old friends you enjoy spending time with. Oliver, the 1968 classic, based on the Charles Dickens novel, is among the best. It’s not just a great film, but as a musical, stands among an elite group. With a stellar cast of theatre and film great, this film is like going home for me... I first (and many times) watched it with my dad, so for me, it is going home.Among the amazing actors and voices are Ron Moody as Fagin, Shani Wallis as Nancy, Harry Secombe as Bumble, Mark Lester as Oliver, and two of the best, Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes and Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger. As amazing group fo talent that bring to life a story of love, family, and home... I was thrilled when Amazon had a great deal on streaming and so grabbed it (I have it on DVD, but streaming is so easy I can now watch it whenever). Oliver is a wonderful story, lots of meaning, and lots of love... not to mention outstanding song and dance numbers that are not only memorable, but are the reason so many of us love musical theatre.

An entertaining, if frivolous musical.Carol Reed directed Oliver! (1968) with a perfect eye for displaying Onna White's meticulous and complex choreography. However, Reed does not account for much of Charles Dickens' plight of the poor and biting commentary on society's treatment of the impoverished. Dickens' story is here, but unfortunately you are more focused in on the songs, performances, and dances than the plot. If anything, the narrative feels secondary to incessant dance numbers.For all of Reed's technical mastery and imaginative direction, Oliver! still looks like a play brought to life. Lionel Bart's score is beautiful and memorable, but I do not like many of the songs. Mesmerizing playful tunes will be followed up by meandering sentimental ones that feel unearned. I think the lyrics are not that catchy, nor the melodies. It's the lovely symphonic instrumentation that is captivating to me. Bart's music alongside White's choreography and shot by Reed's direction is the real draw. Even Oliver's voice sounds like a weak child compared to the boisterous zeal with which Ron Moody chimes in Oliver!The acting is great from most of the cast. Ron Moody's Fagin is enchanting and engaging at all times. His severe appearance and charming personality still work. Oliver Reed's indomitable presence as Sikes cannot be denied, nor his dramatic weighted acted overpraised. Mark Lester is a sweet Oliver and acts the part well, even though his voice is too tiny like his stature to accompany the rest of the cast. Jack Wild is so likable and funny as the mischievous The Artful Dodger. Lastly, Shani Wallis is lovely as Nancy and wonderful at singing. Much of the background and supporting characters just feel like poor extras filling space.I think Carol Reed was more suited to the noir suspense of a mystery like The Third Man (1949) rather than the musical silliness of Oliver (1968). Reed makes sure everything is well crafted, but it feels too sweet for such a sympathetic story.

The film is one of the top movie musicals ever made. My review however is based on the DVD itself, which I purchased because it came with a digital copy. I would have bought through Vudu, but had an Amazon gift card to use. Turns out the expiration date on the UV copy is nearly two years ago!! This is beyond annoying! I went through this nonsense once before with an expired UV code. Why they expire is a mystery to me anyway, but if they do, then they should be pulled from stock and shipped back to the distributor for new codes or simply sold at a discount with clear notice on the page that the codes are expired. Hopefully, Sony will fix this and I will have it in my Vudu library soon. If Paramount can ship products with current codes, why can't Sony?? No way to tell before purchasing because the expiration dates are far too small to read in the image even on my large desktop screen. Home entertainment is going DIGITAL, Sony and Amazon! Try to keep up!! 3 stars that would have been FIVE! Grrrrr....

Wow fifty years old and still can captivate anyone who watches this musical. The acting from all the cast was awe-inspiring, but it is the song and dance numbers (Onna White had an Academy Honorary Award for her choreography) that are so impressive. Written by Lionel Bart for the stage it was successfully adapted and directed by Carol Reed which won his best director and the best film in the Oscars that year. The soundtrack of this film was a firm favourite of mine as a child and this musical is probably the one that made me such a musical fan.There are so many aspects of this film that I love, but the main character who will always be my favourite is Ron Moody's Fagin, part villain, part comic figure Ron Moody made Fagin into a character of depth and humour and how he didn't win an Oscar is shocking. Musicals still are popular and capture the imagination but this musical showed how it is done.

