The Servant

Opaque but hypnotically absorbing allegory of power, exploitation, and sublimated sexuality in a class-based society. British screenwriter Harold Pinter and expatriate American director Joseph Losey (he'd run afoul of anti-Communist witch-hunters in the US) married disparate sensibilities to tell the story of a dissipated Cockney servant (Dirk Bogarde) who trades roles with his master (James Fox), a classically effete aristocrat.

Although THE SERVANT's critical reputation has declined in recent years, it was initially received as an important, groundbreaking film, and won British Academy Awards for Best Actor (Bogarde), Most Promising Newcomer (Fox), and Best Ci...