Alfie

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Alfie

67% Liked It
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Alfie

Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Julia Foster, Jane Asher

For Alfie, the only real life is sex life; only then can he kid himself he is living. Sex is not used as the working-class boy's way to 'the top'. Executive status has no appeal for Alfie. Nor has cla...( read more  read more... )ss mobility. He is quite content to stay where he is, as long as the 'birds' are in 'beautiful condition', as he assures us they are in one of the candid, over-the-shoulder asides to the camera which the film carries over from "Tom Jones". The film shows how much of the 'swinging 60's' quality of London life was a male creation, and through the dominance of the fashion photographers, a male prerogative.

Id: 3310282

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Alfie Recent Reviews
  • habitualdamnation
    January 27, 2008
    habitualdamnation
    Man they just don't make movies like this anymore.
  • FangsFirst
    October 8, 2007
    FangsFirst
    I'll admit I came back a bit to my old habit of room wandering when I watched this, so I'm not going to be perfect at reviewing it, but I certainly got enough of the details, ideas and events that I "got" the film.

    I picked it up simply because I thought, oh, hey, they felt they...( read more) could remake this (they did in 2004 with Jude Law in the title role), the reviews are good and Michael Caine stars! Wa-hey!

    I'm not drawn to comedies (it's debated whether this is a comedy or not, but nevermind that) from the 60s, or much of anything other than the "big" and "important" films of that decade, so this one has been sitting around a relative bit of time in my collection. It also was not holding my interest enough to keep me centered as I already mentioned. Still, it did well enough, and certainly ended up surprising me. I was intrigued by the start of the movie, where Alfie suddenly turns and speaks to the audience as an aside, and says his name is--and the woman he's with says "Alfie!" as the title flashes onscreen. He tells us the titles are, in fact, not going to be shown now as we expect, and onward the movie goes, trundling back and forth between Alfie's "advice" and the dramatic events of the story.

    Essentially, imagine any negative consequences and possibilities to occur from having a womanizing central character with more interest in himself than those around him, and they're here. He abandons one woman who has mothered his child, despite his obvious affection for the child, because he simply cannot commit to anyone. In a later relationship there is an abortion. He's controlling, manipulative, self-centered and unloving. He's a little tragic, too, though, as you can see how lonely he is, and how he has so convinced himself that his freewheeling sex-life is the way to be happy, that he refuses to see how unhappy he, himself is. A great performance by Caine, one that helps us to appreciate Alfie, even as we're utterly disgusted by almost everything he does. Shame, though, that the movie ambles along without any real spice to it--there's just not much here of interest in the way it's all put together.
  • garyX
    January 8, 2007
    garyX
    One of Michael Caine's most famous roles is another of those zeitgeist movies that sums up perfectly the time in which they were made; in this case, London's swinging sixties. Caine's effortless charm is at the core of this comedy of sexual mores, but it skillfully shifts to a mu...( read more)ch darker tone once Alfie starts to experience the repercussions of his lascivious actions. A minor classic.
  • mjgildea
    November 15, 2006
    mjgildea
    Pretty disappointing. Shelly Winters was actually attractive though.
  • flynnparadox
    September 15, 2006
    flynnparadox
    Caine is great. The movie is mediocre but his performance makes it worth it.
  • jam233
    October 31, 2009
    jam233
    It's certainly far better than the sequel and the remake. This has a very likable lead performance, something the other two did not. Michael Caine is terrific in a star making performance. Shelley Winters excels, as she so often does. A fine film, good direction.
  • blackeyedsurfer
    October 29, 2009
    blackeyedsurfer
    As is often the case with me, I like the contemporary remake far more. I relate to it's sensibilities more, not to mention enjoy the glitzier New York setting over this dreary London. They may have softened Jude Law's Alfie quite a bit, but it made his character much more likeabl...( read more)e. MIchael Caine's Alfie is an absolute cad.
  • friskyflugette
    September 12, 2009
    friskyflugette
    Caine is brilliant! The title character is so well played by Caine and he makes you hate him and his ideals. All cast do a good job but I could have done with a much more polished script and plot.
  • Mimi21192
    July 30, 2009
    Mimi21192
    started to watch it and it's boring
  • writergirl79
    June 8, 2009
    writergirl79
    I liked this movie better than I thought I would considering the main character is a womanizing a-hole. It took a sudden dark turn that took me off guard but redeems Alfie to a point. I guess if I'd read the synopsis it says it's an "extremely grim comedy." It certainly isn't mar...( read more)keted that way for obvious reasons.
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