This Film is Incredible. Pure and simple magic!! From the astonishing songs that are now written in our national DNA, to the definitive character performances of The truly Brilliant Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed born to play Bill Sykes, The 'infant Phenomenon' Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger, Mark Lester as the innocent Oliver Twist and the wonderful Shani Wallis as the long suffering Nancy. They are all here in this fabulous musical take on Charles Dickens ageless OLIVER TWIST (just the one word title here) from 1968. Faultless in its delivery in every aspect and a pleasure to behold in all its sumptuous glory. I found the Blu-ray version was well worth my time and investment and thought the print transfer was excellent. We watched again at Christmas (as we always do) and sang along together with the memorable songs and a good time was had by all even with current trying circumstances that we're all having to deal with and negotiate our ways through. This is an old friend that raises spirits and moves the viewer in a spectacular emotional way that is so lacking in modern productions. Carol Reed at the helm here as director really deserves a mention also in catching all this beautiful work and putting it so perfectly on screen for our enjoyment. An ageless Classic!! Has to be in everyone's collection this in my opinion so buy it and enjoy the ride on so many levels.

This is me sizing up the picture on my new Panasonic 55 LED 3D full HD TV.Its fair to say from the outset that SONY pictures had many decisions made when transferring the print used for this blu-ray.Its a shame not all were the best , as were the quality of the prints used for this final , and now renowned disappointment so many of its fans have been waiting for.So , is it worth the upgrade ?What you loose in vibrancy , you gain in depth of picture. and it is important to remark that none of this film stock has had any "frame-by-frame" restoration or digital "jiggery-pokery" , it has simply been scanned hastily from a 35 mm anamorphic negative leaving in all the original colour timing fades which befits any late 1960s stored can of film.You can see during the "Intermission" screen just how jaded the print has become looking more like a yellowed page from an original Dickens Novel than a Hi-def clean up of a classic Movie-musical..But its vastly better than the standard DVD transfer that has been the standard before the Blu-ray was born.The film grain is evident , yes , but so is the detail and much more depth into the frame reviling so much more in the details and set construction never before seen.Costumes have more detail and in lighter scene's the greens and reds pop out like shots of colour on a painting.My favourite more noticeable thing are the the ladders the window cleaners danced on during the "Who will Buy" song as they can clearly be seen as silver aluminium that were badly painted brown to look "wooden" (as that metal was yet to be invented in Oliver's time)..Overall , its the best I think we will get until a full frame-by-frame restoration happens and the vastly improved DTS master soundtrack makes all the musical moments very enjoyable too.I think the basic look of the film is muted , but its content has all the original elements a little sharper and brighter than have been seen before.Its not the best upgrade I have seen , but by no means the worst either and well worth buying once again to enjoy the work and detail the set builders must have had quite a job re-creating for this time period.A few extras but nothing worth singing about as all are pulled from the original DVD release.A good quality blu-ray but could have been "amazing" with a little more time and money spent on it.

Not a big musical lover but this has always been a favourite of mine. Picture quality was good I thought, unlike some other reviewers but I was very disappointed with the so-called 5.1 surround sound as it did not exist. There was absolutely no sound coming out of my rear speakers at all, although it did say it was DTS 5.1!! A real shame to finally get it on Blu-Ray, only to be let down with the sound only coming through as stereo at best. I thought it may be my system but it wasn't, as I put something else on that I knew was definitely 5.1 and, sure enough, out of the rear speakers the sound did emanate!!

Good upgrade to Blu-ray ...... I avoided this a few years ago because the ratings were a bit flat ..... sort of saying , keep the DVD ? But it seems to have been reissued and is much better now ..... well worth the upgrade ? My Son is in the business of films and gaming design says that films produced before 2000 and after 2010 are generally superior ..... there have been some excellent upgrades during the Noughties ..... but 1080 digital was not the thing ? ..... If like me , you’ve rejected upgrades due to poor reports .... check again for further upgrades of the same films post 2010 ???? Worth a look !..... Always check for more recent upgrades ..... they do sometimes get much better ?