By Lubna Abdel-Aziz The news of yet another remake of a favourite classic sends shudders down the spine of many a film lover. The power of a classic is its, long-standing authenticity, style, grace, and infinite truths. We learn to cherish it, cling to it, love it, like an old trusted friend. It is a timeless, paradigmatic ideal that links generations with its enduring charm. Its magic lies in its never-ending, unalterable, unfaltering appeal. Film remakes very often fall short of the original, unsettling our psyche, jarring our memories, disturbing our dreams. Who would change Homer or Shakespeare, Mozart or Beethoven? Who would replace Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, or Ingrid Bergman? Filmmakers of course! Bankrupt of ideas, and lacking in inspiration, they keep going back to their reservoir of successes, only to remake them dismally and poorly. Consider Billy Wilder's ( Sabrina, 1954), film adaptation of the stage play, Sabrina Fair, sparkling with wit and romance, with a superior cast including the ethereal Audrey Hepburn, the legendary Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. Why then was there a blasphemous remake in 1995 with Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford and Greg Kinear? Go figure! The prayer of the purists -- leave our classics alone. Yet the temptation to remake is irresistible, and the latest is another treasured classic, 's tale of the little orphan boy, Oliver Twist. The revered classic version remains David Lean's in 1948. Carol Reed made his stage musical 20 years later -- Oliver, which ran on Broadway and London's West End for years. Now we are to see Oliver Twist brought to us by none other than Oscar winning director Roman Polanski ( The Pianist, 2002). The film premiered in Prague last week, where it was shot at the Barrandov Studios, and in the streets and alleys of Prague: Where else could 19th century London be reproduced! Any film of Roman Polanski deserves a serious film lover's attention. Owing to his unique circumstances this talented, tormented director delves repeatedly into themes of disaffection and victimisation. Born in France in 1935 to a Polish/Jewish father and a Russian/Roman Catholic mother, young Roman returned to Poland with his parents two years before WW II broke out. During the war both parents were held in concentration camps, where his mother eventually died. Young Roman managed to escape the ghetto and was re-united with his father after the war. Roman wanted to be an actor. He studied at the Lotz Film School, and appeared in 42 films in Europe, but his fame and fortune came from behind the camera. His first international hit, Rosemary's Baby (1968), made him a Hollywood favourite. When his second wife, the beauteous Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant was brutally murdered by the infamous Manson gang in 1969, Roman returned to Europe. Back in the US in 1974 to film Chinatown, he was convicted of statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. Polanski fled Hollywood never to return. His 2002 Oscar was delivered to him in Paris by his friend Harrison Ford. Forever drawn to 19th century English literature, Polanski had received an Oscar nomination for Tess (1980), his evocative adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles. Like , Roman Polanski relates to the suffering of all children, that is why he is re-filming the story of the little orphan boy who wanders into a gang of pickpockets. Considered the most widely read writer of fiction in the English language, led the humanitarian movement of the 19th century, using the novel as a moral force against every social abuse. His own childhood, blemished with shame and unhappiness, Dickens explores the sorrows of childhood, amid the poverty and misery of London slums. He defends the poor and lowly against the injustices inflicted by the powerful rich. While David Copperfield is considered his masterpiece, and A Tale of Two Cities his most popular, the tale of Oliver Twist is Hollywood's favourite together with A Christmas Carol, one of the most famous stories every written. Dickens's seemingly simple, but actually difficult, method of making the characters real and unique, combining pathos and sentimentalism with inimitable humour, secures his true place among the giants of the written word. Born in 1812 to John and Elizabeth Dickens, in Portsmouth, England, he was the second of eight children. Finances were a constant concern. When Charles was 12, his father was arrested for failure to pay a debt. Charles was sent to work in a shoe polish factory where he met Bob Fagin, a name he later used in Oliver Twist. Deeply marked by these experiences, Charles rarely spoke of them to his wife or children in later years, but used most of his knowledge and observations in his writings. Dickens attended school off and on until he was 14 and held several jobs in his early youth as a law clerk, a court stenographer, and a newspaper reporter. His work as a reporter sharpened his skills in portraying real characters. Dickens too, was serious about becoming an actor. He arranged for an audition at the Lyceum Theatre, but fell ill that day. How poorer the legacy of modern literature would be, had he made that audition. Dickens's passion for acting was demonstrated years later by his wonderfully humorous readings and performances in benefit productions. Dickens's first book Sketches by Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the London Evening Chronicle. His first literary fame came with The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, usually called The Pickwick Papers (1837), which describe the humorous adventures and misadventures of a group of slightly eccentric characters in London and the English countryside. It gained a popularity seldom matched in the history of literature, and at 24, Dickens found himself suddenly famous. His fame and popularity would only grow with his subsequent 20 novels. He was recognised and honoured on both sides of the Atlantic for the rest of his life and even more so since. Despite his public success, Dickens's personal life was lacking. He and wife Catherine Hogarth, who bore him 10 children, separated after 22 years. In 1857 he met actress Ellen Ternan, and the relationship lasted until his death in 1870. His many works have endured as literary classics in print and on the big and small screens, among them Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Barkley Rudge, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities, which again tells of the misery of the French lower classes that led to the horrors of the bloody French Revolution. While critics do not rank it highly, it is the most popular amongst his readers. A majestic creator of plot and scene, Dickens had a sharp eye for London's street life, which he unveiled in a gallery of comic, pleasant and villainous characters, many of which come alive in the tale of Oliver Twist. Remakes will be re-made however much we protest. For those who have not seen or heard of Oliver Twist or , Polanski's version will serve as a welcome introduction to one of our literary classics. With their perfect pitch, their moral worth and their impeccable taste, classic films should remain -- classics. But there are those who believe they can be updated, polished and given a new make- up that will appeal to new generations. This is akin to re-writing War and Peace or Les Misérables. Perhaps in the skilled hands of Roman Polanski, Oliver Twist will only gain in understanding, popularity and appeal, and Dickens will be hailed again and forever as one of the great writers the world has ever known. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... it was the season of Life, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair... (1812-1870) A Tale of Two Cities Opening words, Book 1, Chapter 1.
