Cinema
Alfie
Lewis Gilbert · 1966
Synopsis
London, at night. Stray dogs lead to a car with misted-up windows, parked under an underpass: Alfie Elkins is in it with Siddie, a married woman, supposedly at the cinema with friends. As he gets out, he turns to the camera and speaks to the viewer. He is a driver, and at the same time lives with Gilda, whom he keeps for the housework and cooking.
Context
The text had taken two forms before the film, both by Bill Naughton: a radio play in 1962 and a stage play in 1963; Naughton also wrote the screenplay. The music is by the American saxophonist Sonny Rollins. The clandestine abortion sequence contravened the regulations of the American industry: the film obtained an exception, accompanied by a notice advising it for an adult audience, the second of the year. It cost about half a million dollars and earned more than thirty times as much in North America.
Who it is for
A hundred and fourteen minutes, in English with subtitles or in a French version. The character speaks to the camera from beginning to end.
Prizes and reception
Five Oscar nominations, and one of the two exceptions of 1966 that opened the crisis of Hollywood's censorship code.
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