Oliver Twist

For the first time ever in Paris, a French musical has been written and composed in honour of Anglo-Saxon tradition by the composer, music director and arranger Shay Alon, who is well-known in French musical theatre circles, having been involved in the Paris productions of Avenue Q, Aladdin, and Salt and Honey. A troupe of 15 actors, singers, and dancers, and an orchestra of seven musicians, revived the passion and genius of Charles Dickens great work.

Expressionistic noir photography suffuses David Lean’s Oliver Twist with a nightmarish quality, fitting its bleak, industrial setting. In Dickens’ classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home. Here Alec Guinness is the quintessential Fagin, his controversial performance fully restored in Criterion’s digital transfer.