Whilst renovating his dilapidated home, Aston (Robert Shaw) invites an irritable and devious vagrant (Donald Pleasance) to stay. But, when his ill-tempered brother Mick (Alan Bates) returns, an ominous yet darkly comic power struggle between the trio commences.
A play that changed the face of modern theatre and made Harold Pinter's name, The Caretaker remains one of Pinter’s most famous works. Featuring original production cast members Pleasance and Bates and sensitively directed by Clive Donner (Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush) and shot by Nicolas Roeg, this study of shared illusion, tragic dispossession and the fraternal bond of unspoken love, combines mesmerising performances and the magic of Pinter's dialogue into a spellbinding film.
Extras
Newly restored from the original camera negative by the BFI, and presented here in High Definition and Standard Definition
Audio commentary by actor Alan Bates, director Clive Donner and producer Michael Birkett (2002)
Introduction by critic and author Michael Billington (2002, 6 mins) •
On Location with The Caretaker (1962, 4 mins): an extract from the TV series This Week in Britain
The Caretaker: From Play Into Film (2002, 17 mins): a video essay by Michael Billington, using materials donated by Clive Donner to the BFI National Archive
US opening titles (1963, 2 mins): the opening title sequence from the US where the film was released as The Guest
Last To Go (1969, 6 mins): the last of five animated shorts directed by Gerald Potterton for Pinter People, voiced by Harold Pinter and Donald Pleasence
Harold Pinter’s Play Discussed by Clive Donner (1973, 47 mins): the BAFTA-winning director discusses his adaptation of The Caretaker
