Oliver Twist (UK, 1948) February 3, 2009

From its ominously storm-ridden opening, Lean's child's-eye-view adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic about a London waif trapped in a pickpocket gang is alternately humorous and hair-raising. Alec Guinness' unforgettable Fagin is among his greatest performances, and Robert Newton's loose-cannon turn as Bill Sykes is truly frightening