TopTenREVIEWS presents the movie reviews of Oliver! (1968)

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Oliver! (1968)

RANKINGS:

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All Time

of 190,142

32

1960's

of 9,429

5

1968

of 4,087

1
Drama
- Drama All Time
  
  of 37,999
  
  19
  
  Drama of 1968
  
  of 221
  
  1
  
  Drama of the 1960's
  
  of 1,661
  
  3
Family
- Family All Time
  
  of 4,953
  
  4
  
  Family of 1968
  
  of 43
  
  1
  
  Family of the 1960's
  
  of 545
  
  1
Musical
- Musical All Time
  
  of 3,076
  
  3
  
  Musical of 1968
  
  of 12
  
  1
  
  Musical of the 1960's
  
  of 210
  
  1

Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.

Oliver! (1968) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars

Overall Rating:3.7393

Avg Critic Score:3.6703

Oliver! (1968) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

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77.14%

22.86%

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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Sir Carol Reed's "Oliver!" is a treasure of a movie. It is very nearly universal entertainment, one of those rare films like "The Wizard of Oz" that appeals in many ways to all sorts of people. It will be immediately exciting to the children, I think, bec ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)

Charles Dickens's mostly gloomy Oliver Twist set to music is no sillier than the French tragedy Les Misérables recast as an English-language opera, and it works just as well -- that is to say, very well indeed. Orphaned Oliver (Lester) is forced to slave ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)

Film Values/Family Values (H. Arthur Taussig)

...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Film Values/Family Values (H. Arthur Taussig)

The Digital Bits

A rousing and engaging musical adaptation of the Dickens classic. Best Picture in 1968 and deservedly so. The performances, songs and art direction all shine. They certainly don't make them like this anymore. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at The Digital Bits

Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)

Makes an epic impact, fully exploiting cinema to chase the intensity of a live musical while also allowing time for intimate expression of character. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)

Oliver! (1968) Critic Reviews continued...

Oscar Guy (Wesley Lovell)

An intense and inspired musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic story about an orphan's amazing ordeal on the streets of the big city. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Oscar Guy (Wesley Lovell)

Zap2it.com (Michael Szymanski)

A great family musical, spirited and youthful, with moments of true sadness, tragedy and joy -- full of rosy cheeked dirty-faced angelic-voiced boys with plenty of mischief inside them. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Zap2it.com (Michael Szymanski)

TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)

Oliver! is better than most screen musicals of the 1960s, a period when oversized, poorly rendered songfests virtually killed the genre. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)

Andrew Hicks (Andrew Hicks)

...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Andrew Hicks (Andrew Hicks)

filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

One problem common to many musicals is that the songs are overproduced and seem artificial. That is the case with Oliver! as well. "Who Will Buy" starts out with one woman selling roses. But soon the lot is filled with barkers, swirling around each ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

Parent Previews

Between the musical diversions and the decision to allude to (rather than portray) objectionable content, Oliver! presents a version of this classic literary work that most parents should feel comfortable sharing with their kids. (Very ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Parent Previews

DVDTown (John J. Puccio)

"Please, sir, I want some more." ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at DVDTown (John J. Puccio)

At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Oliver! is not the greatest film ever made -- but it's up there. And it also happens to be my personal favorite film of all time. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards, it won five, including Best Picture and Best Director (Carol Reed), and deserved every o ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Britmovie

Reed's work on Oliver! is splendidly seconded at the technical end by the extraordinarily sumptuous, painterly effects of Oswald Morris's photography, Terence Marsh's art direction and John Box's sets, which spread before us the full, bursting microcosm o ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Britmovie

DVD Net (Martin Friedel)

This is a superb disc that all musical fans should own. It features a great soundtrack and superb video, with limited but nice extra features. The film is magical and just has to be seen. Go out and buy a copy today! ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at DVD Net (Martin Friedel)

DVD Verdict (Bill Gibron)

Arguably the last great old-fashioned movie musical to receive near-universal critical acclaim, Oliver! has not aged all that badly since it first hit screens more than 37 years ago. The winner of the Best Picture Oscar in 1969, and a timeless West End an ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at DVD Verdict (Bill Gibron)

Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)

One of the best things about video is how older films can so easily be refurbished, repackaged and re-released, even if the audience doesn't justify a full theatrical re-release. A good example of this is the 1998 30th anniversary re-release of Oliver!, ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)

ReelTalk (Geoffrey D. Roberts)

On the eve of Roman Polanski's big budget rendition of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, the beloved 1968 musical Oliver! is getting a splendid new treatment on DVD. Having been released twelve other times on video and DVD -- including a 30th Anniversary Edi ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at ReelTalk (Geoffrey D. Roberts)

digitallyObsessed - 2005 re-release DVD Review

Whether Charles Dickens would approve of Oliver!, the grand musical inspired by his Oliver Twist, Carol Reed's film adaptation of Lionel Bart's stage play is a gem. Along with David Lean's own Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, it serves as one of the m ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at digitallyObsessed - 2005 re-release DVD Review

Doug Pratt's DVD Review

The LD version of the 1968 Oscar-winning musical sounded pretty good but didn�t look so hot. The DVD on the other hand, looks terrific, though the sound is a little wanting. The DVD�s picture is cool and exact. The image looks so precise and crisp that th ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Doug Pratt's DVD Review

Rotten Tomatoes - Reviews from the Nation's Top Critics

BFI screenonline (David Parker)

Carol Reed gained an international reputation as a director on the basis of three post-war films that took as their focus the problematic lives of orphans and outcasts - Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949). But by the time ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at BFI screenonline (David Parker)

Urban Cinefile (Urban Cinefile Critics)

It may be stylised and in some ways out of date, but the charm of Oliver will delight you over and over again. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Urban Cinefile (Urban Cinefile Critics)

Chicago Reader (Dave Kehr)

In retrospect, it seems emblematic of the triviality Reed descended to in the last years of his career. The Third Man it's not. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Chicago Reader (Dave Kehr)

Movierapture (Keith Allen)

The director has created a rich vision of a squalid but lovely Nineteenth Century London populated by a variety of distinctive persons. The least interesting character in the film is, in fact, the lead, who is little more than a cipher, an empty point aro ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at Movierapture (Keith Allen)

The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)

This glorious musical (and Oscar-winner for Best Picture) is based on Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oliver is an orphan who so outrages the staff at the orphanage by asking for a second bowl of gruel that he is sold to an undertaker as an apprentice. ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

1968's Best Picture winner is an epic musical familiar to all of us -- even if you haven't actually seen it. "Food, Glorious Food!"... "Consider Yourself"... these are songs that have entered into the collective consciousness of ...read the complete Oliver! movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

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