Chicago Tribune by Gene Siskel

This is a movie that redefines the concept of a family picture. Families should see it together because there will be plenty to talk about regardless of how new your crowd is to this country. [19 Oct 1990, p.C]

Miami Herald by Bill Cosford

Very few moviemakers, I think, could have done the thing quite this well. At the end of Avalon, which is more than two hours long and does not move quickly, the extended and fractious immigrant Krichinsky family has bloomed into fabulous life, the characters deep and rich. [19 Oct 1990, p.G5]

Washington Post by Hal Hinson

With Avalon, Levinson reaches into his deepest self, and an artist can't be asked to do much more.

RogerEbert.com by Roger Ebert

Avalon is often a warm and funny film, but it is also a sad one, and the final sequence is heartbreaking. It shows the way in which our modern families, torn loose of their roots, have left old people alone and lonely--warehoused in retirement homes. The story of the movie is the story of how the warmth and closeness of an extended family is replaced by alienation and isolation.

Portland Oregonian by Ted Mahar

What is appealing in Avalon is what is appealing in Levinson's best films, Diner, Tin Men and Rain Man. He creates relationships with texture. After a half-hour, the viewer feels part of the family, yet has an overview allowing a tolerance for the characters they don't always have for themselves. [19 Oct 1990, p.F04]

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

When Levinson leaves the older generation behind and concentrates on his immediate family, Avalon becomes suffused with the thrill and anxiety of young, postwar Americans approaching life in a way that’s so new it feels like science fiction.

Empire by David Hepworth

Sentimentality creeps in now and again, but Levinson's steady grasp of his city's unique atmosphere makes these moments genuinely moving rather than hokey.

Orlando Sentinel by Jay Boyar

Under the sweet, gooey surface of Avalon there's a more impressive movie yearning to break free - a finely textured movie about how an immigrant man's love of the performing arts produced a grandson who became an important American filmmaker. [22 Oct 1990, p.C1]

Boston Globe by Jay Carr

The film often settles for the sentimental and the anecdotal rather than trying for something richer and deeper, but on those levels it works well enough. Audiences will relate to its warmth and sincerity. Essentially, the film is a series of pages from Levinson's family album and it means something to us because it clearly means something to him. [05 Oct 1990, p.45p]

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

Where Avalon works, as with Diner and Tin Men, is where it's improvisory, comic and most artistically humble.