Rent The Go-Between (1970)

3.7 of 5 from 121 ratings
1h 53min
Rent The Go-Between Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Based on the novel by L.P. Hartley, 'The Go-Between'[ links the present and the past taking an ageing bachelor back to the long hot summer when he was twelve and lost his boyish heart to a beautiful, headstrong young woman who used his adoration to suit her own purposes. Summer 1900: Leo is the guest of Marcus, a wealthy classmate, at a grand home in rural Norfolk. Leo is befriended by Marion (Julie Christie), Marcus's sister who is about to be engaged to Huge who is a viscount, however she has fallen in love with a handsome young tenant farmer (Alan Bates) who's class difference make an open affair unthinkable.
She is unable to resist temptation though and sends messages to her lover to arrange a meeting through Leo, the go-between
Actors:
, , , , , , , , Simon Hume-Kendall, , Amaryllis Garnett, , , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
John Heyman, Denis Johnson, Norman Priggen
Writers:
Harold Pinter, L.P. Hartley
Others:
Peter Handford, Carmen Dillon, Gerry Fisher, Garth Craven, Hugh Strain, John Furniss
Studio:
Optimum
Genres:
Classics, Drama, Romance
Collections:
10 Films to Watch if You Like: Monty Python's Life of Brian, A History of Cricket Films, Acting Up: British Actresses at the Oscars, Award Winners, BAFTA Nominations Competition 2023, BAFTA Nominations Competition 2024, BAFTA Nominations Competition 2025, Cinema Paradiso's 2022 Centenary Club, Films to Watch If You Like..., Films to Watch if You Like: Get Carter, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Julie Christie - At 85, Getting to Know: Vanessa Redgrave, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Todd Haynes, Top 10 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners, Top 10 Films About Letters, Top 100 BFI Films, Top Films, What We Were Watching in 1971
Awards:

1972 BAFTA Best Screen Play

1972 BAFTA Best Supporting Actor

1972 BAFTA Best Supporting Actress

1971 Cannes Palme d'Or

BBFC:
Release Date:
22/01/2007
Run Time:
113 minutes
Languages:
English LPCM Mono
Subtitles:
None
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
15/02/2010
Run Time:
116 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Castillian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Interview with Joshua Losey
  • Interview with Michael Billington
  • Interview with Patricia Losey
  • Interview with Gerry Fisher
  • Interview with John Heyman
  • Audio recording of Joseph Losey interviewed by Dilys Powell in 1973
  • BD-Live
  • Horlicks television advert directed by Joseph Losey

More like The Go-Between

Found in these customers lists

84 films by kpg
657 films by pete-1

Reviews (2) of The Go-Between

Great band, great film. - The Go-Between review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
27/02/2020

It's often said that great books make bad films but that is clearly untrue and here is a prime example. This is a wonderful adaptation of L.P. Hartley's classic memory novel, scripted by Losey's frequent collaborator, Harold Pinter. The story is set in 1900, so it is late Victoria but visually it creates what is now my image of Edwardian rural England, across the class divides. A boy spends the summer at a country estate passing illicit messages between Julie Christie's aristocratic beauty, and Alan Bates' earthy farmer. The boy, Leo is unable to understand the repercussions of the relationship he helps to prosper. It is a slow, languid film set in the long summer of our distant pasts against the grey, drizzly world of the grown up Leo's present reality. From where he understands the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Losey is another American who made his way to the UK to escape the scrutiny of HUAC and his filmography is like a red album of consistent hits (with Modesty Blaise his Yellow Submarine).

2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

The Past Is Another Country, and Frankly a Bit of a Dud - The Go-Between review by griggs

Spoiler Alert
19/07/2025


Sun-drenched repressions dn buttoned-up longing should be a winning combo, especially with Pinter behind the script. But The Go-Between is oddly stiff—emotionally bottled and dramatically flat. The central idea is strong: a boy caught in a doomed romance, used as a pawn by adults too cowardly to face consequences. There’s plenty of room for tension, but very little arrives.


The visuals have a hazy, postcard charm, and Julie Christie is as compelling as ever, even if she’s not given much to do beyond smoulder in period costume. Alan Bates broods. The boy frets. And yet, despite the promise of secrecy and scandal, much of it trudges.


What surprised me most was how clunky and syrupy some of the dialogue is—Pinter, usually a master of subtext, seems oddly sentimental here. It’s not without its moments, and the framing device adds some bite, but for a film about forbidden desire, it’s remarkably well-behaved. More wilted rose than English rose.


1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Unlimited films sent to your door, starting at £23.99 a month.