Clive Donners The Caretaker (1963), adapted from Harold Pinters acclaimed play, is a tense and minimalist chamber piece about power, manipulation, and human loneliness. Starring Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence, and Robert Shaw, it distills Pinteresque ambiguity and menace into a stark, claustrophobic space. One of the cornerstones of 1960s British New Wave realism and modern Psychological Drama.

Whilst renovating his dilapidated home Aston (Robert Shaw) invites an irritable and devious vagrant (Donald Pleasence) to stay. But, when his ill-tempered brother Mick (Alan Bates) returns, an ominous yet darkly comic power struggle between the trio commences.

A play that changed the face of modern theatre and made Harold Pinters name, The Caretaker remains one of Pinters most famous works. Featuring original production cast members Pleasence and Bates and sensitively directed by Clive Donner (Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush) and shot by Nicolas Roeg, this study of shared illusion, tragic dispossession and the fraternal bond of unspoken love, combines mesmerising performances and the magic of Pinters dialogue into a spellbinding film.

Från IMDB:
While renovating his house in London, Aston, out of pity, lodges a homeless man, but Astons brother taunts and harasses the cranky old bum.

Special Features:

Newly restored from the original camera negative by the BFI, and presented here in High Definition and Standard Definition

Audio commentary by actor Alan Bates, director Clive Donner and producer Michael Birkett (2002)

Introduction by critic and author Michael Billington (2002, 6 mins)

On Location with The Caretaker (1962, 4 mins): an extract from the TV series This Week in Britain

The Caretaker: From Play Into Film (2002, 17 mins): a video essay by Michael Billington using materials donated by Clive Donner to the BFI National Archi