The Servant Blu-ray - Dirk Bogarde

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Joseph Losey
UK 1963

The 4K UHD package of Losey's The Servant is compared to Criterion's 2023 Blu-ray HERE

Wealthy wastrel James Fox hires insouciant cockney Dirk Bogarde as a valet. No sooner has he donned his working clothes than Bogarde begins exercising a subtle but insidious control over his master. Suggesting that the house could use a little fixing up, Bogarde convinces Fox to spend a whopping amount of money on it. But this is just a warm-up session for Bogarde, who by mid-film is calling all the shots in the Fox household, all the while pretending to keep his place. Fox's fiance Wendy Craig sees through Bogarde's game. Bogarde then brings his own lady friend Sarah Miles into the house. At Bogarde's insistence, Miles seduces Fox, thereby loosening Craig's hold on the confused young man. And so it goes. The homosexual subtext of The Servant disturbed some of the more hidebound critics of 1963; Harold Pinter based his cryptic screenplay on a novel by Robin Maugham.

Posters

Theatrical Release: November, 1963 - UK

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Comparison:

Studio Canal - Region 2 - PAL vs. Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Pieter Boven and Gregory Meshman for the DVD Screen Caps!

1) Studio Canal - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT

2) Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers			Coming to the UK on Blu-ray by Studio Canal in September 2021: and in a Collector's 4K UHD edition: Criterion released a 2023 Blu-ray here:
Distribution	Studio Canal Region 2 - PAL	Anchor Bay Region 1 - NTSC	Studio Canal Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:50:37 (4% PAL speedup)	1:55:12	1:55:21.915
Video	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.46 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.56 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 / 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,909,612,649 bytes Feature: 22,394,088,000 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Average Bitrate: 22.01 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Studio Canal
Bitrate: Anchor Bay
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 930 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 930 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio German 1420 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1420 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	French, none	None	English, German, French, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Studio Canal Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • French or English menus • Filmographies of Jospeh Losey, Dirk Bogarde, Sarah Miles & James Fox • Trailer • Photo gallery DVD Release Date: November 30, 2000 Keepcase Chapters 8	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Biographies and filmographies of Jospeh Losey, Dirk Bogarde, Harold Pinter • Trailer DVD Release Date: December 18, 2001 Keepcase Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Studio Canal 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,909,612,649 bytes Feature: 22,394,088,000 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Average Bitrate: 22.01 Mbps Edition Details: • James Fox interviewed by Richard Ayoade (45:26 in 576i) • Interview with Wendy Craig (5:26 in 576i) • Interview with Sarah Miles (10:18 in 576i) • Interview with Stephen Wooley (fan of the film) (10:34) • Harry Burton (Pinter expert) on Harold Pinter (13:02) • John Coldstream (Bogarde biographer) on Dirk Bogarde (18:37) • Audio interview with Douglas Slocombe (Director of photography) (19:18) • Joseph Losey and Adolfas Mekas at the New York film festival (27:59) • Harold Pinter Tempo interview (30:20) • Joseph Losey talks about The Servant (5:41) • Stills gallery • Trailer (2:38) • 18-page liner notes booklet case Blu-ray Release Date: April 8th, 2013 Bookstyle Blu-ray case Chapters 12

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

The 4K UHD package of Losey's The Servant is compared to Criterion's 2023 Blu-ray HERE

ADDITION: Studio Canal - Region 'B' Blu-ray - June 2013': Whopping improvement over the SD transfers. Studio Canal's 1080P has wonderful contrast and shows some grain textures. Whites are brighter, blacks darker and there is more information in the 1.66:1 frame. The original English audio, and an included German DUB, are in lossless. There are optional subtitles on the region 'B' locked Blu-ray disc.

The European disc is stacked with over 3-hours of extras - mostly in the form of interviews with principals or experts on Pinter or Losey. There are all in 576i resolution. The package is a smart book-style case with 18-pages of liner notes. Brilliant offering from Studio Canal. Stellar a/v and endless, important supplements. Strongly recommended!

***

ON THE DVDs: This French edition seems to be out of print and is replaced by a digipack with a different cover and a new extra, analysis of the film by French critic Jean Douchet (in French no doubt). I assume the transfer is the same ( as this Studio Canal version), but I can't give any guarantees.

- Pieter Boven

The Studio Canal version is brighter and marginally tighter and sharper. It also has superior contrast. I see no significant cropping on either. The French Region 2 has French subtitles (and optional French/English menus) and the Anchor Bay has no subs. There is original mono audio on both. I suppose the Studio Canal inches ahead on Extras with the 'photo gallery' inclusion. Go with the Studio Canal edition!

- Gary Tooze

Menus

(Studio Canal - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)