Joseph Losey Collection (1951 - 76)



An 8 disc, 8 film collection of some of the very best works of director Joseph Losey. Optimum UK. R2 DVD.

The Films


In Brief

Anyone famous involved? Several appearances from British actors Stanley Baker and Dirk Bogarde. Michael York, Alain Delon, John Drew Barrymore, Julie Christie and Alan Bates all appear.
Who is it for? With many films considered Losey's very best - including his amazing trilogy written by Harold Pinter: The Servant, Accident and The Go-Between - this set is a must-have for any Losey fans. Any fans of art house cinema will do well to explore the highly varied director's work and this selection of films makes for a great place to start.


The DVDs

Visuals Original Aspect Ratios - anamorphic widescreen where applicable. Colour and Black & White
The prints are of generally strong quality. Some of the earlier titles have minor damage but always look very good.
Audio English mono for all films except Mr Klein, that has French mono.
Subtitles English provided for the whole of Mr Klein, plus as infill for Eva where a few brief scenes are in Italian.
Extras The discs include:
  • With Criminal - Joseph Losey and the Criminal - a documentary presented by French film critic Michel Ciment, including an interview with Losey's wife Patricia. Covers much of Losey's career with the particular focus on Criminal. Certainly worth watching. Largely in French with optional English subtitles. (28 minutes)
  • With Accident - Interviews with writer Harold Pinter and cameraman Gerry Fisher as well as archive clips of interviews with Losey. Commentary from a French film critic and narration in French. (33 minutes)
  • With Servant - Interview with film expert Ian Christie. (20 minutes)
  • Original trailers for Accident, Criminal, Eva, Mr Klein and The Servant.
Region Region 2 (UK, Europe) - PAL
Availability Only Accident and The Servant available as a single disc from Optimum. Accident, The Servant and Sleeping Tiger are also available in the Dirk Bogarde Collection. The Go-Between is available as a single disc, and as part of the Julie Christie collection, but is an inferior print to that presented here - see the review for more details.
Other regions? Most of the titles are available on other DVD releases, although these generally represent the best quality discs available - see individual reviews for more information.
Cuts? All films are believed to be fully uncut - Eva is uncut as per the original theatrical print, but this was cut down by up to an hour from Losey's original cut - this version is now believed lost.
Print languages English except for Mr Klein and Eva which are in French.

Summary


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All text in this review written by Timothy Young - 27th February 2009.
Text from this review not to be used without authorization.

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