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Movies / On DVD / Arthur
Arthur

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Arthur (1981)

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Reviews Counted:27

Fresh:24

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Arthur, a very rich, drunken ne'er-do-well, falls in love with a working-class shoplifter just as he is scheduled to marry a properly pedigreed society member. But if he doesn't marry the heiress,... Arthur, a very rich, drunken ne'er-do-well, falls in love with a working-class shoplifter just as he is scheduled to marry a properly pedigreed society member. But if he doesn't marry the heiress, he will not inherit a $750 million trust. So Arthur turns to his loyal butler, who is slowly dying, for help. The butler wishes to see Arthur prevail and so manipulates a situation in which the true lovers will come together--and get the loot. But that is a lot easier said than done. ARTHUR is a charming romantic comedy that features the role that Dudley Moore was born to play. Whether taking limo trips through Central Park with prostitutes, playing with his train set, having a bath in a top hat, or wanting just a tuna-fish sandwich, Arthur, perfectly portrayed by Moore, is one of the most likable onscreen characters in cinema history. John Gielgud as his loyal, dry-witted butler is an out-and-out riot. And Liza Minnelli turns in one of her sweetest performances as the woman Arthur's family demands he stop dating. Steve Gordon's film is an absolute joy to watch, a perfect piece of celluloid entertainment that never fails to please no matter how many times one has seen it. [More]

Starring: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald

Starring: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald, John Coleman

Director: Steve Gordon

Director: Steve Gordon

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Arthur

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Watch and enjoy, but avoid the completely disastrous sequel.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/08
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Overrated one-joke comedy.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unfortunately, by the end, saccharine dilutes much of the whiskey sour.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Moviegoers are hereby alerted to some good fun.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/22/08
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Moore is predictable as the spoiled scion of wealth, Minnelli is terrific as his candid sweetheart, but Gielgud's loyal yet sarcastic servant steals the film.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/01/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So little care has gone into the characterizations, the structure, and the situations that the film merely feints at significant comedy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/01/08
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

No. 1 on my list of favorite comedies. One of the funniest ever made.

comment Comment
08/04/07
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/10/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

A modern screwball comedy, in the vein of My Man Godfrey and other Depression era gems, Arthur was written and directed by Steve Gordon, who received an Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/28/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/10/05
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
01/17/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Only someone with a heart of stone could fail to love a drunk like Arthur Bach.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Moore is a great, funny drunk...even though it is all so politically incorrect now.

comment Comment
10/15/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
07/14/04
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

One will delightfully get drunk between the moon and New York City by drinking up the spry essence in Gordon's romantic comedy Arthur

comment Comment
06/26/04
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

No review available.

comment Comment
03/23/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Simply comedy cold.

comment Comment
02/05/04
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

Arthur touches both the heart and the funny bone.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/31/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

It's the movie we'll forever know Dudley Moore for -- and the late John Gielgud, too, who is put out to pasture about halfway through this classic comedy.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/05/03
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Arthur

February 26, 2009: Warners Hires Baynham for Arthur Remake Opens in new window
Warner Bros. is moving ahead with its Russell Brand-led remake of "Arthur," hiring "Borat" co-writer Peter Baynham to pen the screenplay. More...

December 04, 2008: Russell Brand Preps Arthur Remake Opens in new window
Yes, it's another in the endless list of remakes, but it makes oddly perfect sense: Russell Brand is developing a new version of the 1981 Dudley Moore/Liza Minnelli comedy... More...

See All

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