| Alfie | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Produced by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Written by | Bill Naughton |
| Starring | Michael Caine Shelley Winters Millicent Martin Vivien Merchant |
| Music by | Sonny Rollins |
| Cinematography | Otto Heller |
| Editing by | Thelma Connell |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March, 1966 (UK release) |
| Running time | 114 min |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $800,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $8,500,000 (USA only) |
| Followed by | Alfie Darling |
Alfie is a 1966 British film directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Michael Caine. It is an adaptation by Bill Naughton of his own novel and play of the same name. The film was released by Paramount Pictures.
Alfie tells the story of a young man who leads a promiscuous lifestyle until several life reversals make him rethink his purposes and goals in life. Alfie frequently breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera narrating and justifying his actions. His words often contrast and/or totally contradict his actions.
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Synopsis
The film begins with Alfie Elkins (Caine) ending a relationship with a married woman and getting the woman from another of his affairs pregnant. The film then follows his life for a few years, documenting events that lead to the character's emotional growth, starting with the birth of his child.
Watching his child grow brings out a more caring side of Alfie, including his having a health check in case of hereditary diseases, but his inability to commit to the child's mother leads to her marrying a bus conductor. The health check reveals Alfie has shadows on his lungs. This combined with being banned from seeing his son leads him to have a small breakdown.
Alfie then spends some time in a convalescent home. Here he meets Harry, who confronts him about his delusion that he is doing no harm, and Harry's wife, whom he gets pregnant in a one-night stand. The subsequent abortion is a turning point for the character and the only time other than his passing out/breakdown where he exhibits real emotion - breaking down in tears at the sight of the aborted fetus.
At the film's climax, Alfie decides to change his non-committal ways and settle down. He chooses Ruby (Shelley Winters), who is an older, voluptuous and promiscuous American he met while working taking holiday photos. Unfortunately, the day he chooses to suggest this to Ruby he finds a younger man in her bed, leaving him disheartened at the film's end and wondering “What's it all about? You know what I mean.”
The end credits are unusual in that not only photos of the principal actors are featured, but also the main technical crew, including director Lewis Gilbert and cameraman Otto Heller.
Music
Awards and recognition
The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival.[1] It was also nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Michael Caine), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Vivien Merchant), Best Song (Burt Bacharach and Hal David for "Alfie") (a UK hit record for Cilla Black, but performed by Cher in the movie), Best Picture and Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium).
In 2004 the magazine Total Film named it the 48th greatest British film of all time.[2]
Cast
- Michael Caine - Alfie Elkins
- Shelley Winters - Ruby
- Millicent Martin - Siddie
- Julia Foster - Gilda
- Jane Asher - Annie
- Shirley Anne Field - Carla
- Vivien Merchant - Lily
- Eleanor Bron - The Doctor
- Denholm Elliott - The Abortionist
- Alfie Bass - Harry Clamacraft
- Graham Stark - Humphrey
- Murray Melvin - Nat
- Sydney Tafler - Frank
Remake
The film was remade in 2004 in an updated version starring Jude Law.
Popular culture references
- Much dialogue from the film was sampled by the band Carter USM for their 1991 album 30 Something.
- The LP, "Nino Tempo's Rock 'N Roll Beach Party" (1956 Liberty Records … LRP3023) can be seen hanging in Alfie's apartment in several key scenes.
- New York post-hardcore band Polar Bear Club references "Alfie Elkins '66" in their song "Drifting Thing" off their 2009 release Chasing Hamburg.
- The soundtrack to Austin Powers in Goldmember ((which Michael Caine appeared in)) contains a song entitled "Alfie (What's it All About Austin). This song is a cover of the title song of the movie, with all occurrences of "Alfie" replaced with "Austin".
References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Alfie". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2831/year/1966.html. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
- ^ "Ditto: Alfie". http://www.ditto.net/Lists/The-Best-British-Films/Members/Total-Film?p=5&vp=5. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
External links
- Alfie at the Internet Movie Database
- Alfie at Allmovie
- "Michael Caine's Russian Home" (in Russian language). caine-home.narod.ru. http://caine-home.narod.ru/60-16/60-16.html. Retrieved 2008-03-31., Screenshots from the film
| Preceded by Kwaidan |
Special Jury Prize, Cannes 1966 |
Succeeded by No award 1967-8 Z (1969) |
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