Critic Reviews
70
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
6(60%)
mixed
3(30%)
negative
1(10%)
Showing 10 Critic Reviews
All Reviews
All Reviews
Metascore
Metascore
90
Tony Richardson’s 1960 The Entertainer, based on the John Osborne play, is a cultural event of the first importance.
88
Certainly none of Olivier's other contemporary film characters matches Archie's resonances. We're lucky to still have The Entertainer. [04 Aug 1989, p.41]
80
It works out to a fascinating picture, for one reason because of its superior illustrative performance and, for another, because of its striking mise en scène.
80
Richardson's direction of this unhappy little gem gives off the appropriate dull glimmer while being economical and inventive.
80
Olivier is truly remarkable in his portayal of the hammy actor, anti-hero Archie.
70
The film errs in many ways, and at times the editing seems glaringly poor, but Olivier's performance gives it venomous excitement.
60
Tony Richardson, the director, makes several mistakes. But he has a sharp perception of camera angles, stimulates some good performances and, particularly, whips up an excellent atmosphere of a smallish British seaside resort.
60
Excellent support from Alan Bates, Albert Finney, and Joan Plowright, but Richardson's direction drags more than a bit.
50
John Osborne's quirky indictment of '50s stagnation still looks stagebound, despite extensive location shooting and the cool, inventive photography of Oswald Morris. Too many words, too many tantrums, too much kitchen-sink sentimentality; yet there are moments when this looks like a good film.
30
The boredom of British film realism is indescribable. I was yawning, and turning around, and fidgeting--what an experience! [08 Dec 1960, p.11]
