Arthur

1981

Action / Comedy / Romance

17
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 77% · 35 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 77% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 33227 33.2K

new york city waitress butler theft comic drunk hilarious

Plot summary

Arthur is a 30-year-old child who will inherit $750 million if he complies with his family's demands and marries the woman of their choosing.

Director

Steve Gordon Photo
Steve Gordon

Top cast

Geraldine Fitzgerald Photo
Geraldine Fitzgerald as Martha Bach
Anne De Salvo Photo
Anne De Salvo as Gloria
John Doolan Photo
John Doolan as Kid in Street
Tony Devon Photo
Tony Devon as Linda's Chauffeur
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
805.97 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 4
1.53 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 37 min
Seeds 30

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by KnightsofNi11 7 / 10

Satisfying romantic comedy

If you look back on the romantic comedy genre you can see that it's really gone downhill these days. Rom-coms of the 21st century have no heart, no soul, and certainly no brain. Arthur is a film that represents a more illustrious and heartfelt age of romantic comedies. Dudley Moore plays Arthur, a charming, funny, and lovable millionaire who also happens to be a compulsive drunk. He spends his days taking hot baths in a bathtub big enough for an elephant as well as driving around town living an exciting and carefree life. But his drunken antics are pulled to a halt when his father tells him that unless he marries the girl his family has arranged for him to wed his unlimited funds will be cut off. But that very same day Arthur meets the girl of his dreams and must make a life changing choice.Arthur is a film with a lot of heart. Its storyline is sincere and its characters are believable. You'll instantly fall in love with the wild and exuberant Arthur, but more so his sarcastic and witty servant Hobson, played by John Gielgud in a magnificent Oscar winning performance. Liza Minnelli plays Linda, Arthur's love interest and she does just as excellent job and delivers a heartwarmingly funny performance with the rest of the cast.Arthur also reminds us of a time when comedies didn't have to be so crude to be funny. Laughs are always about shock value these days, but Arthur manages to be clever and it's comedy comes from an intelligent script and great actors. Arthur isn't hilarious but it's sufficiently entertaining and is good for plenty of sincere laughs. Obviously the film as a whole is no masterpiece, but as far as romantic comedies go it's better than anything we might see today. It's a little sappy, very predictable, and it's characters are pretty easy to dissect on the base level. But Arthur isn't striving to be much. It's aim is to make us laugh and give us a heartwarming story. It does both of these things, so I would say it is a very successful film.
Reviewed by Isaac5855 8 / 10

Dudley Moore Proves he's a Comic Powerhouse

The late Dudley Moore had the most famous role of his too-short career in 1981's ARTHUR, a raucously funny and alternately touching tale that generates warm smiles, big belly-laughs, and an occasional tear if you're in the right mood. Moore received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as Arthur Bach, a drunken playboy who "races cars, plays tennis, fondles women, but he has weekends off and he's his own boss." Arthur is destined to inherit 750 million dollars when he marries a snooty society girl named Susan Johnston (Jill Eikenberry)who is the spoiled daughter of an undercover gangster. Things get sticky when Arthur meets Linda Morolla (Liza Minnelli) a waitress/struggling actress from Queens who steals neckties for her father's birthday. Moore lights up the screen in one of the single funniest performances of the last 50 years. The late Sir John Gielgud won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his flawless turn as Arthur's acid-tongued butler and best friend, Hobson, whose outward disdain for Arthur's behavior covers more paternal feelings. There are other funny contributions by Barney Martin as Linda's father. Stephen Elliott as Susan's father, and Geraldine Fitzgerald as Arthur's demented grandmother. The film was directed with a keen eye for comedy by a first time director named Steve Gordon, who, sadly, died the following the year. There was also a forgettable sequel several years later, but this instant classic is not to be missed.
Reviewed by safenoe 7 / 10

The best that you can do

Whenever I remember Arthur, a movie released over 40 years ago, Christopher Cross's theme comes to mind. Anyway, Dudley Moore quite hilarious in Arthur and Liza Minelli gave the soft edge needed to round out the movie.The sequel was so and so.
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