MERCHANT-IVORY

An actor in one of their films was not alone in thinking that Merchant-Ivory was one person. Actually, this extraordinary pair was director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. I say was because Mr. Merchant died in 2005. They formed one of the most successful partnerships in the history of the movies, which lasted more than 40 years. Though they had their share of misfires (including, unfortunately their last one, The White Countess (2005), they also produced a handful of classics that will be viewed as long as there are movies. And their imprint always meant unsparing quality and class. 

Remains of the Day (1993) Is simply extraordinary. It features Anthony Hopkins’ finest performance as a self-sacrificing butler, and the luminous Emma Thompson as the smart, capable head housekeeper. They both work in a baronial English home owned by James Fox, who in a larger story is dabbling with Nazisim. Christopher Reeve (last film before his accident), Tim Piggott-Smith, and Hugh Grant add to a distinguished cast. The scene in which Mr. Hopkins and Ms. Thompson come that close to a romantic attachment will absolutely break your heart. Unforgettable.

A Room With A View (1986) is a beautiful film, beautifully done, that won Oscars for art direction, costume design and screenplay adaptation (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala). Helena Bonham Carter is a proper English young lady touring Italy to complete her education. She is, of course, chaperoned and you couldn’t improve on Maggie Smith in that role. She encounters attractive young men, including Daniel Day- Lewis. The film is a most successful adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, and has lots of insights into British mores and manners. It is also very funny and just a joy to look at.

Howard’s End (1992) garnered Oscars for screenplay (again Ms. Jhabvala), art decoration, and for Emma Thompson’s wonderful performance as a young and feisty English girl with no particular fortune or prospects in early 20th century England. Anthony Hopkins is a worldly, urbane and somewhat sinister older man who casually seduces the wide-eyed Ms. Thompson. Vanessa Redgrave and Helena Bonham-Carter add to a splendid cast.  

It is so much fun to watch Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward as a middle-aged married couple in Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990) that you can forgive the fact that there really isn’t a lot to this movie, based loosely on two novels by Evan Connell. Their lives are jostled (but never jolted) by changes in society and their growing children. 

All of the movies in this column area available on video and DVD. While there is nothing objectionable in any of them, the content is strictly grown-up fare.