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Here's a sparse
chronology of feature film adaptations. Later on, I intend to add more
in-depth reactions/reviews of the movies, and any important or relevant
notes for each title. The info below is either from from memory, IMDb.com,
or home videos that I have (by the way, I've found that some info in the
IMDB is incorrect, so don't think it's definitive).
The emphasized names signify people who have contributed to
more than one Forster-related film adaptation. If you look carefully,
you'll also notice "regulars" (not all, but some) of Merchant-Ivory
productions as well.
Ismail
Merchant, 1936-2005
Requiescat in pace
1984
"A Passage to India"
- Directed, adapted and edited by David
Lean
- Produced by John Brabourne and Richard
Goodwin
- Actors included Judy
Davis (Adela Quested), Victor Banerjee (Dr. Aziz), Peggy Ashcroft
(Mrs. Moore), James Fox (Cyril Fielding), Alec Guinness (Godpole) and
Nigel Havers (Ronny)
- 11 Academy Award nominations; 2 wins:
Ashcroft for supporting actress and Maurice Jarre for original score)
I
like this film as a film -- as an adaptation it doesn't win me over completely,
though -- the casting of Alec Guinness is unusual, not to mention questionable,
and the last (crucial) section of the novel isn't really done justice.
Overall however, I won't hesitate to say that it's a very well constructed
and performed film. Come on -- it's a David Lean film. Think high production
standards, and high acting standards. It's not going to be a stinker.
:-)
[Order
'A Passage to India' on DVD:
- Region 1 encoding (NTSC)
from Amazon.com
- Region 2 (Europe/Middle
East/South Africa/Japan only) format from Amazon.co.uk]
[Order
'A Passage to India' on VHS
cassette (NTSC format) from Amazon.com]
1986
"A Room with a View"
- Directed by James Ivory
- Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Produced by Ismail Merchant
- Actors included Helena Bonham
Carter (Lucy), Julian Sands (George), Daniel Day-Lewis (Cecil),
Maggie Smith (Charlotte), Denholm Elliott (Mr. Emerson),
Simon Callow (Mr. Beebe), Rupert Graves (Freddy)
- 8 Academy Award nominations; 3 wins:
Jhabvala for screenplay, Jenny Beavan & John Bright
for costume design, Luciana Arrighi for art direction-set
design
Great performances,
beautiful music, and a very well-adapted sceenplay. The Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala
team really scored with its first Forster project. Although -- as in any
film -- Forsterites will miss Morgan's own narrative, the movie manages
to retain the rare and upbeat spirit of this novel.
[Order
the two-disc special-edition 'A Room with a View' (2004) on DVD:
- Region 1 encoding (NTSC)
from Amazon.com
[The special edition hasn't been released
in the UK yet, but the DVD without bonus features (2001) is available
in Region 2 (Europe/Middle East/South Africa/Japan
only) format from Amazon.co.uk]
[Order
the VHS video:
- NTSC format tape
from Amazon.com
or
- PAL
format from Amazon.co.uk]
1987
"Maurice"
- Directed
by James Ivory
- Adapted
by Kit Hesketh-Harvey and James Ivory
- Produced
by Ismail Merchant
- Actors
included James Wilby (Maurice), Hugh Grant (Clive),
Rupert Graves (Alec Scudder), Simon Callow
(Mr. Ducie), Denholm Elliott (Dr. Barry)
- 1 Academy Award nomination (Jenny
Beavan & John Bright, costume design)
Unlike the other
titles listed here, I have only seen "Maurice" once -- at least
six years ago. Since it's been so long, I'll postpone writing any comments
for it until I get a chance to watch it again. (I do remember that Helena
Bonham Carter made a cameo appearance.)
[Order
the special edition 'Maurice' (2004) on DVD!
- Region 1 encoding (US/Canada
only) from Amazon.com
- Region 2 (Europe/Middle
East/South Africa/Japan only) from Amazon.co.uk]
[Order
the VHS video:
- NTSC format tape
from Amazon.com
or
- PAL
format from Amazon.co.uk]
1991
"Where Angels Fear to Tread"
- Directed by Charles Sturridge
- Adapted by Tim Sullivan, Derek Granger
and Charles Sturridge
- Produced by Derek Granger
- Actors included Helena Bonham
Carter (Miss Abbott), Rupert Graves (Mr. Herriton),
Judy Davis (Harriet Herriton), Giovanni Guidelli (Gino)
and Helen Mirren (Lilia Herriton)
I was rather disappointed
in the adaptation-aspect of this movie -- the film felt overdramatic and
soap operatic at times, and failed to develop a key concept involving
Miss Abbott and Mr. Herriton. The actors were fine, except they really
could have done so much more had the screenplay given them more. The movie
does have notable merits, but on the whole, I found it lacked continuity
and ended up being confusing.
