Legendary director David Lean gave us an acclaimed adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist in 1948 and a blockbusting musical version followed in 1968. Both acts were tough to follow, even for an Oscar-winning director like Roman Polanski, whose "ploddingly faithful" version garnered mixed reviews. It tanked at the US box office, only reaching No 18. It fared slightly better at home, but still wound up about £25m short of recouping its £30m budget.

The Workhouse Grind

Whatever your thoughts on this adaptation (assuming you're one of the few who've seen it), this DVD offers an intriguing look at Polanski on the job. Twist By Polanski is a half-hour documentary chock full of behind-the-scenes footage as the diminutive helmer scurries around the Prague set in short trousers, mucking in with his young cast. Screenwriter Ronald Harwood observes, "He has a capacity for a child's mind... a child's view of the world." Polanksi himself explains that he was able to relate to Oliver because of traumatic experiences in his own childhood. "I was a hungry orphan during the war," he says, but Ben Kingsely (who plays Fagin) goes a step further, talking about the Holocaust and how it seems to have shaped Polanski's view of the world.

All of the key players, including the Hackney-born Barney Clark (in the title role), offer their insights into the story and there's also footage from early rehearsals. On the other side of shooting, we get to see Polanski in the editing suite and working on the score with composer Rachel Portman.

Pick A Pocket

A more focussed look at sets, costumes and cinematography comprises a substantial featurette called The Best Of Oliver Twist. Polanski shows us sketches of Dickensian London by contemporary artists like George Scharf and Gustave Doré, which inspired the production design. With the finer points settled, he supervises the building of a miniature London on a hillside in Czechoslovakia. He got very involved with costume designs too, insisting that Clark should wear shoes that where four sizes too big, just as he did when he was a boy. Bringing the vision to life, cinematographer Pawel Edelman explains that Polanksi wanted "everything bigger than life".

Clark relays the heady experience of starring in a Roman Polanski film in Kidding With Oliver. He reads from his diary between more excerpts of behind-the-scenes footage and it becomes clear just what a gruelling schedule he had to cope with. "Luckily I had to sleep in one shot," he says, "And it was good because I woke up at 4.30 in the morning..." Eventually he winds up in New York City for an international press junket where he looks much better rested.

No doubt this modest batch of extras does manage to pack in lots of behind-the-scenes action. Still, the lack of a director's commentary and a more brass tacks look at the process of adaptation, may leave you asking for more.

EXTRA FEATURES