Rating: 
Summary: Negative reviewers don't get it!
Review: Unfortunately, I'm old enough to have seen this film in the theatre. Fortunately, I did! Many more viewings on the tele. I never got tired of this great film.Michael Caine's Alfie was all the terrible things mentioned by other reviewers, but it was presented in a way that was humorous, in spite of the fact that you cringed on some of the antics. The point most people miss is this guy does horrible things, but I really don't think any of it was intentional. He did things out of stupidity and really not knowing any better. Shelly Winters character was the first to bring him down to earth. By the time the film ended, he was left alone. You actually felt a bit sorry for him at the end in spite of his behaviour. I'd like to believe if there was a sequel, you would have seen a transformed man, far more caring than the one in this picture. Just a great movie that I can watch over and over again.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent performance from Michael Caine
Review: What's ALFIE all about? If you were to ask the principle character he'd probably say freedom. Moving from one "it" (his term for girl - almost an abstraction) to another - no commitments or attachments and only an "honest" assessment that love is illusory or at best fleeting and therefore "the moment" is king. Alfie is caught in the crossfire of birth and death and refuses to confront either because he cannot understand the relationship of the past and future to his present. Alfie is the eternal mischievous boy who has charmed his way in and out of trouble (and women's underwear) his entire existence. An astute observer of the folly and frailty of human emotion, he is content to remain on the outside, unaware that there might be something of value superseding immediate gratification. As the film progresses, Alfie's charm is wearing thin and he starts experiencing the fallout from his years of shallow depravity. On those rare occasions when he chooses to confront the unfortunate but inevitable consequences of his behavior, he is disgusted and ashamed but ultimately unable to put these feelings of revulsion into a context and therefore continues his detached existence in ignorance. But he's no longer funny. In fact, by the films close, Alfie has become painfully sad. A flawed film in many ways (the ludicrous bar-room brawl comes to mind), ALFIE nevertheless succeeds primarily due to Michael Caine's performance. His ability to take the audience with him, as co-conspirators, in a lascivious game that is both intoxicating and shameful is remarkable. Unfortunately, while the emptiness of his character has had a sobering effect on us, Alfie has learned nothing of the experience and helplessly asks us, "What's it all about?"
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable film
Review: Why in the world producers want to film remakes of classics like "Alfie" (and recently "The Ladykillers") is beyond me, because the remakes can only pale by comparison. It's a fool's errand. I haven't seen the recent remake of "Alfie", but I predict it will suffer by comparison to the original. Of course, the PR men will say that the film is not really meant to be an American copy of "Alfie", but if not, why not name it "Wendell"?
The technique of having Alfie philosophize into the camera could have flopped, but Michael Caine pulls it off. Although his character is indeed a cad, he is also vulnerable and capable of feelings (The scene in which Vivien Merchant gets an abortion and Alfie is mortified). He is indeed self-centered, with his life being driven by how many "birds" he can bed, but Caine convinces us that Alfie is not a simple character.
And at the end when Ruby (Shelly Winters), who Alfie is considering "settling down" with, dumps him, having found sombody younger, his ego takes quite a bruising.
Finally, there is Malcolm. This is a child that Alfie had with one of his girlfriends, who, since Alfie is not the marrying kind, sensibly married someone else. Alfie secretly, wistfully, watches the three of them in the park, and you actually for once feel sorry for him because he knows Malcolm is his child but Malcolm will never be a part of his life. He ends the movie speaking to the camera and, to those who may envy his way with the fair sex, laments that he does not have "peace of mind", and that he probably never will.
The English films are almost always better than American films. More honest, less sophomoric, more adult, and more candid. "Alfie" is definitely one of those films. Michael Caine gives the performance of a lifetime, with the support of a superb cast, under the great direction of Lewis Gilbert. If you want a light, frothy comedy, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in human relations, character studies, and fine performances, you must see "Alfie" (this review refers to the ORIGINAL film :-)
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