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Movies / On DVD / The Servant
The Servant

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The Servant (1963)

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73 %
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Reviews Counted: 15

Fresh: 11

Rotten:4

Average Rating: 6.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: In THE SERVANT, Joseph Losey's 10th film made in the U.K. after his 1951 blacklisting in the U.S., the powerful undercurrents of class struggle and sexual repression erupt through the very British... In THE SERVANT, Joseph Losey's 10th film made in the U.K. after his 1951 blacklisting in the U.S., the powerful undercurrents of class struggle and sexual repression erupt through the very British patina of civility to expose the poisoned undercurrents of a class-based society. Dirk Bogarde plays Barrett, a seductive and insidious manservant hired by flamboyant playboy Tony (James Fox, in his film debut) to take control of his newly established household. When asked what he wants in a manservant, Tony responds, "Well...everything." And that's just what Barrett takes. As his awe-inspiring efficiency gives way to a suspicious and overarching control, Tony's fiancée, Susan (Wendy Craig), begins to nurture a severe dislike of the omnipresent Barrett. When Barrett brings his girlfriend on as the maid--telling Tony that she is his sister--the inevitable disaster that results sees Barrett (and girlfriend) expelled from the household and Tony left by his fiancée. Alone and left to his own rather debauched devices in his spectacularly appointed bachelor pad, Tony eventually rehires Barrett and the role reversal becomes complete as the two reestablish the household--however, now with Barrett seemingly at its head. Losey's pessimistic obsession with character and the English class system is cynically crystallized in this ironic allegory penned by Harold Pinter, based on the novel by Robin Maugham. [More]

Starring: Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig

Starring: Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig

Director: Joseph Losey

Director: Joseph Losey

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Release:

Dec 18, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Servant

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1 - 15 (sorted by date)
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A masterful cat and mouse game.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/18/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Opaque but hypnotically absorbing allegory of power, exploitation, and sublimated sexuality in a class-based society.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/16/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The Servant is for the most part strong dramatic fare, though the atmosphere and tension is not fully sustained to the end.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/16/08
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/12/07
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Certainly difficult to define, this period piece messes with genres, power relationships and your head.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine

Neither Pinter's pregnant dialogue nor the generally svelte performances can disguise the fact that there's less here than meets the eye and ear.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
08/10/05
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
07/17/05
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
06/30/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/13/05
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
05/01/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/03
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

The formidable triumvirate of Bogarde, Losey and Pinter each stamp their personalities on this deliciously unpleasant film.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Jon Fortgang
Channel 4 Film

It is a flesh-creeping demonstration of human destructiveness that Mr. Pinter and Mr. Losey are presenting in this film, and it is made all the more horrifying by the genteel surroundings in which it occurs.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is very studied and smooth, even though it deals in sexual hysteria; it could use some of the roughness and drive of Losey's early work.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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