Oliver!

Name: Oliver!
Genre: Drama, Family, Musical
Released: December 10, 1968
Duration: 153 min
Rating: 74
Cast: Harry Secombe, Hugh Griffith, Jack Wild, Joseph O'Conor, Leonard Rossiter

1968

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures Corporation | Release Date: December 10, 1968 | TV-G

Starring: Harry Secombe, Hugh Griffith, Jack Wild, Joseph O'Conor, Leonard Rossiter, Mark Lester, Oliver Reed, Peggy Mount, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis

Summary: After being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.

Director: Carol Reed

Genre(s): Drama, Family, Musical

Rating: TV-G

Runtime: 153 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

Sir Carol Reed's Oliver! is a treasure of a movie. It is very nearly universal entertainment, one of those rare films like The Wizard of Oz that appeals in many ways to all sorts of people. Read full review

100

Wanda Hale

Oliver! is a timeless classic that will be as lovable in 10 or 20 years as it is today. Read full review

Pauline Kael

It's not only a musical entertainment but an imaginative version of the novel as a lyrical, macabre fable.

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Oliver! is better than most screen musicals of the 1960s, a period when oversized, poorly rendered songfests virtually killed the genre. Read full review

James Berardinelli

It’s an uneven film with a tone that veers from playful to menacing. Despite numerous simplifications of the source material, it’s long and, with only a few exceptions, the songs are unremarkable and feel more like filler than organic elements of storytelling. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Carol Reed's careful if passionless adaptation of the musical was mounted handsomely enough to win the best-picture Oscar back in 1969. In retrospect, it seems emblematic of the triviality Reed descended to in the last years of his career. Read full review

Vincent Canby

The focus of the movie is so wide, and the logistics of the production so heavy, that Oliver himself, dutifully played by 9-year-old Mark Lester, gets flattened out and almost lost, as if he had been run over by a studio bulldozer. Read full review

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User Reviews

JP32

Mar 25, 2020

By itself, Carol Reed’s production is as grand and confident as any of the big Hollywood juggernauts of the 50s and 60s. But in that tradition, Oliver! also has Dickens’ story, and a suitably involving dramatic through line to fall back on. It’s one of those overture-and-intermission moviesBy itself, Carol Reed’s production is as grand and confident as any of the big Hollywood juggernauts of the 50s and 60s. But in that tradition, Oliver! also has Dickens’ story, and a suitably involving dramatic through line to fall back on. It’s one of those overture-and-intermission movies that wows you with its spectacular production value while gently weaving together a sturdy, affecting story.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Tyranian

Jan 18, 2020

Fairly enjoyable musical with some great numbers though not perfectly cast nor scripted.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

FRETIYR

Apr 28, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not quite as I really liked it and no wonder it won best picture but I read that ina lifetime we see infinite number figures, belongings… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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