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Classic Screening,

The cast of The Servant reunite for its 50th Anniversary Restoration screening & QA with James Fox, Wendy Craig and Sarah Miles hosted by Richard Ayoade

The Servant is one of my favourite and most memorable films of its time. It is as dark and twisted as it is unique, an upstairs downstairs tale that takes a dark psychological turn in swinging 60s London, as agendas are revealed and the balance of power between two men cruelly shifts.
The Servant is a timeless classic and the first of three films born out of a great cinematic partnership - with Joseph Losey directing and Harold Pinter writing. In terms of talent it rarely gets as great at The Servant -  Losey directing a screenplay written by Pinter adapting a book by Robin Maugham with James Fox, Dirk Bogarde and Sarah Miles in lead roles. After The Servant, Losey and Pinter went on to make Accident and The Go-Between as well as Pinter contributed to Losey's 1966 comedic Modesty Blaise.

The Servant Film Poster

The Servant engages with its audience as one is never sure of the next turn it could take or how far one man could fall as the true nature of the men reveals itself. The Servant has moments of despair as well as poignantly touching hints at hope to push you to the other extreme. Brilliantly played out by the legendary James Fox and Dirk Bogarde who are the living embodiment of the men they are portraying.

The Servant Dirk Bogarde watches over a sleeping James Fox (Click to enlarge)

As well as the digitally restored 50th Anniversary big screen re-release in selected cinemas from this Friday March 22 the restored The Servant will be released onto DVD, Blu-ray and EST on 8 April, 2013. Studio Canal will also be releasing the second collaboration between Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter - Accident onto DVD, Blu-ray and EST on the same day 8 April, 2013.
Curzon Mayfair presents The Servant plus Q&A with James Fox, Wendy Craig and Sarah Miles on Sunday 24 March 2.45pm

Join the Curzon Mayfair for a special screening of Joseph Losey’s The Servant, which marked the start of what became one of the most potent creative partnerships of British 1960s cinema. Losey and acclaimed playwright-turned-screenwriter Harold Pinter united to create a disturbing tale of seduction, sexual and social tension and psychological control. Acclaimed director/actor Richard Ayoade (Submarine, The IT Crowd) will introduce the screening, which will be followed by a post-screening discussion with cast members James Fox, Wendy Craig and Sarah Miles. The discussion will be moderated by Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw.

Photo The Servant James Fox as Tony & Sarah Miles as Vera (Click to enlarge)

A tale of manipulation, class conflict and sexual jealousy, Joseph Losey’s classic, adapted by Harold Pinter from Robin Maugham’s novel, is one of the finest British films of the 1960s. Dirk Bogarde plays Hugo, a manservant recently employed by a bored aristocrat (James Fox). Surly at best, Hugo gradually takes over the house, reducing his master to a state of complete submission. Pinter’s sparse dialogue allows Losey to create a taut, unsettling psychological drama.


The Servant plus Q&A with James Fox, Wendy Craig and Sarah Miles

Where:
Curzon Mayfair, 38 Curzon Street, London, W1J 7TY

When:
Sunday 24 March 2.45pm at Curzon Mayfair

For more information and tickets head over to:
http://www.curzoncinemas.com/events/details/1589/the-servant-qa-with-james-fox-wendy-craig-and-sarah-miles/

The Servant James Fox in the pub (Click to enlarge)

UPCOMING STUDIO CANAL HOME RELEASES:

The Servant Losey Poster

8 April, 2013 : The Servant – 50th Anniversary - DVD, Studiocanal Collection Blu-ray & EST
Tony (James Fox), a wealthy young Londoner, hires Hugo Barrett (Dirk Bogarde) as his manservant. Initially,  Barrett appears to take easily to his new job, and he and Tony form a quiet bond, retaining their social roles. Relationships begin shifting, however, and they change with the introduction of Susan (Wendy Craig), Tony's girlfriend, who seems to be suspicious of Barrett and to loathe all he represents. Barrett brings Vera (Sarah Miles), whom he presents as his sister, into Tony's household as a maidservant, but it emerges that Vera is actually Barrett's lover. Through Barrett's and Vera's games and machinations, they reverse roles with Tony and Susan; Tony becomes more and more dissipated, sinking further into what he perceives as their level, as the "master" and the "servant" exchange roles

DVD Extras: 
- James Fox interviewed by Richard Ayoade

- Interview with Wendy Craig
- Interview with Sarah Miles
- Audio interview with Douglas Slocombe (Director of photography)
- Harold Pinter Tempo interview
- Joseph Losey talks about The Servant
- Stills gallery
- Trailer


Blu-ray Extras: 
All DVD extras above plus

- Interview with Stephen Wooley (fan of the film)
- Harry Burton (Pinter expert) on Harold Pinter
- Joseph Losey and Adolfas Mekas at the New York film festival
- John Coldstream (Bogarde biographer) on Dirk Bogarde

Accident Losey Poster

8 April, 2013 : Accident - DVD, Blu-ray & EST
The second of director Joseph Losey’s collaborations with playwright Harold Pinter, The Accident is a taut, dark, brilliantly acted dissection of the emotional lives of the English intelligentsia. Dirk Bogarde stars as Stephen, an Oxford Philosophy lecturer, contentedly married to Rosalind but silently resentful of his colleague Charley, whose star is rising as a TV pundit. Among Stephen's students is the casually charming young aristocrat William (Michael York) who has his eye on another of Stephen's charges, Austrian princess Anna (Jacqueline Sassard). Motivated by a dangerous mixture of admiration and envy, Stephen facilitates a meeting between William and Anna. But Stephen's gently magnanimous demeanour conceals a rising tide of anxiety, self-centredness and sexual desperation. Over the course of one drink-drenched summer afternoon in the rolling English countryside, Stephen and Charley's unspoken impulses - charged up by the seductive presence of Anna - break the veneer of English civility

Extras: 
– Talking About Accident documentary featuring an interview with Harry Pinter / Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter discuss Accident (1957) / Dirk Bogarde biographer John Coldstream discussing Dirk Bogarde
– NEW / Harry Pinter expert Harry Burton discussing Harold Pinter
– NEW / Interview with feminist author and academic Melanie Williams
– NEW /  Interview with film critic Tim Robey

Entertaining Mr Sloane Poster

8 April Entertaining Mr Sloane - DVD only
A deliciously dark and humorous story about manipulation and repressed sexuality from controversial playwright Joe Orton. An attractive young charmer by the name of Mr. Sloane weasels his way into the lives of a middle-aged brother and sister, while trying to disguise the truth about his unpleasant past. Sexual tension drives the plot from the very beginning, when the lonely Kath (Beryl Reid) spots Mr. Sloane (Peter McEnery) in a cemetery and invites him to become a boarder. Despite the age difference, Sloane coyly plays along with her flirtations for his own benefit. Their fun seems over when Kath's brother Ed (Harry Andrews) shows up, but the prim and proper gentleman also takes a shine to Sloane, hiring him as his chauffeur and taking particular interest in the young man's tight leather uniform. Kath and Ed's elderly father, however, develops a strong hatred of Sloane, and accuses to him of being involved in an old, unsolved murder.

Extras: Eamonn Andrews talks with Joe Orton (Eamonn Andrews chat show episode) / trailer


The Establishing Shot: THE CAST OF THE SERVANT REUNITE FOR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY RESTORATION SCREENING & QA WITH JAMES FOX, WENDY CRAIG AND SARAH MILES HOSTED BY RICHARD AYOADE

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