Winner '63:
First Saw It:		 Tom Jones
September 7, 2003, on video
Bridesmaids: America, America, Cleopatra, How the West Was Won, Lilies of the Field
My Vote: Tom Jones currently gets my vote, but Lilies is the only other nominee I've seen
Overlooked: 8©, The Leopard, Hud, The Birds, Shoot the Piano Player


Tom Jones
First screened in September 2003 / Most recently screened in March 2016
Director: Tony Richardson. Cast: Albert Finney, Susannah York, George Devine, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Diane Cilento, David Tomlinson, Joyce Redman, Julian Glover, Lynn Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Jack MacGowran, Wilfrid Lawson, Peter Bull, David Warner, John Moffatt, Freda Jackson, Redmond Phillips, James Cairncross, Patsy Rowlands, Rosalind Knight, Avis Bunnage, George Cooper, Jack Stewart, Rosalind Atkinson, voice of Micheál MacLiammóir. Screenplay: John Osborne (based on the novel by Henry Fielding).

 Twitter Capsule: Undeniably antic, occasionally patience-testing, but much more often innovative and pleasurable as a high-literary romp.

VOR: ③  Critical reputation today pales beside its initial reception, which was already divided. Still, as dated and superficial as it can seem, it's a fresh, tangy approach to a classic.


Photo © 1963 United Artists/Lopert Pictures Corporation

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B

(in September 2003: B–)

Academy Award Nominations and Winners:
★Best Picture
★Best Director: Tony Richardson
Best Actor: Albert Finney
Best Supporting Actress: Diane Cilento
Best Supporting Actress: Edith Evans
Best Supporting Actress: Joyce Redman
Best Supporting Actor: Hugh Griffith
★Best Adapted Screenplay: John Osborne
Best Art Direction: Ralph W. Brinton & Ted Marshall; Jocelyn Herbert & Josie MacAvin
★Best Score (Substantially Original): John Addison

Golden Globe Nominations and Winners:
★Best Picture (Musical/Comedy)
Best Director: Tony Richardson
Best Actor (Musical/Comedy): Albert Finney
Best Supporting Actress: Joan Greenwood
Best Supporting Actor: Hugh Griffith
★Most Promising Newcomer (Male): Albert Finney (tie)
★Samuel Goldwyn Award

Other Awards:
Venice Film Festival: Best Actor (Finney)
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actor (Finney)
National Board of Review: Best Picture (English Language); Best Director
British Academy Awards (BAFTAs): Best Picture; Best British Film; Best British Screenplay
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