MovieChat Forums > Oliver! (1968) Discussion > This is basically a musical remake of th...

This is basically a musical remake of the David Lean adaptation


One of the reasons why I can't really enjoy this movie is that it feels like a remake of David Lean's movie. My complaint may seem kind of strange, because both Oliver! and Lean's movies were adapted from the same source, so naturally, they were going to be similar to each other.

But when I mention similarity, I don't mean story and characters. I mean that the musical feels too similar in tone and feel to the Lean film, like it was basically a remake with musical numbers thrown in, not a completely different film with a fresh take on the novel.

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The film version is a bit darker than the stage musical, and that may be why you get that Lean feeling from it.

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Lean was angry with director Reed because he felt the same thing. Especially with the ending on the roof with Oliver and Bill Sykes. Lean felt that sequence was lifted right from his movie with no credit to him or his screenwriter.

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