OLIVER! (1968)
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Label: Sony
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: G
Duration: 153 Minutes 33 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (True HD 7.1); English DTS-HD MA 5.1 ;English DTS-HD MA 2-Channel Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Harry Secombe, Shani Wallis, Mark Lester
I don't know if this counts as a cinema-sin, but thia was my fiorst tome viewog of the all-time classic musical Oliver! (1968), it's not like it;s been hard to watch - ever - but I have an aversion to musical, not so much that I do not enjoy them once I actually set down and actually watch them, it's just my first instinct is "no". With that said, this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist helmed by Carol Reed (The Third Man) is a banger. Set in 19th century London we have young orphan (Mark Lester, What the Peeper Saw) who after asking for a second helping of gruel at the orphanage is sold into a workhouse by the orphanage's director Mr. Bumble (Harry Secombe), which was the only scene I was actually familiar with, but when he finds untenable conflict with other boys at the workhouse he flees and escapes onto the streets of London. There he is taken in by taken in by a band of raggamuffin street urchins lead by the irrascible elderly Fagin (Ron Moody, Unidentified Flying Oddball), after befriending the The Artful Dodger (Jack Wild), a boy his age, who teaches hims the ways of the artful pickpocket. Darkness creeps into the story with the introduction of Fagin's fiendish adult henchman, Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed, Venom) who brings serious bad vibes from the get-go. When Oliver is taken in by a kindly well-to-do businessman after a failed pickpocket, the evil Sikes sets out to spoil his newfound happiness, while Sikes' girlfriend Nancy (a wonderful Shani Wallis, Terror in the Wax Museum) tries to dissaut her dark beau's more murderous impulses, with dreadful consequences.
Like I said, it's a banger, and it lives up to it's reputation, with terrific songs like "Consider Yourself," "Where Is Love?" and "As Long As He Needs Me," and a cast that are all quite wonderful, both Jack Wild and Mark Lester have touthfulc harms galore, while Ron Moody as the aging ringleader of the pickpocketeers is a schemeer with a heart, quite the opposite from the cold-blooded Bill Sikes played by reed, who is straight-up menacing. I was a bit surprised how dark this turned out to be, especially the brutal treatment of Wallis' Nancy. So here I am again, the gut who doesn;t like musical, not only liking Oliver!, but loving it, which is nearly three hours long, so yes, consider this a recommend.
Audio/Video: Oliver! was previously issued on 4K UHD/BD combo back in 2021 as part of the Columbia Classics Collection Vol. 1, this is what I beleieve to be that same excellent restoration, and no mere re-packaged either, as the previous 4K UHD edition had no extras, here we have the feature and extras on the UHD. While we do not get a Blu-ray we do get 4K UHD we do get a Digital Copy, which the previous edition did not. The trasnsfer is terrific, very filmic, maintaining the drab appearance of the Dickenzian story as originally filmed, but mcuh tighter and crisper, the color-balance looks fantastic, and the HDR10 gives the occasional burts of primary a wnderful blush, black are deep and whites are brilliant. We also get a Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) audio track that likewise is simply wonderful, the musical compositions Lionel Bart and John Green come through with wonderful life and vibrancy. Additionally we have the options of choosing English DTS-HD MA 5.1 or English DTS-HD MA 2-Channel Surround with optional English subtitles.
Onto the extras they carry-over all the extras from the 2021 version, these com by way of an Audio Commentary with Steven C. Smith, the 1-min Jack Wild Screen Test; 8-min Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, the 15-min Meeting Oliver!, 13-min Meeting Fagin!, 5-min The Locations of Oliver!, 36-min of Sing-Alongs; 13-min of Dance-Alongs; 10-min of Dance and Sing Alongs, plus the 2-min Theatrical Trailer, 2-min Teaser Trailer, and 4-min Awards Trailer.
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated artwirk, same as the 2021 4K release plus a Slipcover with the same artwork, which I assume is limited to the first-pressing. Inside there's a redemption code for a Digtal Copy ofthe films - the digital copy does not feature any extras.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Steven C. Smith
- Jack Wild Screen Test (1:26)
- Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (7:38)
- Meeting Oliver! (14:43) 0
- Meeting Fagin! (13:21)
- The Locations of Oliver! (4:37)
- Sing-Alongs (36:07)
- Dance-Alongs (12:51)
- Dance and Sing Alongs (10:11)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:41)
- Teaser Trailer (1:41)
- Awards Trailer (4:09)
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