Movie · 1964 · Comedy, Romance · 2h 50m · G · English
Curator score: 7.3/10 (218.3K ratings)
The loverliest motion picture of them all!
Overview
A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.3/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.63/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 95
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
George Cukor
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Theodore Bikel, Mona Washbourne, Isobel Elsom, John Holland, Marni Nixon, Colin Kenny, Bert Stevens, Frank Baker, Marjorie Bennett, Betty Blythe, Arthur Tovey, Al Bain, William Beckley, Lillian Kemble-Cooper
Where to watch
Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A lavish, witty, and often uncomfortable classic musical: the craftsmanship, costumes, and performances are first-rate, even if its class politics and gender dynamics are dated and frequently abrasive. It’s worth watching for the scale, the songs, and the cultural footprint, but it plays best if you’re prepared to read it critically rather than romantically.
Best for
classic musical fans
viewers interested in lavish studio craftsmanship
Audrey Hepburn or Rex Harrison admirers
people who enjoy stories about class, language, and social performance
fans of old-Hollywood spectacle
Skip if
you want a modern, egalitarian romance
you’re sensitive to misogynistic or patronizing dynamics
you dislike long, stage-derived musicals
you prefer fast-paced contemporary storytelling
Overview
My Fair Lady is one of the great examples of old Hollywood at full command of its tools: opulent production design, immaculate costumes, and a polished sense of scale that makes every scene feel expensive. The songs are durable, the performances are iconic, and the film’s social comedy still lands in flashes, especially when it skewers manners, class, and performance itself.
Worth noting
At the same time, the movie’s central relationship is hard to ignore as a power struggle dressed up as refinement. What reads as sparkling banter also carries a lot of cruelty, and modern viewers will likely find the gender politics and elitism more revealing than charming. That tension is part of why the film remains discussed so often.
Bottom line
If you come for the craftsmanship, the musical numbers, and the sheer cultural presence, it delivers. If you come for a warm romance, it’s a much rougher ride. The result is a classic that’s both dazzling and deeply arguable, which may be exactly why it has lasted.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Robin (3★) · 4094 likes
when you hate women so much you sing an extremely gay song
RobotPolarBear (3★) · 4014 likes
A terrifying, blood-curdling story about a working-class woman who is abused, tortured, starved and neglected by a monstrous misogynist psychopath who is so pathologically obsessed with a skewed elitist idea of the purity of the English language that he's willing to completely wreck people's lives over it. She eventually finds her entire being controlled and dominated by him, so much so that even when she finally tries to escape she can't go back to the way she was... and might not even have been able to leave him at all. "Where the devil are my slippers" indeed.
maria (2.5★) · 1474 likes
the conclusion i get from these 3 looong hours is that high society can eat my unprivileged, common, loverly arse
Marian (3.5★) · 1344 likes
british people are so scary
caitlin (1.5★) · 1179 likes
cinematography: wow
misogyny: vomit
costuming: beautiful
elitism: ugly
production design: stunning
zero poc: yikes
overall: a pretty mess.... but still a mess