Oliver!: The Oscar-Winning Musical Makes Its 4K Debut (4K)

The Film:

Way back in 1960, a musical simply titled "Oliver!," based on the novel "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens, opened on the West End, with a book, music, and lyrics by Lionel Bart. It became quite the sensation, running for a record-breaking 2,618 performances. Just three years later, the musical came to Broadway, where it earned an incredible ten Tony nominations, winning three that included Best Original Score.

With its popularity, it came as no surprise that a film adaptation eventually came about, and while it may have taken another five years to finally come to theaters, its popularity certainly hadn't waned. The film was not only a box office hit, grossing $40 million against its $10 million production budget, but it also garnered 11 Oscar nominations, winning five (plus an Honorary Award for the choreography) that included Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Score of a Musical Picture.

With the film approaching its 60th anniversary in just a few years, Sony Pictures has decided to celebrate a little early by giving the film a glorious 4K upgrade, accompanied by a small selection of decent extras, so now it's time once again to delve into another classic to see how well it holds up and to see whether or not it was worth an upgrade in the first place.

Taking place in 19th century England, we begin at a workhouse for young boys. Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) has the misfortune of drawing a long straw, which has him being the one to ask Mr. Bumble (Harry Secombe) for more food. This causes quite the stir and has the governors sending him away to be sold by Mr. Bumble, who ends up giving him to Mr. Sowerberry (Leonard Rossiter), an undertaker. A rude remark about Oliver's mother from Sowerberry's other apprentice causes another uproar, with Oliver escaping and eventually making his way to London.

Upon his arrival, the first person he meets is a young boy known as The Artful Dodger (Jack Wild), who takes him to a hideout for young pickpockets led by Fagin (Ron Moody), an older man who playfully describes what it is they do. When Oliver accompanies Dodger the next day to learn the ropes, things go quite wrong, leading to Oliver's arrest. However, the intended victim, Mr. Brownlow (Joseph O'Conor), learns that the young boy was not to blame and offers to take him in. This is a wonderful upturn for Oliver, but causes great concern to both Fagin and his close associate, burglar Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed), who worry that the boy may talk, leading them to take desperate action to get him back.

Sir Carol Reed's "Oliver!" is a rather curious little musical that I've come back to a couple of times over the years, not particularly for the enjoyment of it, though it does contain a few catchy numbers, but rather because it's one that I never quite remember many of the details from. Revisiting it again after over a decade, it becomes somewhat understandable as to why. It's certainly a very well-made film, with impressive, Oscar-winning production design, as well as Oscar-nominated costumes & cinematography, but when all is said/sung & done, there's strangely not a whole lot that stands out about it in particular.

As mentioned, it does have some nice, catchy tunes, including "Consider Yourself," "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two," and "I'd Do Anything," but then there are many others that just feel superfluous, with the biggest offender being "Who Will Buy?," an over-extended song & dance number that opens the second act of the film. Even among the songs that are decent, there are some that are stretched out a little too much, a factor that contributes heavily to the film's somewhat bloated 153-minute runtime.

That said, this is hardly a bad musical as there's still plenty to like about it, including its talented cast, which includes Oscar-nominated turns from Ron Moody & Jack Wild, and the aforementioned technical elements & songs. However, again, there's just not much that really stands out at the conclusion of these two and a half hours, making it a rather forgettable film. This is likely why it's not consider a particularly strong Best Picture winner, especially in a year that featured Kubrick's brilliant "2001: A Space Odyssey" (somehow not even nominated for Best Picture), Zeffirelli's marvelous adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet," Anthony Harvey's excellent "The Lion in Winter," and many other great films (and the less said about the embarrassing blunder of giving Carol Reed Best Director over Kubrick, the better).

In the end, "Oliver!" is basically one of those films that was rather popular at the time, but faded somewhat quickly over the years to the point where it's hardly mentioned at all anymore. It certainly does have a few things to like about it, but it's just not quite enough to lift it out of its somewhat ho-hum nature, a fact that is clearly not helped by the film's over-stretched runtime. It may have been enough to impress the not-particularly-discerning Academy in the late '60s, but when one takes a closer look at it, the cracks begin to show, and while it still wouldn't be accurate to call it "bad," it has definitely started to show its age.

Video/Audio:

"Oliver!" comes to 4K in a 2.35:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. The new upgraded picture looks fantastic throughout the entire 153-minute duration, highlighting the film's remarkable production design & costumes. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos audio track is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and, of course, the music & songs in excellent quality. Overall, Sony has done an incredible job in both departments for the film's new 4K release.

Special Features:

Commentary with Film Historian Steven C. Smith

Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (8 Minutes): A vintage look at the making of the film.

Meeting Oliver! (15 Minutes): An interview with star Mark Lester.

Meeting Fagin! (13 Minutes): An interview with star Ron Moody.

The Locations of Oliver! (5 Minutes): A featurette that takes a look at where the film was shot.

Jack Wild Screen Test (1 Minute)

Sing-Alongs (36 Minutes)

Dance-Alongs (13 Minutes)

Dance and Sing-Alongs (10 Minutes)

Conclusion:

Sir Carol Reed's "Oliver!," a musical adaptation of Dickens' "Oliver Twist," has a few things to like about it, including some decent songs, a fine cast, and impressive technical elements, but several superfluous numbers, many of which are over-extended, on top of the film's stretched runtime & its somewhat ho-hum nature, ultimately make for a rather forgettable musical that just doesn't have much that stands out.

Score: 3/5

Now available on 4K.

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