An unusual version of Dickens's story with a sort of prequel to Oliver's eventual arrival on the scene in the workhouse. Sam Smith is engaging as Oliver and not too soppy showing plenty of grit when he wanted to. Marc Warren is outstanding as Oliver's demented half brother Edward. Quite a good production though some of the supposedly Victorian London sets looked a bit too much like Prague. Good acting all round.

My Movie Rating: 7 / 10

Bleasdale, who wrote this four-part miniseries, took it into his head that he could 'improve' Dickens' original story, in particular by explaining away a couple of plot twists in the novel which otherwise seem like incredible coincidences; but the result is a somewhat tortuous and over-lengthy rewrite, made worse by his adding a tedious and uninteresting back story, which occupies the whole of the first episode. The casting is not quite right either. I'm sorry, but Robert Lindsay just isn't Fagin, and never could be. In Bleasdale's version, Fagin is a conjuror who does tricks, but this gets rather wearisome after a while. As for the Dodger, they really did find the most unprepossessing boy imaginable to play him! And Bleasdale has transformed his character to make him quite unpleasant (this comes out more strongly in the final episode). On the other hand, Sam Smith makes a lively and appealing Oliver. And some of Bleasdale's decisions are certainly very interesting - for example, his decision to give Monks a more rounded character and to present him in a much more sympathetic light. I rather liked him, and was glad that Bleasdale gave him a happy ending. I also quite liked the idea that Brownlow is in the habit of taking in boys off the street. And the narrative definitely picks up considerably in the second half of the series, as Bleasdale settles in to Dickens' story. Worth a view, I think.

My Movie Rating: 7 / 10

As a Drama, one of the best tellings of the Oliver Twist story! At least as far as I'm concerned!!

My Movie Rating: 10 / 10

I saw this one five years ago! Better late than never, I guess.

My Movie Rating: 8 / 10