THE HIRELING
(Alan Bridges, 1973, 108 mins)
Release date: 21 July 2025
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)
Robert Shaw (Young Winston) and Sarah Miles (Blowup) star in The Hireling, a devastating exploration of emotional repression, trauma, and class relations from director Alan Bridges (The Shooting Party).
In the years following the First World War, the widowed Lady Franklin (Miles) establishes an unlikely friendship with her working-class driver, Ledbetter (Shaw), a traumatised former sergeant major. But, as Lady Franklin develops a relationship with a scheming former officer (Peter Egan, Ever Decreasing Circles), Ledbetter’s precarious mental state rapidly deteriorates.
Adapted from the novel by L P Hartley (The Go-Between) by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz (The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll), The Hireling was awarded the Palme d’Or at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Interview with actor Sarah Miles (2025)
• Interview with actor Ian Hogg (2025)
• Interview with composer Marc Wilkinson (2025)
• Interview with production manager Hugh Harlow (2025)
• Interview with wardrobe mistress Brenda Dabbs (2025)
• Original theatrical trailer
• Larry Karaszewski trailer commentary (2021): short critical appreciation
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with new essay by Peter Cowie, selected interviews with screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz on his adaptation of L P Hartley’s novel, an overview of critical responses, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK
• All features subject to change
#PHILE468B
BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697924138
domino harvey wrote: Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:01 amthe Hireling (Alan Bridges 1973) Another British class system drama from the same author of the Go-Between, and like Losey’s film, this one is for most of the running time okay but still doesn’t quite add up in the end. Robert Shaw’s chauffeur falls in love with society lady Sara Miles, to predictable results. That’s it. While the impossibility of the union is not hard to predict, I thought the film wasted any potential to make larger gains by throwing everything away in favor of a deflated finale. For the period in history in which it was released, the film is almost ludicrously removed from the class concerns of the then-current climate, and adds nothing new to an already well-trod tradition of films and novels just like this.
My copy arrived today, and while I haven't watched the film yet (not seen it before) I've had my usual quick look at the disc and booklet.
One error in the booklet, which won't be fixed as it won't be reprinted as and when the disc goes to a standard edition. In the "critical response" section, the Monthly Film Bulletin's "Jan Lawson" should be "Jan Dawson". I don't know if that's the MFB's error as I can't access the MFB/Sight & Sound digital archive at the moment - I lose access every July for a while as my subscription renews.
