Considered by many to be one of the greatest British films of the last century, Joseph Losey’s The Servant features BAFTA-winning performances from Dirk Bogarde and James Fox as servant and master in this taut drama exploring class conflicts and sexual tensions in a west London townhouse in 1960s London.
Marking the first of three collaborations between director Joseph Losey and celebrated playwright Harold Pinter, The Servant was adapted from Robin Maugham’s short story and features stunning black & white cinematography by Douglas Slocombe (The Lavender Hill Mob, Kind Hearts & Coronets, Indiana Jones) and a fantastic soundtrack by composer John Dankworth (The Avengers, Darling). Sly, seductive manservant Barrett (Bogarde: The Blue Lamp, Darling, Accident) worms his way in to the affections of foppish aristocrat Tony (Fox: Performance, A Passage to India). His awe-inspiring efficiency cleverly masks his true intentions, ultimately giving way to a suspicious and insidious control where the roles of master and servant are reversed.
Cited by Bong Joon Ho as one of five films that influenced his Oscar-winning masterpiece Parasite, The Servant is considered ahead of its time for its ambitious cinematography and its exploration of class and sexual politics, and is a thrilling and ingenious British classic that’s not to be missed.
