Realism and Fantasy
![Realism & Fantasy title graphic, showing a mxure of film still and illustration of Victorian street life](../images/realismpic.jpg)
In the production notes for Oliver Twist, Polanski states that the film is not realistic and that it concerns a series of grotesque characters. Despite this, a huge effort has gone into recreating early Victorian London, basing the characters, their dress and the settings on meticulous research and, in particular, reference to contemporary prints of London and its inhabitants by Gustav Dore.