--- title: "Alfie: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/alfie/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/alfie" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Alfie (1966): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics take to Alfie, and nearly all of them take to Michael Caine. The praise clusters on his performance as the Cockney womaniser who talks straight to the camera: breezy and insolent, low-key, charming in a way several reviewers find troubling rather than winning. Lewis Gilbert’s direction is called sure-handed, and the film is read as a moral fable with more shadow in it than its reputation for sixties fizz suggests. The abortion scene is singled out again and again as the moment that still shocks, and Julia Foster and Vivien Merchant get a share of the notices. The spread is narrow apart from one loud dissent. The New Yorker finds the jokes tired, the irreverence old-hat and Caine’s Cockney implausible, though it allows a couple of funny scenes and welcomes the turn to harsher material. Later writers see the film as a landmark of the British New Wave; the earliest ones merely find it amusing and moving. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 4/5. The critic notes it was one of the most talked-about British films of 1966 with five Oscar nominations. It still has much to say about differing male and female views of relationships, with the abortion scene retaining its shock value; Michael Caine's monologues convey troubling charm and naivety, and supporting performances by Julia Foster and Vivien Merchant stand out. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-g5rfas/alfie/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — James Powers Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 August 2017. The critic calls the film an amusing, moving and meaningful picture that will be a big box-office success. Gilbert directs with a sure hand, and Michael Caine delivers a compelling screen personality through his low-key style. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/alfie-review-1966-movie-1032305/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Lewis Gilbert’s intelligent and funny satire of swinging-sixties London rests on Michael Caine’s earthy charm as the cockney lothario who addresses the camera directly. The film is a moral fable whose shadows give it deeper meaning than its fizzy reputation suggests, making Jude Law’s later remake seem foolish. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/alfie-review/) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 August 1966. The critic finds the film more effective and intense than the stage play, praising Michael Caine's breezy yet insolent performance as the self-serving Cockney and the expert cast, while highlighting the shocking impact of the abortion scene and the direct-to-audience asides that add wit. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1966/08/25/archives/screen-alfie-story-of-a-cockney-antihero-begins-run-heremovie-more.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1965. The review praises Michael Caine's powerfully strong, sardonic performance as the amoral anti-hero and the humorous, tangy, raw dialogue and situations that ultimately prove moving, while noting the shrewd sense and sharp moral behind the alley-cat philosophy. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1965/film/reviews/alfie-1117796727/) ## The New Yorker — Renata Adler Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 August 1966. The review notes the film is full of genuine actors but criticizes the tired jokes, old-hat irreverence, and Michael Caine's implausible Cockney portrayal, while appreciating the restful shift to harsher, tragic elements and a couple of genuinely funny scenes. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1966/08/27/adapted) ## Collider — TanChun Watkins Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2024. The critic highlights the film's role as a pioneering British New Wave work that authentically depicted Cockney culture and challenged social taboos around sex and relationships in 1960s London. Michael Caine's charismatic yet flawed lead performance is singled out as groundbreaking for establishing a new kind of anti-hero in British cinema. [Read the review](https://collider.com/alfie-movie-michael-caine/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/alfie.md