British New Wave practitioner Tony Richardson's rumbustious Oscar BEST PICTURE champ has been degraded to something of a damp squib half an century later since its triumph is deemed as "unworthy" by general opinion, in IMDB it holds a 6.7/10, quite a nadir for a redoubtable title-holder. But if a viewer gives it a try with this scrumptiously restored Blu-Ray edition (retrofitted with Dolby Stereo), the consensus is, at the very least, a resplendent period treat enveloped with ample, lilting, euphonious selections to please one's ears and a carefree comedy-of-errors as much beholden to a unique faux-naïf whiff of British nobility as to its often vacuous, non-sensical happenings, which are transmuted from Henry Fielding's 18th century source novel THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING.Our young hero Tom Jones (Finney), whose parentage is the film's best kept secret, is a foundling adopted by Squire Allworthy (Devine), in due time he wins the heart of the young lady Sophie Western (York) with his chivalry, but also has no qualms about copping off with a luscious Molly Seagrim (Cilento), the daughter of a local peasant, and even gallantly defends her names on the back of his black horse, an atypical knight-in-the-shining-armor, the truth is, Tom is a magnetized draw toward the opposite site, which the film flogs to death through the mouths of his many a female admirer, but as fresh-faced as he is, Finney's dreamboat quotient is not potent enough, his appearance often betrays a tinge of sophistication which will mature tangibly with time, ergo, it becomes slightly vexing in this nominal "female gaze" outlook that tapers into frivolity, once Tom sets his foot on his own to explore the world. On the one hand, it looks bizarre now, that the film holds an unmatched record by securing three Oscar nominations in BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS category (with no win though), granted that the film does present a menagerie of vivacious, delicious and colorful personages: a transmogrified Cilento is a brazen sight to behold; Dame Edith Evans is right on the nose as Sophie's spinster aunt, a moralistic do-gooder cannot be bothered even by a pistol-wielding footpad; Joyce Redman makes splashes with her infamous duet with Finney in their food partaking flirtation as Mrs. Waters, and is spared with an incestuous scandal in the final reveal, apart from those aforementioned three Oscar-nominated ladies, a Golden Globe-nominated Joan Greenwood doesn't cede her reign to anyone else as the amoral Lady Bellaston, but in the event, every character, including the bibulous luvvie Hugh Griffith as Sophie's fatuous father, David Warner's vicious turn in his screen debut and a scene-stealing David Tomlinson as Lord Fellamar who is blatantly ready to ravish his object of desire, even the two leads Tom and Sophie, is wanting of a magic potion which would lend them some substance other than a caricature or a skin-deep nonentity. On the other hand, Richardson maxes out his aptitude to marshal this picture into a resounding spectacle other than the usual suspect of a knockabout ruckus, from its beguiling silent skit opening to the sweeping grandness of a deer hunting hoopla, and to the riveting sword fights, to say nothing of its opulent decorations and garments, one must hand it to him for his audacity and faculty in burnishing this episodic shaggy-dog story as integral as it could be, notwithstanding the shark-jumping ending is visibly rushed, and that final illegitimate-status-to-noble-extraction volte-face is such a conformable device rightfully harking back to the novel's antediluvian provenance.

I recently watched this movie again and it was still as enjoyable as the first time.It was during my final year at Grammar School that I was lucky enough to be able to appear as an extra during the execution scene. As one of the four drummer boys leading Tom's tumbril to the gallows I experienced film making 1960's style up close.The three days on set are still some of my most memorable experiences.

It's 18th century England. Squire Allworthy returns to his estate after months away in London. He finds a baby in his bed. It is declared to be from his servant Jenny Jones. He decides to send her away and raise the baby with his sister Bridget as part of the family. The baby grows up to be the charming Tom Jones (Albert Finney). He and Sophie Western (Susannah York) falls in love but her family rejects him. They prefer she marries Bridget's son Blifil (David Warner). Squire Allworthy provides some inheritance for Tom to seek his own fortune. Due to misfortunes and family intrigue, Tom struggles in the world. Sophie runs away from Blifil to search for Tom.This is a adaptation of an 18th century novel. It takes the material with some interesting modern aspects. It is bodied. It is inherently a comedy although it's not out loud funny. It has some quirks. It's more of a drama. Finney makes this compelling. It's a critic and academy favorite.

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.