[Pre-order
'Where Angels Fear to Tread' (2005) on DVD!
- Region 1 encoding isn't
listed on Amazon.com yet...
- Region 2 (Europe/Middle
East/South Africa/Japan only) from Amazon.co.uk]
[Order
'Where Angels Fear to Tread' on VHS cassette (NTSC format) from Amazon.com]
1992
"Howards End"
- Directed
by James Ivory
- Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Produced by Ismail Merchant
- Actors included Emma Thompson (Margaret
Schlegel), Helena Bonham Carter (Helen Schlegel), Anthony
Hopkins (Henry Wilcox), Vanessa Redgrave (Ruth Wilcox), Samuel West
(Leonard Bast) and James Wilby (Charles Wilcox)
- 9 Academy Award nominations; 3 wins:
Jhabvala for screenplay, Thompson for actress, Luciana Arrighi
for art direction-set decoration
By far my
favorite Forster adaptation. "Howards End" is also my all-time
favorite movie. Although it's not and can't be the same as the novel,
the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala team -- I think mainly Jhabvala's written
foundation -- really brought out a rich and focused drama that really
complements the novel. There's no way to make a "true" or word-for-word
adaptation, so what the team decided to include and exclude obviously
influenced the end product.
Having a
good screenplay from the start really made a difference, and I don't think
anyone else could have done a better job than the people who were involved
with the production. Although I loved Emma Thompson as Margaret, I'm convinced
that James Wilby's portrayal of Charles is underrated -- he's a talented
character actor, and it's the best work I've ever seen him do. Only a
few people won Oscars, but if there had been a "best ensemble"
award, the cast would have earned it. Then again, if this film had been
released a few years later, it would have cleaned up house. :-) (Curious
about my love for the novel? I talk about that on the "About
this site & its maintainer" page.)
[Order
the special edition of 'Howards End' (2005) on DVD!
- Region 1 encoding (US/Canada
only) from Amazon.com
or
- Region 2 (Europe/Middle
East/South Africa/Japan only) from Amazon.co.uk]
[Order
the VHS video:
- NTSC format from
Amazon.com
or
- PAL
format from Amazon.co.uk
(what a bargain!)]
Books about Merchant Ivory Productions
If you're a big fan (like me) of MIP, or at least some of the company's
films, I highly recommend these excellent books:
- Long, Robert Emmet - The Films of Merchant Ivory
Harry
N. Abrams, 1997 (revised edition, hardcover)
Citadel Press, 1996 (older paperback edition)
Forsterites should really
look for the revised hardcover book, rather than the original version.
The newer book's updates include coverage of "Howards End"
(can't miss that!), "The Remains of the Day," "Jefferson
in Paris," "Surviving Picasso" and "The Proprietor."
Aside from the great photographs, it includes more recent stories from
the production company founders. So try, try to get it.
[Order the hardcover edition
from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk]
- Long, Robert Emmet - James Ivory in Conversation: How
Merchant Ivory Makes Its Movies
University
of California Press, 2005
Admittedly, I have not had
a chance to read through this new book, but from what I've heard and
read peripherally, this is another great source of material for anyone
interested in Merchant Ivory's films, as it features James Ivory's take
on many subjects (his own life included).
[Order the hardcover edition
from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk]
- Pym, John - Merchant Ivory's English Landscape: Rooms,
Views and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes
Harry
N. Abrams, 1995
Another great 'more-than-just-a-coffee-table'
book. It's much slimmer than the above book, but I think the photos
alone are worth the price, since the English focus means more attention
to some of the Forster adaptations. If you're a fan of "The Remains
of the Day" (like me), then you'll also appreciate the material
covering that film in here. The book is fairly hard to find right now
(online anyway), but you might have a better chance of finding a copy
sitting in a good bookstore.
[Order
the hardcover edition from Amazon.com]
Buying a video?
Videos are all encoded in a certain format. You need to buy the
format that's compatible with your VCR/DVD player's standard. Basically,
there are three television standards: NTSC, PAL and SECAM. If you're
a DVD buyer, you should know that discs have a 'regional encoding.'
Here's a quick reference for the purposes of understanding what
you can buy here...
If you live in the US or Canada: make sure to buy NTSC format.
If you buy DVDs, make sure that they cover 'Region 1.'
If you live in the UK: make sure to get PAL format. If you
buy DVDs, makes sure that they cover 'Region 2.'
Most countries in Europe use the PAL format, but not all
(some use the SECAM standard). If you are not certain what
format will work for you, then try checking the list at the World
Television Standards site.
Region 2 DVD encoding covers the UK, Europe, Japan and South
Africa. There are six 'regions' in all, but right now my affiliate
Amazon stores only offer Regions 1 and 2 (and some NTSC 'all regions').
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