Just watched this for the first time since I was a kid (I'm now 26) and I have to say that Oliver Reed was sooo good looking in this. When I was younger he just scared me! And it was Dodger I fancied back then, haha!
Just felt the need to post this
"Sammy, I get all tingly when you take control like that" - Dean Winchester
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There was a reason for casting OLIVER REED in the film. It was decided that a somewhat rugged and attractive actor should portray the murderous Bill Sikes. That way, it would make sense why Nancy did the things for him that she did.
shareI know, I just realised how gorgeous he was after watching it for the first time in years. He used to scare me when I was like 8 or 9, but now I just wish there were actors like him around nowadays!
Did he actually have any feelings for Nancy at all? It doesn't seem so in the film - even though he said he loved her. I haven't read the book, does it go into more detail than the film about their relationship?
"Sammy, I get all tingly when you take control like that" - Dean Winchester
No, he used her and she was too blind to her own need to be in love that she couldn't see it.
shareThat's sad. Have you read the book then? Is it as enjoyable as the film? I love reading but I haven't read any Dickens' novels! I don't know why though. I have this idea that they would be hard to get into for some reason. I like books that get you right from the first page.
"Sammy, I get all tingly when you take control like that" - Dean Winchester
Heck, I still find him creepy!
-Amanda
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"
His Bill Sikes makes no bones about him using Nancy and not being in love with her. There doesn't seem to be any love from him to her. It's all one sided on her part. In the play when Sikes first meets Nancy at the Tavern he kisses her. They didn't do the kiss in the movie.
shareIt the book enjoyable? I think so. You have to be ready for a completely different tone in the writing. Dickens's style is very much of its time, and can seem, at times, overly precious, stilted, and melodramatic. Be braced for then-typical British anti-Semitism. It's sort of like finding a little grit in a fresh spinach salad -- it kind of goes with the territory, but rreeeaallly sets your teeth on edge.
It's Dickens's first novel. Pickwick Papers was a conglomeration of satirical sketches. It reads like a novel now, but was never conceived that way. Twist rambles a bit, but there are parts, like when Oliver meets the Dodger on the road to London, that are just terrific. If you think the scene in the movie when Sikes murders Nancy is frightening, just wait till you read the original version. Dickens performed many readings of that passage, and according to every report, public and private, he was harrowing, acting both parts -- both murderer and victim. Yeesh. No wonder he died young.
If, in addition to loving reading (good for you!), you love the English language, its rhythm, sound, and agility; you're willing and able to spend some time adjusting to a different tempo; and are interested in popular culture, and how it reflects the society from which it emerges, hey, you'll enjoy the heck out of it.
The characters. The settings & descriptions. The turns of phrase.
Great stuff.
Since this post now reads like a public service message, I'll add a link to The Charles Dickens Museum in London:
http://www.dickensmuseum.com/index.htm
I'm fortunate enough to have been there once. It's a nifty place. It's also where Dickens wrote much of Oliver Twist.dolceri ac dolcere
I'm glad you mentioned the anti-Semitism of the book. Someone recently referred to Fagin as anti-Semitic. I never read the book, and I remembered nothing mentioned in the movie
"A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star..."
I was 10 when it came out and saw it at the movies, and I was hot for him THEN. Guess I was a bit old for my age though, ha ha... But I was interested to see this post and that I wasn't the only one!
shareOliver Reed was hotter than hell and this was one of his hottest performances imho.
sharei cant believe he was just 29 in this film,he lookd at least 38
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I'm just wondering all you women thinking he's such a hottie. What do you think of his behaviour in the film ? Is he still such a hottie based on the way he treats Nancy?
We ladies love those "bad boys". Oliver Reed is fantastic in this film. Another "badun" is Robert Newton in an early version of "Oliver Twist". Both excellent films of an excellent & timeless story.
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@Tashtago
Yeah, Reed was hot (in his prime,anyway) but the character he played in OLIVER was a straight-up abusive bastard and a thug who didn't care for anyone but himself, and he deserved what he got in the end,flat out. I liked that Nancy had the guts to stand up to him and tell him to go to hell, but the biggest mistake she made was not cutting him loose, when it was obvious that he didn't give a damn about her, and running off with Oliver sooner. She deserved way better than that. Also, some a**holes are attractive, but in the end, that dosen't excuse the fact that they're still a**holes, and it's best to stay the hell away from them.
Hotness (or lack of) has nothing to do with how a person treats another, it is about chemistry. After all, how many women stay with bad boys even when they treat them like dirt?
shareReed is sexy like Javier Bardum, dark brooding, Heathcliffe looks. Bill Sykes, the character, is NOT sexy but rather creepy and scary.
shareI can't believe he was just 29 in this film, he looked at least 38
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That could no doubt be attributed to his love of alcohol.
He was a handsome sexy devil of a man.
Don't f@ck with me fellas! This aint my first time at the rodeo.
This reminds me of Marlon Brando's character in A Streetcar Named Desire. People think he's sexy despite being an abusive ass hole, or in Bill's case, a murderer. Plus I read about Oliver Reed and he was an ass hole IRL. But I guess people just ignore the personality and focus on the looks.
Anyways, Dodger will always have my heart. Though I don't find him hot, he looked too young to be hot (Jack Wild got away with playing kids when he was a teenager).
PIGS ARE PEOPLE!
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I absolutely agree!! Ollie was a total babe in his younger years. (And, dare I say it, in his more mature years too.)
I was a teenager when I first saw this film and even then he made me quiver with lustful thoughts! He had that rare sexual magnetism that makes you unable to take your eyes off him whenever he is on screen. And those eyes - oh good grief!! He simply smouldered.
Pretty boys and so-called hunks come and go in movies but there are very, very few that immediately command your attention with their screen presence and weave a spell over their audience. For me, Brando is the only other actor who possessed that gift. They were both the quintessential bad boys whom women just can't help adoring!
Ollie was hugely talented and charismatic, and had he not been so distracted by life's other 'pleasures' he would be forever remembered as the acting phenomenon that he was, instead of primarily a hell-raising lush.
God bless you dear Ollie, I hope you're having a riot, wherever you are! We miss you.
P.S. If you haven't already done so, I strongly recommend that you watch Ken Russell's 'The Devils' to see him at (arguably) his very best.