The team that made Great Expectations reunite for an even better movie - I think I like it more because Oliver is more active than Pip, whether running away from home, asking for more gruel at the orphanage, picking pockets, etc. It's beautifully shot and done, playing up the horrific elements, like Expectations - the opening shots of the arrival at the orphanage is out of a Frankenstein film, and few murders are more effective than Sykes killing Nancy, with the dog scrambling frantic at the door.
You could argue Alec Guiness' Fagin is a Jewish caricature but plenty of other people are caricatures including Robert Newton, Anthony Newley (Artful Dodger) and Francis Sullivan (Bumble). Henry Stephenson is warm and sympathetic - I didn't recognise Diana Dors as Charlotte. John Howard Davies very likeable and sympathetic in the difficult role of Oliver. A masterpiece.
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