I feel weird for not having ever read the original book version of "Oliver Twist". I have seen enough adaptations to understand what's going on with the whole story. I was surprised at how there were really a large cast of characters all of whom were quite relevant to the story. My favorite is the 1968 "Oliver!". It's hard to top an adaptation that won Best Picture. This movie is less than twice as long as that. It might seem like this would be forgettable, seeing as how it's so short. Only the longer silent films like "Intolerance" are really well remembered by most people. While not a classic of the silent era, still quite nice.
I am familiar with most of these scenes and it's so nice to have such an old movie where I recognize more than one actor in it! Only people like Charlie Chaplin could make the transition well. It's easy to tell that some techniques are dated. It is hard to take seriously with many scenes sped up, especially the more violent ones. Well, not violent by today's standards, obviously. The actors are still good in this and the pacing is still nice. I imagine it's easier to film something with a short running time. This is still good to watch for film historians. *** out of ****.
I am familiar with most of these scenes and it's so nice to have such an old movie where I recognize more than one actor in it! Only people like Charlie Chaplin could make the transition well. It's easy to tell that some techniques are dated. It is hard to take seriously with many scenes sped up, especially the more violent ones. Well, not violent by today's standards, obviously. The actors are still good in this and the pacing is still nice. I imagine it's easier to film something with a short running time. This is still good to watch for film historians. *** out of ****.