雾都孤儿

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雾都孤儿(A dark look at the people of 19th century England: 'Oliver Twist')

Director Roman Polanski's gorgeous adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" rounds up the entire gang of familiar faces: the innocent and angelic Oliver (newcomer Barney Clark), the precocious Artful Dodger (Harry Eden), godlike benefactor Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwicke), and, of course, Fagin (Ben Kingsley), the deceitful and tragic master thief who also serves as Oliver's mentor of sorts.

The movie follows very accurately the celebrated tale of the orphan Oliver, who when treated poorly by his guardian, runs away and joins a gang of child thieves, only to be caught and eventually redeemed by Mr. Brownlow.

Polanski's "Oliver Twist" offers, aside from a great story, asides and minor details that emphasize the absurdities of life in a society dominated by class distinctions. And the sets, the costumes and even the facial hair of the actors provides plenty of distractions. Often Polanski places the camera at an odd angle to emphasize and distort the length of a nose or the folds of a chin, or he'll let a scene play on for its comic effect.

The story focuses primarily on the boy, and less so on his environment. The poverty into which Twist is born is merely background and is not explored. Rather, Oliver and the other characters are given plenty of screen time to show audiences their true natures.