Tom Jones (1963)

Really Surprised!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Vulgar but Charming, Tom Jones struts his way to infamy in his hometown for his antics. When the charming Sophie arrives, She and Tom falls in love much to the dismay of her parents who have other plans for her.Particularly known for one of the more forgotten and questioned Best Picture winners, Tom Jones is a rare breed of silliness and playfulness tossed with a flair of lavish flamboyance that had not been present in a lot of Best Picture Nominees of today. Though these same characteristics does not really make it into a great film. Today, it feels a bit too tame that its antics comes off a bit too corny. Overall, just not my taste.[3/5]

The writer of 18th Century England, especially the novelists, were a lot more free to express themselves as those a century later. I consider the Victorian era to be the greatest for literature, but Fielding, Smollett, Swift and his ilk had a whole host of possibilities. I think this is Fielding's greatest novel. Albert Finley plays the young and randy Tom in a picaresque novel, with adventures every step of the way. He encounters loose women, angry husbands, great possibilities and bitter disappointments. But he keeps his chin up along the way and bounces from experience to experience. He is always optimistic and charming. Wonderful performances in a time when the world created a challenge for all.

Based on Henry Fielding's classic, Tony Richardson's 'Tom Jones' has received quite a lot of acclaim and is still highly praised after almost half a century. It's quite nicely shot with the exception of the cinematography which was flat. The English location is pleasing to look at and the performances are very good. Albert Finney fits Tom Jones like a puzzle. The costumes are great and the director manages to capture the essence of the time period.However, I found the movie to be incredibly boring. I really tried to enjoy it. The beginning is very rushed and perhaps after about half an hour it moves at a snail's pace. The humour in the dialogues works to an extent, not enough to save this from boring me.There's also a disturbing hunting scene. I don't mind when a movie shows disturbing elements (as long as its relevant to the story) and hunting was a big game during that time period but it just seemed pointless to really kill a deer over it.Anyway, 'Tom Jones' just didn't work for me. Other than Finney's terrific performance and some nice dialogues, it didn't offer much.

After a wonderful 'silent movie' prologue in which the 18th Century Squire of Western England accepts custody of an illegitimate baby boy--"born to be hanged"--this hoked-up variation on Henry Fiedling's novel moves in fit and starts, the product of a poor direction which was then aided by feverish editing. Albert Finney's Tom falls for the Squire's comely daughter (a pensively ravishing Susannah York) but is prevented from marrying her due to his questionable heritage; he hits the road after his beloved is promised to another man, becoming involved in sword-fights, infidelities, and assorted promiscuities. Certain set-pieces (a rowdy, savage deer hunt, a seduction/dinner sequence at the inn, a courtship amongst the blossoms) have become legendary--and for good reason. The picture is smashing to look at (as photographed by Walter Lassally), though the movie-narrative is squashy and the character of Tom Jones is a bit of a sod (Finney brings charisma to the part, but he does more for the enterprise than it does for him). The winner of four Academy Awards (including Best Picture!), the film is usually described as 'lusty' or 'bawdy', but the development of the many assorted characters is poor, the smirking overall tone is tiresome, and the general heart of the piece becomes lost in the morass. ** from ****