All Gone - a tribute to The Servant

I made this one yesterday.. I've had the idea floating around in my head for the longest time, and finally got around to it last night. This one is more of a tribute to the entire film, so it's not concentrating on Dirk Bogarde as much as my other videos have. Sarah Miles & James Fox take up a sizable chunk of space here. You might notice Wendy Craig is virtually absent, though, but that's just because I didn't like her character.. I'm being ornery :)

I might do another one in the future that's a tribute to Dirk's performance in the film, like I did with Modesty Blaise... but that is another video for another day..

Modesty Blaise (and a programming alert)

Modesty Blaise is a hilarious, random, psychedelic, awfully fun film that you do NOT want to miss when it airs on FOX Movie Channel this afternoon at 2pm EST. Dirk Bogarde is outlandishly over the top as a white-wigged villain and Modesty Blaise's arch nemesis. If you miss the whole film, here's a quick little peek at the awesomeness that is Dirk Bogarde in this movie. The genius is in the details.. subtle glances and movements.. taking on a spot-on American accent for a Patton-style speech.. the rhythm of a phrase. And pay special attention to his pronunciation of the word "torture"... it kills me.



There will be more on Modesty Blaise here in the near future... I just had to post a programming alert, but so enjoyed this film that I couldn't bring myself to mention it without going into a little more detail :) I also took about eight gazillion screen-caps from the movie (okay, more like 140, but still..) so I'll share some of those in my next post about MB as well.

Uncomfortably Near

I think these words from the moody torch song "Angel Eyes" fit the film Accident to a T. This one scene in particular. I wrote about it here last year, and I think it bears repeating... this scene is so seminal to the film and exemplifies the feeling of discomfort that permeates the entire movie.

Dirk Bogarde's character, middle-aged and married, has a small uncomfortable crush on one of his students, played by Jacqueline Sassard. When he's asked to join her & another student on a little boat trip he reluctantly agrees. The ensuing trip is a combination of lovely cinematography, soft jazz and palpable awkwardness.

Pay special attention to the part when Dirk realizes the proximity of his hand to her thigh and clumsily repositions, tucking his hands under his armpits. The juxtaposition of his discomfort with the beauty and ease of everything going on around him is like gawky poetry.

I put together this little video with scenes from Accident set to Nancy Wilson's Angel Eyes. Hope you enjoy it :)

Five Dirk Bogarde films on the big screen!

The Berkeley Art Museum at the University of California is having a Joseph Losey retrospective from March 5th through April 16th! Over the course of the program they'll be showing all five films that Losey made with Dirk Bogarde -- The Sleeping Tiger, King and Country, The Servant, Modesty Blaise and Accident. I'd give my right arm to see this (including the non-Dirk films... especially Time Without Pity featuring a genius performance by Michael Redgrave) so if you live in the area don't let this pass without going to see at least one of the films!

For more information regarding the film lineup and showing times, you can visit the program page here.

Some photos from my latest scans

This one is my new favorite,
also my desktop background on my laptop.

with Kay Kendall, one of his dearest friends

with Lilli Palmer

with director Joseph Losey

These were scanned by me from the book The Films of Dirk Bogarde.