IMDb > Accident (1967)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   984 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 17% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Nicholas Mosley (novel)
Harold Pinter (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Accident on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 June 1967 (Denmark) more
Genre:
Plot:
Stephen is a married Oxford professor experiencing the pangs of a mid-life crisis as he begins to bristle... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations more
User Comments:
ACCIDENT (Joseph Losey, 1967) ***1/2 more (16 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dirk Bogarde ... Stephen
Stanley Baker ... Charley
Jacqueline Sassard ... Anna

Michael York ... William
Vivien Merchant ... Rosalind
Delphine Seyrig ... Francesca
Alexander Knox ... Provost
Ann Firbank ... Laura
Brian Phelan ... Police Sergeant
Terence Rigby ... Plain Clothed Policeman
Freddie Jones ... Man in Bell's Office
Jill Johnson ... Secretary
Jane Hillary ... Receptionist
Maxwell Findlater ... Ted
Carole Caplin ... Clarissa
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Additional Details

Runtime:
105 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Dirk Bogarde was second choice for Stephen. more
Quotes:
Charley: [reading from learned journal] A statistical analysis of sexual intercourse at Kolenzo University, Milwaukee showed... that 70% did it in the evening, 29.9% between 2 and 4 in the afternoon and 0.1% during a lecture on Aristotle.
Aged Professor: I'm surprised to hear that Aristotle is on the syllabus in the State of Wisconsin.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Le samouraï (1967) more

FAQ

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9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
ACCIDENT (Joseph Losey, 1967) ***1/2, 24 August 2006
8/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

This is arguably Losey's masterpiece, overtaking in my mind the more renowned THE SERVANT (1963; see review above). In place of his trademark directorial stylistics, a more formal but equally assured approach to film-making - signaled perhaps by being his last outing with frequent collaborators Dirk Bogarde (with whom he made 5 films), Stanley Baker (4), Alexander Knox (4) and composer Johnny Dankworth (4) - is in evidence here. The only concessions to 'style' are some temporal flourishes a' la Resnais and a superbly enigmatic interlude with Bogarde, where the dialogue between him and former lover Delphine Seyrig is heard as voice-over while the characters are seen interacting in different surroundings! Still, the film's flashback structure is perhaps famed playwright Harold Pinter's doing who contributes a fine, nuanced script.

The characters say very little to one another: indeed the film as a whole may be too low-key for most viewers but the real emotions (lust, contempt, pity, hypocrisy) they feel for each other come to the fore regardless through fleeting glances, hesitant remarks, etc.; Bogarde even gets into a stammering fit in especially stressful moments, and only gets to concede to his repressed desires i.e make love to his pupil Jacqueline Sassard, when she is at her most vulnerable - immediately after her boyfriend's tragic death, even though his own wife is pregnant with their third child!

The film features an excellent ensemble cast, led by a vulnerable Bogarde and a particularly despicable Baker. This was also Michael York's first major role; in fact, he flew to Cannes specifically to talk with Losey - who was presenting MODESTY BLAISE (1966; see review above) - about getting the part! On the contrary, Sassard would go on to make just one more film - Claude Chabrol's masterly LES BICHES (1968) where, again, she was the 'prize' in a ménage-a'-trois that also comprised Jean-Louis Trintignant and lesbian Stephane Audran! - before disappearing from cinema screens altogether!! Freddie Jones, Pinter himself and Nicholas Mosley (the author of the source novel) appear in small roles, while Gerry Fisher's beautiful cinematography and Dankworth's jazzy score effectively complement the film's pervasive brooding mood.

ACCIDENT was nominated for 4 BAFTAs and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival but, again, Losey was criminally neglected at the Oscars.

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