Caretaker, The

Alternative title: Guest, The
Synopsis: Based on the play by Harold Pinter in which a tramp moves in with two brothers. The play was first performed in 1960 and the shooting of this film began two years later. Two cast members of the original production, Alan Bates as Mick and Donald Pleasence as Davies, are joined by Robert Shaw as Aston. The film is a study of shared illusion, tragic dispossession and a fraternal bond of unspoken love. The film enhances both the play’s realism and its metaphorical richness. In part, Pinter’s play is about pipe dreams: Davies’ dream of getting to Sidcup, Mick’s of transforming the shabby room into a penthouse, Aston’s of building a shed in the back garden. In the film the gulf between dream and reality is constantly exposed. The dramatisation lasts for 100 minutes and there are 26 minutes of extra material: an introduction by Michael Billington; on location with THE CARETAKER (1962); Michael Billington talking about the making of THE CARETAKER, using materials donated by Clive Donner to the Special Collections archive of the British Film Institute.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2002
Year of production: 1963
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: drama - contemporary; Pinter, Harold

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