The film is a way-out, walleyed, wonderful exercise in cinema. It is also a social satire written in blood with a broadaxe.
80
Time Out
Time Out
Osborne's courageous hatchet job on Fielding's 1,000 page classic novel and Finney's gutsy performance add up to produce an enjoyable piece of irreverent entertainment.
Screenwriter John Osborne and Richardson (both received Oscars as well) came up with a smart solution to the problem of adapting an 18th-century literary classic: Turn it into bawdy slapstick with generous helpings of then- daring sex and violence.
It has sex, Eastmancolor, some prime performers and plenty of action. Tony Richardson has directed John Osborne’s screenplay with verve, though, occasionally, he falls back on camera tricks and editing which are disconcerting.
70
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The New YorkerPauline Kael
Tony Richardson whizzes through the Henry Fielding novel, but he pauses long enough for a great lewd eating scene.
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Despite the fitful energy and the beauty of the settings, the ugliness of the mise en scene and the crudity of the editing tend to triumph.