HOWARDS END (DVD/2 DISC/2.35/STEREO/1992) DVD

Howards End
One of the best Ismail Merchant/James Ivory films, this adaptation of E. M. Forster's classic 1910 novel shows in careful detail the injuriously rigid British class consciousness of the early 20th century. The film's catalyst is "poor relation" Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson), who inherits part of the estate of Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave), an upper-class woman whom she had befriended. The film's principal characters are divided by caste: aristocratic industrial Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins); middle-echelon Margaret and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter); and working-class clerk Leonard Bast (Sam West) and his wife (Nicola Duffett). The personal and social conflicts among these characters ultimately result in tragedy for Bast and disgrace for Wilcox, but the film's wider theme remains the need, in the words of the novel's famous epigram, to "only connect" with other people, despite boundaries of gender, class, or petty grievance. Filmed on a proudly modest budget, Howards End offers sets, spectacles, and costumes as lavish as in any historical epic. Nominated for 9 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, the film took home awards for Thompson as Best Actress, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's adapted screenplay, and Luciana Arrighi's art direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Anthony Hopkins as Henry Wilcox Emma Thompson as Margaret Schlegel Vanessa Redgrave as Ruth Wilcox Helena Bonham Carter as Helen Schlegel James Wilby as Charles Wilcox Samuel West as Leonard Bast Jemma Redgrave as Evie Wilcox Nicola Duffett as Jacky Bast Prunella Scales as Aunt Juley Mund Barbara Hicks as Miss Avery Joseph Bennett as Paul Wilcox Jo Kendall as Annie Mark Payton as Percy Cahill Simon Callow as Music Lecturer

Crew John Ralph - Art Director Celestia Fox - Casting Ann Wingate - Co-producer Jenny Beavan - Costume Designer John Bright - Costume Designer Christopher Newman - First Assistant Director James Ivory - Director Andrew Marcus - Editor Paul Bradley - Executive Producer Richard Robbins - Composer (Music Score) Luciana Arrighi - Production Designer Tony Pierce-Roberts - Cinematographer Ismail Merchant - Producer Ian Whittaker - Set Designer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Screenwriter E.M. Forster - Book Author

Howards End
Praised almost as often as its source, Ismail Merchant and James Ivory's version of E.M. Forster's best novel is also widely recognized as the most accomplished filmization of Forster's work. Like Merchant/Ivory's other Forster adaptations, Howards End is saturated with petticoats, stiff upper lips, suffocating class consciousness, and enough repressed longing to blow a hole through Buckingham Palace. But strip away the tasteful facade, and what remains is a bracing critique of the English class system. The film's Oscar-winning script, by frequent Merchant/Ivory collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, is largely faithful to Forster's original work, capturing the spirit of his prose without making it seem outdated. The lead performances are instrumental in the film's timely feel; Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins earned well-deserved praise for their roles, and Thompson won an Oscar and numerous other awards. Equally remarkable but not as lavishly recognized were Helena Bonham Carter, all righteous fire and headstrong will as Helen Schlegel, and Samuel West, touchingly awkward as Leonard Bast, the cause around whom the war between the Schlegels and Mr. Wilcox revolves, and also its ultimate casualty. Thanks to the work of the entire cast, the film manages to be consistently engaging; thanks to the efforts of its production team as a whole, it is one of the rarest of paradoxes, a topical period piece. It was nominated for 9 Oscars overall, including Best Picture and Best Director, and it also won for Luciana Arrighi's art direction. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
 

Andrew Marcus: British Academy of Film and Television, Editing Award (nominated) Emma Thompson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actress (winner) Emma Thompson: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Actress (nominated) Emma Thompson: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (winner) Emma Thompson: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Actress (winner) Emma Thompson: National Board of Review, Best Actress (winner) Emma Thompson: National Society of Film Critics, Best Actress (winner) Emma Thompson: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Actress (winner) Helena Bonham Carter: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Ian Whittaker: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (winner) James Ivory: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (nominated) James Ivory: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Picture (nominated) James Ivory: British Academy of Film and Television, David Lean Award (nominated) James Ivory: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) James Ivory: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) James Ivory: National Board of Review, Best Director (winner) Jenny Beavan: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Costume Design (nominated) John Bright: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Costume Design (nominated) John Bright: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Costume Design (nominated) Luciana Arrighi: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (winner) Luciana Arrighi: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Production Design (nominated) Richard Robbins: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Score (nominated) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Adapted Screenplay (winner) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Samuel West: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Cinematography (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Cinematography (nominated) Vanessa Redgrave: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Supporting Actress (nominated)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Picture (nominated) Cannes Film Festival, Special 45th Anniversary Prize (winner) Golden Globe, Best Picture - Drama (nominated) Independent Spirit Awards, Best Foreign Film (nominated) National Board of Review, Best Picture (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: cc Stunning new high-definition digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen televisions New Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack Building Howards End The Wandering Company Original 1992 behind-the-scenes featurette English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 142 min Part of Series: The Merchant Ivory Collection   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Howards End 1. Opening Credits/Dearsest Meg [5:31] 2. "Tell No One" [6:09] 3. Sublime Noie [6:00] 4. The Flat Opposite [8:10] 5. "Not in This World" [4:28] 6. Too Apt to Brood [7:36] 7. Not Cancelled, but Postponed [4:33] 8. Burnt Wishes and Honey Air [6:07] 9. A Born Explorer [5:59] 10. Overexpressive [4:36] 11. A Pleasure and a Privilege [5:41] 12. "Do You Ever Get Lonely?" [4:12] 13. The Poor are Poor [1:28] 14. Her Way of Walking [5:05] 15. A Perverted Sense of Philanthropy [5:18] 16. No Time Like the Present [6:19] 17. Far From a Saint [6:24] 18. When People Fail You [6:20] 19. Who is Who and What is What [6:22] 20. A Question of Madness [5:38] 21. Forgiveness [6:20] 22. An Untimely Death [8:04] 23. The Following Summer [5:33] 24. "I Didn't do Wrong, Did I?"/End Credits [5:45]