Oliver Twist (2005)

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Movie
German title Oliver Twist
Original title Oliver Twist
Country of production France ,
Great Britain ,
Czech Republic
original language English
Publishing year 2005
length 125 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 10
Rod
Director Roman Polanski
script Ronald Harwood
production Robert Benmussa ,
Roman Polański,
Alain Sarde
music Rachel Portman
camera Paweł Edelman
cut Hervé de Luze
occupation
synchronization

Oliver Twist is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens by Roman Polański from 2005 .

action

The plot begins with Oliver's admission to an orphanage in an English provincial town. He is introduced by Mr. Bumble, the church playman, then instructed in child labor. The children are working in appalling circumstances to make ropes for the British Navy and are starving. They draw who should complain to the authorities: Oliver is selected. When Oliver asks for another portion after the first portion of the common meal, the board of directors indignantly decides to assign Oliver as an apprentice. At first he is supposed to work for the chimney sweep under inhumane conditions, but a judge prevents this. Oliver is placed in the care of the undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. He treats Oliver relatively friendly. In contrast to his wife, who let him eat dog food and sleep under a desk between the coffins. An older boy, Noah, who also works for the Sowerberrys, takes a lot of trouble to him and finally pokes at Oliver's dead mother. Oliver then beats up the bigger one. After being severely punished for this, he decides to flee. He set out early in the morning, when everyone was still asleep, and finally reached London after a seven-day walk .

Starved and tired, he meets the somewhat older Jack Dawkins, also known as "Cunning Rascal" (in the original Artful Dodger), who puts him in the care of Fagin. Fagin is an old gang leader who has children stolen for himself on the streets of London. Oliver feels cared for for the first time in his life, but initially does not realize that his new friends are thieves. He also learns to steal from Fagin. On the first trip to town, Oliver is mistakenly blamed for a pickpocket. The mistake is cleared up in court and so he comes into the house of Mr. Brownlow, who is convinced of the boy's goodness. He is lovingly received and cared for.

Fagin is convinced that Oliver will betray the gang and assigns the gangster Bill Sykes and his girlfriend Nancy to kidnap Oliver from the Brownlow house and bring him back. The two succeed in this. Bill Sykes uses the boy to break into the wealthy Maylie house with him and the burglar Toby Crackit. Oliver is wounded in the arm by an exchange of fire during the break-in. Fagin and Sykes fear Oliver might betray them at some point and decide to kill Oliver. This arouses pity from Nancy, who contacts Mrs. Maylie to save Oliver. She is overheard by rascal who betrays her to Fagin and Sykes. Sykes then kills Nancy and has to flee. In the meantime, the gang of children with Fagin and Sykes also flees from the police, who are on them through Mr. Brownlow.

Bill Sykes decides to flee and returns to London in the new hiding place to take money from Fagin, which he needs to escape. However, the police can find the hiding place through Sykes' runaway dog ​​porthole. Sykes is killed while fleeing the police and Oliver is returned to Mr. Brownlow's care. Oliver pays one last visit to old Fagin, who has gone mad with fear of death, to thank him for the home he had given him in great need. When Oliver and Mr. Brownlow drive back, they see the gallows for Fagin being set up in front of the prison. Oliver will stay with Mr. Brownlow.

synchronization

The synchronization was carried out by the synchronization company Studio Babelsberg based on a dialogue book by Joachim Kunzendorf , who also directed the dialogue .

role actor Voice actor
Oliver Twist Barney Clark Johannes Walenta
Fagin Ben Kingsley Peter Matic
Bill Sykes Jamie Foreman Erich Rauker
Nancy Leanne Rowe Manja Doering
Mr. Brownlow Edward Hardwicke Lothar Blumhagen
Artful dodger Harry Eden Till Völger
Charley Bates Lewis Chase Konrad Bösherz
Judge catch Alun Armstrong Klaus Sunshine
Mrs. Bedwin Frances Cuka Rita Engelmann
Mr. Grimwig Paul Brooke Friedrich G. Beckhaus
Mr. Sowerberry Michael Heath Reinhard Kuhnert
Workers in the poor house Richard Durden Bodo Wolf
Mr. Limbkins Ian McNeice Hans-Werner Bussinger

background

Oliver Twist is the most expensive production at Roman Polański's plant at around € 50 million, but only grossed two million in the USA. The shooting took place between July and November 2004 in the Barrandov film studios in Prague . The Polish outfitter Allan Starski , who had already arranged for Polański's The Pianist , had the London from 1830 rebuilt in the Prague studios. With a large number of Czech extras, the tangle of a 19th century city emerged . Polański succeeds particularly intensely in the story of staying with the Sowerberrys and Oliver's flight to London. - We should remember Polański's childhood experiences when his Jewish parents were deported to German concentration camps and he was hidden by Polish farmers. - The loneliness of the orphan Oliver is almost physically palpable for the viewer in the pictures he finds with his cameraman Paweł Edelman.

Elvis Polanski (* 1998), the director's son and Emmanuelle Seigner , played a small extra role in the film as a child with a wooden toy tire on which the pickpockets are playing a prank. His sister Morgane Polanski (* 1993) makes a brief appearance as a farmer's daughter, who opens the door for Oliver Twist when he knocks at a country house on his way to London.

The character of Fagin is a Jew in the novel . In the film adaptation of Polanski, Fagin's religious or ethnic affiliation is not discussed.

Reviews

“In contrast to previous film adaptations of Charles Dickens' novel, Roman Polanski's adaptation focuses on an inhumane society. The film is increasingly condensing into a social drama that is unmistakably humanistic. "

- film service

“Roman Polanski made a horror film out of Dickens' story. With grim attention to detail, the director exposes the socio-critical core of Oliver Twist at the height of his art. "

- epd film

“This is one of the most faithful implementations of Charles Dickens' first novel from 1838. Polanski - as in his multiple Oscar-winning work 'The Pianist' - has incorporated his own experiences into the main character. Because his experiences as an orphan in the Warsaw ghetto haunt him to this day. The high level of authenticity and the strong actors - above all Ben Kingsley as the ambiguous villain Fagin - ensure the best entertainment. "

- Prism Online

"Polanski seems to be born for this movie ... Ben Kingsley is the best Fagin I've ever seen ... Polanski's 'Oliver Twist' trumps versions of David Lean , Carol Reed and even Dickens himself ... this 'Oliver Twist' is a milestone of film history ... A fabulous film! "

- John Irving : The Guardian

DVD release

  • Oliver Twist. 125 minutes. Ufa 2006
  • Oliver Twist. Deluxe Edition. 2 DVD set in a cardboard slipcase. Disc 1 = main film, 125 minutes. Disc 2 = Making Of: Twist by Polanski, Making Of: The Best of Twist, Making Of: Kidding with Oliver Twist, The Children's Making Of, interviews with cast & crew, international cinema trailers (German & English), TV spot (English ), Cast & crew. Ufa 2006

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Oliver Twist . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2005 (PDF; test number: 104 218 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Oliver Twist . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Oliver Twist. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
  4. ↑ John Walsh: Dickens' greatest villain: The faces of Fagin The Independent, accessed December 9, 2019

Web links