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Films by Harold
Pinter
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The Servant 1963 Directed by Joseph Losey Starring: Dirk Bogarde, James Fox and Sarah Miles Based on the short story by Robin Maugham Screenplay by Harold Pinter published in Collected Screenplays 1 In The Servant (Warner) Losey and Pinter together
have pushed through a lot of barriers. The thing that is most
exhilarating about the film is that it has been written by someone
who is obviously excited by the cinema and made by someone who
obviously respects words. Losey doesn't see language is the enemy
of images, and I am sure that he is right. |
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| In everything that Harold Pinter writes
the most important things he has to say are unspoken and, in some
ways, unspeakable.
He indulges in a form of artistic foul play which consists of hitting you below the level of consciousness, which is why it is always so difficult to say what any of his stories are about. Mr Bogarde seizes his part like a hungry man confronted by his first square meal in years. Dispensing with the easy cuteness that has earned him his popularity, Mr Bogarde gives us a heart-cooling portrait of the underdog having his day. Thomas Wiseman, Sunday Express |
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Not only does Pinter use words like sequins to glitter darkly on the surface and suggest depths beneath but he devises two conversation pieces within a smart setting and a country house that show him at his funniest. The Servant is the best British film I have seen this year. Richard Roud, The Guardian
It is rare to find a film which is both elegant and tough; corrosive yet compassionate; visually exciting and yet meaningful; brilliant and profound. Rarer still is the film which deals with moral problems on any but a superficial level. And that is why The Servant is a masterpiece. Alexander Walker, Evening Standard
Further Reading ''Harold Pinter's film version of The Servant: Adapting Robin Maugham's novel for the screen.' by Steven H.Gale (Pinter Review 1990) |
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