Alfie

19661966
18A18A
1h 54m

7.0/10

An unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.An unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.An unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.

7.0/10

14K

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 5 Oscars
- 8 wins & 22 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:20

Alfie (1966)

Michael Caine and Shelley Winters in Alfie (1966)

Director
- Lewis Gilbert
Writer
- Bill Naughton(screenplay) (based on the play: "Alfie")
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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 class 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 this movie carries over from Tom Jones (1963). This movie shows how much of the "swinging 60s" quality of London life was a male creation, and through the dominance of the fashion photographers, a male prerogative. —alfiehitchie

swinging london womanizer breaking the fourth wall by talking to the audience talking to the camera looking at the camera 36 more

Taglines
- Michael Caine is Alfie is Wicked !
Genres
- Comedy
- Drama
Certificate
- 18A
Parents guide

Trivia
For her few scenes with Sir Michael Caine, Shelley Winters couldn't understand his dialogue at all, due to his strong Cockney accent, and had to wait until her leading man stopped moving his lips before responding with her lines.

Goofs
When Alfie is in the doctors office and looks out of the window at the funeral, the window frame is of a different sort to the one we see of the interior.

Quotes
[final words of the film]
Alfie: You know what? When I look back on my little life and the birds I've known, and think of all the things they've done for me and the little I've done for them, you'd think I've had the best of it along the line. But what have I got out of it? I've got a bob or two, some decent clothes, a car, I've got me health back and I ain't attached. But I ain't got me peace of mind - and if you ain't got that, you ain't got nothing. I dunno. It seems to me if they ain't got you one way they've got you another. So what's the answer? That's what I keep asking myself - what's it all about? Know what I mean?

Crazy credits
At the beginning of the film Michael Caine talks to camera and explains that there will be no opening credits.

Connections
Featured in Paramount Presents (1974)

Soundtracks
Alfie
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Arranged by Burt Bacharach
Performed by Cilla Black
Produced by George Martin and Burt Bacharach (uncredited)
(U.K. re-release)

Top review

8/10

Great period piece dealing with universal questions

This movie has long been one of my favorites. It is one of the few quintessentially "60's" movies, using filming methods that were quite unusual at the time (the direct dialogue between the main character and the audience, for example). While its style is clearly confined to that era, and England in particular, its subject matter is profoundly universal.

The subjects of love and devotion, or more accurately their opposites, philandering and infidelity, are treated with a unique sensitivity in the script. Michael Caine is at once both lovable and detestable, perfectly characterizing the age-old dynamic between the need for love and the need for physical pleasure. But this is not a feel-good movie, it is a movie that explores the difficult decisions that confront a person as they mature in both life and love, and it conveys the basic feelings that are present in all human beings, regardless of outward appearances.

I would recommend this as a thought-provoking exploration of human nature.

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