Oliver Twist (2007/BBC DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Telefilm: C+

 

 

Everyone keeps trying to get mileage out of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist and actually did the musical version in 1999, as this link will show:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2610/Oliver+Twist+(1999/British+TV)

 

 

Even Roman Polanski took a shot and that fell flat too, but it is getting to the point that it is almost trivializing the poverty aspect and the book itself.  Still, this recent BBC TV movie version does have Edward Fox, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okonedo and Timothy Spall, as well as the money in it.  However, another feature is that owev

Director Coky Giedroyc is one of the few women to direct anything Dickens at all.  Along with a decent teleplay by Writer Sarah Phelps, it is one of the better recent versions.  Still, I hope it is the last we see for a decade or so.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is slightly fuzzy throughout and though clean for the most part, with the costumes and production design a plus.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is a tad louder than expected at times, but a competent recording with a music score that is not of the time period to its detriment.  Extras include a behind the scenes featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo