Say "Merchant-Ivory" to most cinephiles and watch their eyelids sag.
Howards End (1992)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:26
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8.1/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 23 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: E.M. Forster's 1910 novel is adapted for the screen by Merchant Ivory Productions in this masterful Edwardian Age romance directed by James Ivory. The dying Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) wishes to... E.M. Forster's 1910 novel is adapted for the screen by Merchant Ivory Productions in this masterful Edwardian Age romance directed by James Ivory. The dying Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) wishes to leave her country home, Howards End, to Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson in an Academy Award-winning role), a modest woman of little means who will soon be forced out of her own home in London. But Ruth's husband, Henry (Anthony Hopkins), an upper middle class businessman, keeps secret her desire even after he and Margaret become friends. However, after Henry and Margaret marry, their class differences and philosophies threaten to cause them unhappiness. Margaret's sister, Helen (Helena Bonham Carter), is disgusted by the Wilcox's snobbish ways and is attracted to helping struggling clerk Leonard Bast (Sam West) improve his position. Merchant-Ivory screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was the force behind adapting this Forster novel into a film, winning her second Academy Award for her screenplay; her first Oscar was for A ROOM WITH A VIEW. [More]
Starring: Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham-Carter
Starring: Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham-Carter, Samuel West, Jemma Redgrave, Prunella Scales
Director: James Ivory
Director: James Ivory
Screenwriter: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Producer: Ismail Merchant
Composer: Richard Robbins
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Release:
Nov 3, 2009
Reviews for Howards End
The pairings of Margaret and Henry, and Helen and Leonard, attempt to cross fault lines widened by class, and the tragedy of Howards End is in the absolute necessity and absolute inefficacy of doing so at their moment in history. [Blu-ray]
Along with Room With a View, this films represents the best of the Ismail-Merchant literary adaptations, one in which contents and style are congruent and harmonious.
Hopkins and Thompson are so perfect together it's hard not to buy them as a couple
The best of the countless Merchant Ivory productions — and arguably the most appreciated by those who don't even like Merchant Ivory movies.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| 43% 43% | The Proposal |
| 26% 26% | Land of the Lost |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
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