Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- wistful
- cerebral
- languid
- quiet evening
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an accomplished but opaque and emotionally restrained study of sexual tension, academic privilege, and psychological disquiet.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film presents its central events as a flashback, a structure that was reportedly difficult for some viewers to recognize.
The Sunday gathering, drinking, tennis match, and lawn conversation transform polite academic hospitality into a display of rivalry around Anna.
Stephen, Charley, William, and Anna move through Oxford’s privileged intellectual milieu while concealing envy, infidelity, and frustrated ambition.
The extended domestic afternoon uses deceptively relaxed dialogue and leisure activities to sustain an atmosphere of suppressed hostility and desire.
Films like Accident, and why
The Servant
psychological infidelity drama, repressed desire, and intellectually charged social tension
The Go-Between
upper-class british milieu, emotional manipulation, and intricate class-conscious dialogue
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
adultery, romantic obsession, and languid domestic unease within an elite social world
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
harshly observant relationship drama centered on desire, betrayal, and emotional cruelty
Movie Details
- Director
- Joseph Losey
- Release Date
- 1967-02-09
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (120)
Cast
- Dirk Bogarde
- Stanley Baker
- Jacqueline Sassard
- Michael York
- Vivien Merchant
- Delphine Seyrig
- Alexander Knox
- Ann Firbank
- Brian Phelan
- Terence Rigby
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- BFI Player Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Accident about?
- At Oxford, a married philosophy professor’s fascination with a young Austrian student becomes entangled with rivalry, envy, and the quietly destructive rituals of privileged academic life.
- What is Accident like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Accident as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Accident violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Accident as mild.
- What did critics think of Accident?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an accomplished but opaque and emotionally restrained study of sexual tension, academic privilege, and psychological disquiet.
- Which films are like Accident?
- Films with a similar feel include The Servant, The Go-Between, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.
- How long is Accident?
- Accident runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch Accident?
- In United States, Accident streams on BFI Player Amazon Channel.
