Room With a View [Special Edition] [2 Discs] DVD

A Room With a View
Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by E.M. Forster, A Room with a View is a shining example of Merchant-Ivory's ability to achieve maximum quality and opulence at minimum cost. Set during the Edwardian Era, the film stars Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, who like all proper young British ladies is compelled to tour Europe in the company of an older chaperone -- in this instance, her spinster cousin Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). While in Italy, the ladies make the acquaintance of a wide variety of personalities; the most fascinating of their fellow tourists -- at least in Lucy's eyes -- is free-spirited George Emerson (Julian Sands). Aware that her cousin is becoming too familiar with Emerson, Charlotte demands that Lucy return to England posthaste. Lucy complacently settles for the tiresomely traditional courtship of nerdish Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) -- and then Mr. Emerson moves into the neighborhood. Lucy now finds herself on the horns of a dilemma: Should she opt for a safe, proper marriage to Cecil, or the bohemian unpredictability of the charismatic Emerson? A winner of three Academy Awards, A Room with a View is not what one could call fast-moving, but fans of the Merchant-Ivory team will enjoy luxuriating in the film's leisurely pace and stimulating cast of characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlet Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch Denholm Elliott as Mr. Emerson Julian Sands as George Emerson Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil Vyse Simon Callow as Mr. Beebe Judi Dench as Miss Lavish Rosemary Leach as Mrs. Honeychurch Rupert Graves as Freddy Honeychurch Patrick Godfrey as Mr. Eager Fabia Drake as Catherine Alan Joan Henley as Teresa Alan Maria Britneva as Mrs. Vyse Amanda Walker as The Cockney Signora Peter Cellier as Sir Harry Otway Mia Fothergill as Minnie Beebe Patricia Lawrence as Mrs. Butterworth Mirio Guidelli as Santa Croce Guide Freddy Korner as Mr. Floyd Elizabeth Marangoni as Miss Pole Lucca Rossi as Phaeton Isabella Celani as Persephone Luigi di Fiore as Murdered Youth

Crew Elio Altramura - Art Director Jenny Beavan - Costume Designer John Bright - Costume Designer James Ivory - Director Humphrey Dixon - Editor Richard Robbins - Composer (Music Score) Christine Beveridge - Makeup Brian Savegar - Production Designer Gianni Quaranta - Production Designer Brian Ackland-Snow - Production Designer Tony Pierce-Roberts - Cinematographer Ismail Merchant - Producer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Screenwriter E.M. Forster - Book Author

A Room With a View
Though they had been making films together for over two decades, director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant didn't reach widespread popular or critical success until 1986's A Room With a View. Adapted by their frequent collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from one of E.M. Forster's lighter novels, the movie is a perfectly weighted, gorgeously staged comedy of manners. In her second film, Helena Bonham Carter made quite an impression as Lucy, and she spent much of the decade typecast in stuffy period-piece roles. Daniel Day Lewis provides spot-on work as the uptight, priggish suitor Cecil, a marked contrast to his almost polar-opposite role in Stephen Frears's My Beautiful Laundrette, which marked him as a new actor of unusual versatility. He would become a sex symbol two years later in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Room was nominated for eight Academy Awards and brought home three, including one for Jhabvala's adaptation. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
 

Brian Ackland-Snow: Academy, Best Art Direction (winner) Brian Ackland-Snow: British Academy Awards, Best Production Design (winner) Brian Savegar: Academy, Best Art Direction (winner) Daniel Day-Lewis: National Board of Review, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Daniel Day-Lewis: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Denholm Elliott: Academy, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Denholm Elliott: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Elio Altramura: Academy, Best Art Direction (winner) Gianni Quaranta: Academy, Best Art Direction (winner) Humphrey Dixon: British Academy Awards, Editing Award (nominated) James Ivory: Academy, Best Director (nominated) James Ivory: British Academy Awards, Best Director (nominated) James Ivory: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) James Ivory: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) Jenny Beavan: Academy, Best Costume Design (winner) John Bright: Academy, Best Costume Design (winner) John Bright: British Academy Awards, Best Costume Design (nominated) Judi Dench: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Maggie Smith: Academy, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Maggie Smith: British Academy Awards, Best Actress (winner) Maggie Smith: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Richard Robbins: British Academy Awards, Best Score (nominated) Rosemary Leach: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Academy, Best Adapted Screenplay (winner) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: British Academy Awards, Best Adaptation (nominated) Simon Callow: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: Academy, Best Cinematography (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: British Academy Awards, Best Cinematography (nominated) Tony Pierce-Roberts: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Cinematography (winner)

Academy, Best Picture (nominated) British Academy Awards, Best Film (winner) British Academy Awards, Sound Award (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Film (Drama) (nominated) Independent Spirit Award, Best Foreign Film (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: cc New restoration supervised by director James Ivory and cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Commentary from Simon Callow, Ismail Merchant, James Ivory, and Tony Pierce-Roberts English, French, and Spanish languages and subtitles Archive promotional appearances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Simon Callow BBC report on the film's success in the U.S. E.M. Forster remembered Film scrapbook with never-before-seen photos and memorabilia Merchant-Ivory tribute DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1: Alternate Wide Screen MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 117 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Feature 1. A Room With a View [2:19] 2. Arrival [4:06] 3. The Reverend Mr. Beebe [3:17] 4. Beethoven [4:22] 5. In Santa Croce With No Baedeker [6:21] 6. A Fight in the Square [6:22] 7. The Italian Landscape [7:02] 8. The Kiss [3:21] 9. George Returns [3:59] 10. Home [3:03] 11. Officially Engaged [6:30] 12. London, in Mrs. Vyse's Well-Appointed Home [3:06] 13. The New Tenants [4:30] 14. Welcoming Committee [6:13] 15. How Miss Bartlett's Boiler Was So Tiresome [4:47] 16. Charlotte's Arrival [5:04] 17. Under a Loggia [6:24] 18. Lying to George [3:24] 19. Lying to Cecil [6:45] 20. Lying to Mr. Beebe, Mrs. Honeychurch, Freddy and the Servants [5:26] 21. A Trip to Athens [6:19] 22. Lying to Mr. Emerson [3:27] 23. Lucy's Letter [1:54] 24. Credits [3:43]