You can knock that silly notion right out of your head that Oliver Twist is a toe tapping cheery musical with the cute blonde kid — cuz it ain’t no more.  Not after viewing the new Masterpiece Classic version of Oliver Twist presented last night on PBS. There’s no mistakin’ this 2007 BBC adaptation by Sarah Phelps of Charles Dickens classic 1839 novel with the Oscar winning best picture of 1968 – not for one bloody minute. This latest vision of London lowlife by director Coky Giedroyc is a startling contrast to the sugar coated confection crafted by Oscar winning director Carol Reed. Everything about this new production oozes retched poverty and human misery coated in a thick layer of filth, and I think the social activist in Dickens would wholeheartedly approve! If you missed the first episode, be sure to bring your torch to light your way through the dark and dank underbelly of Victorian England and view it online at the Masterpiece website February 16th  – March 2nd. Continue reading “Masterpiece’s Oliver Twist Goes Over to the Darkside: Review of Episode One” →