Oliver Twist has four screen versions here: David Lean’s 1948 film, the 1968 musical Oliver!, Clive Donner’s 1982 television film and Roman Polanski’s 2005 feature.
The novel is about 161,000 words, roughly nine hours of reading, and the versions run 103 to 153 minutes. Densities are 0.6 to 1.0 minutes of screen per thousand words, with the musical the least compressed because of its songs.
Every screen version at a glance
4 versions are listed here: 3 made for cinemas and 1 for television, released between 1948 and 2005. Runtimes are the length of the version as released, taken from the Wikipedia article for each title and checked against its IMDb entry.
| Year | Version | Director | Length | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Oliver Twist — film | David Lean | 116 min | Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Kay Walsh |
| 1968 | Oliver! — film | Carol Reed | 153 min | Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Harry Secombe |
| 1982 | Oliver Twist — television film | Clive Donner | 103 min | George C. Scott, Tim Curry, Michael Hordern |
| 2005 | Oliver Twist — film | Roman Polanski | 130 min | Barney Clark, Ben Kingsley, Jamie Foreman |
How the versions differ
Lean’s 1948 film runs 116 minutes with Alec Guinness as Fagin, Robert Newton as Bill Sikes and Kay Walsh as Nancy. It is the version that set the visual language of the story for later adaptations.
Oliver! runs 153 minutes and is the longest here, a musical with Ron Moody, Oliver Reed and Harry Secombe. Its density of about 1.0 minutes per thousand words makes it the fullest telling of the four.
The 1982 television film runs 103 minutes with George C. Scott, Tim Curry and Michael Hordern, the shortest of the four. Polanski’s 2005 film runs 130 minutes with Barney Clark, Ben Kingsley and Jamie Foreman.
Reading time against screen time
The novel runs to about 161010 words, which is roughly 9 hours at the 300 words a minute the rest of this site uses. Every screen version fits its own reading of the story into the times below.
| Screen version | Format | Running time |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 · Oliver Twist | film | 116 min |
| 1968 · Oliver! | film | 153 min |
| 1982 · Oliver Twist | television film | 103 min |
| 2005 · Oliver Twist | film | 130 min |
| The novel (1838) | 161010 words | ~9 h to read |
For the most time on screen, Oliver! at 153 minutes. For the straight adaptation closest to the novel’s structure, Lean’s 116-minute film and Polanski’s 130-minute film are the two to compare.
Questions readers ask
Which Oliver Twist film is most faithful?
By running time, Oliver! at 153 minutes, though as a musical it changes the novel more than the others. Lean’s 1948 film runs 116 minutes, Polanski’s 2005 film 130.
Is Oliver! an adaptation of the novel?
Yes. The 1968 musical is based on the stage show, which is based on Dickens’s novel. It runs 153 minutes and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
How long is the novel?
About 161,000 words, roughly 537 minutes of reading at 300 words a minute — far longer than any of the four versions.
The novel itself is on editions.ink as a free ebook: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, with EPUB, AZW3 and KEPUB downloads. The full list of filmed classics covers 13 books, and the rest of the catalogue sits under classic fiction.
Other books on screen
- Great Expectations on screen — 4 versions from 1946 to 2012
- A Christmas Carol on screen — 5 versions from 1938 to 2009
- Little Women on screen — 4 versions from 1933 to 2019