Oliver Twist
Short description
An orphaned boy grows up in a Victorian workhouse where the children are half-starved, and after he asks for more food he is sent away to be apprenticed. Mistreated in that placement, he runs off and walks to London, where a young pickpocket leads him to Fagin, a criminal who houses and trains a gang of boys to steal on the streets. Taken in by a wealthy gentleman after a bungled theft, Oliver seems set for a better life, but Fagin and his associate Bill Sikes are not willing to let him go.
Roman Polanski directed this adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel from a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, and it is the sixteenth of the twenty-three films he directed, following The Pianist and preceding To Each His Own Cinema. Barney Clark plays Oliver, with Ben Kingsley as Fagin, Jamie Foreman as Bill Sikes, Harry Eden as the Artful Dodger, Edward Hardwicke as Mr. Brownlow and Leanne Rowe as Nancy, among a credited cast of thirty-nine.
Made for around 60 million dollars, the film took in roughly 43 million worldwide. It holds a rating of 6.8 on IMDb from about 36,000 votes and the same figure on TMDB from some 1,264 votes, while film critics also averaged 6.8 from 140 reviews, so audiences and critics landed in much the same place.
What's left behind the scenes
- To help the young actors playing the boys from Fagin’s gang better get into character, Ben Kingsley maintained the traits of his character (a stooped posture and manner of speaking) even off set.
- The set was so large that director Roman Polanski used a motor scooter to get around it.
- Many of the sets were recreated based on the works of the famous 19th-century artist-illustrator Gustave Doré, who, however, did not illustrate any of Charles Dickens' novels.
- The idea of creating a new version of 'Oliver Twist' was suggested by director Roman Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, when he was looking for a suitable plot that might interest their children.
- The children of director Roman Polanski received small roles in the film. Morgan Polanski plays the farmer's daughter, whom Oliver visits on his way to London to ask for some food, and Elvis Polanski plays a boy playing with a hoop on the streets of London.
- Barney Clarke, who played the role of Oliver Twist, kept a diary throughout the filming process, in which he wrote about his impressions of participating in the project.
- Initially, the role of Mr. Brownlow was intended for Frank Finlay, who later withdrew from the project and was replaced by Edward Hardwicke.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
