Download the new artwork by Edward Kinsella: here
Watch the new trailer: here
To celebrate the centenary of British acting legend Dirk Bogarde, STUDIOCANAL is thrilled to announce a brand new 4K restoration of Joseph Losey’s ground-breaking classic THE SERVANT, which will receive its UK Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival on 19th August.
The multiple BAFTA-winning film, which has been meticulously restored will be released in UK cinemas on 10th September followed by a 4K UHD collector’s edition Blu-Ray, DVD & Digital release on 20th September. Theatrical releases for the film are also planned in France and in the US with Rialto Pictures, with Home Entertainment releases rolling out across STUDIOCANAL’s territories following the UK release in September.
Based on the screenplay by revered playwright Harold Pinter, THE SERVANT stars beloved British actor Dirk Bogarde (THE BLUE LAMP, DARLING, ACCIDENT) in the title role, alongside James Fox (A PASSAGE TO INDIA, THE CHASE), Sarah Miles (THE BIG SLEEP, RYAN’S DAUGHTER) and Wendy Craig (THE NANNY, THE MIND BENDERS).
Cited by Bong Joon Ho as one of five films that influenced his masterpiece PARASITE, THE SERVANT is considered ahead of its time for its ambitious cinematography and its exploration of class and sexual politics in 1960s Britain. It boasts stunning cinematography from Douglas Slocombe (THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS), a fantastic soundtrack by composer John Dankworth (THE AVENGERS, DARLING) and is considered by many to be one of the greatest British films of the last century.
SYNOPSIS:
Sexual tensions and class conflicts run high in must-see classic THE SERVANT with BAFTA-winning performances from Dirk Bogarde and James Fox.
Marking the first of three collaborations between director Joseph Losey and celebrated playwright Harold Pinter, THE SERVANT follows sly and seductive manservant Barrett (Bogarde) as he worms his way in to the affections of foppish aristocrat Tony (Fox). Barrett’s 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.
Adapted from Robin Maugham’s short story and with stunning black & white photography from cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, THE SERVANT is a thrilling and ingenious British classic that’s not to be missed.
Release Dates:
UK Theatrical – 10th September 2021
UK Home Entertainment – 20th September 2021
France Home Entertainment – 29th September 2021
France Theatrical – Q1 2022 – date TBC
Germany Home Entertainment – 23rd September 2021
Australia / New Zealand Home Entertainment – Date TBC
4K UHD COLLECTOR’S EDITION BLU-RAY
The special UHD collector’s edition Blu-ray presented in both 1.66 and 1.77 aspect ratios, offers exciting bonus content including a brand-new video essay with Matthew Sweet and Phuong Le, a new location featurette with Adam Scovell, a Richard Ayoade interview with James Fox, plus interviews and commentaries with cast, crew and industry experts. The full list of extras includes:
- NEW: Video essay with Matthew sweet and Phuong Lee
- NEW: Location featurette with Adam Scovell
- NEW: Trailer
- Stills Gallery
- James Fox interviewed by Richard Ayoade
- Interview with Wendy Craig
- Interview with Sarah Miles
- Interview with Stephen Woolley
- Harry Burton on Harold Pinter
- John Coldstream on Dirk Bogarde
- Audio interview with Douglas Slocombe conducted by Matthew Sweet
- Joseph Losey & Adolphus Mekas at the New York Film Festival in 1963
- Harold Pinter Tempo Interview
- Joseph Losey talks about THE SERVANT
- 64-page booklet with essays from Peter Bradshaw & Anna Smith
ABOUT THE RESTORATION
Scanned from the original negative on the ARRI 4K, the restoration was completed at Silver Salt, taking 450 hours. In-depth manual repair was undertaken on certain reels, some requiring significant stabilising and dirt clean-up work and sections of the film were wet-gate scanned and scratch fixed. The film was also graded in Dolby Vision in order to capture more detail and contrast than ever before.
ABOUT STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series, operating directly in all three major European markets – France, the United Kingdom and Germany – as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important film libraries in the world, boasting nearly, 6,000 titles from 60 countries. Spanning 100 years of film history, this vast and unique catalogue includes among others the iconic Terminator 2, Rambo, Breathless, Mulholland Drive, The Pianist, The Graduate, The Third Man and Belle de jour.
STUDIOCANAL has fully financed box office hits Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Paddington 1 and 2, Non-Stop and Shaun the Sheep Movie. Upcoming films backed by STUDIOCANAL include Will Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy, Augustine Frizzell’s The Last Letter from your Lover adapted from Jojo Moyes’ best-selling novel, Navot Papushado’s female action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake and Gil Kenan’s live action A Boy called Christmas.
STUDIOCANAL is actively producing and developing a slate of premium international TV series in-house, as well as through its network of award-winning subsidiary production companies, which includes Germany’s TANDEM Productions (Shadowplay), the UK’s RED Production Company (Years and Years, It’s a Sin, Finding Alice), URBAN MYTH FILMS (War of the Worlds) and Spain’s BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES (Instinto). The company is also an associate of Danish-based SAM Productions founded by Søren Sveistrup, Adam Price, and Meta Louise Foldager (Ride Upon the Storm) and Benedict Cumberbatch’s SUNNYMARCH TV (Patrick Melrose).
STUDIOCANAL produces more than 200 hours of TV series each year distributing productions and CANAL+ Creation Originale worldwide with 1,000 hours of current and library content in distribution.
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