Howards End

Starring:Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Joseph Bennett (III), Emma Thompson, Prunella Scales, Adrian Ross Magenty, Jo Kendall, Anthony Hopkins, James Wilby, Jemma Redgrave, Ian Latimer, Samuel West, Mary Nash (II), Siegbert Prawer, Susie Lindeman, Nicola Duffett, Mark Tandy, Andrew St. Clair, Anne Lambton, Emma Godfrey
Director: James Ivory
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Howards End is E.M. Forster's beautifully subtle story of the crisscrossing paths of the privileged and those they disdain--and of a remarkable pair of women who can see beyond class distinctions. Dramatic and tragic, but also surprisingly funny, this James Ivory film focuses on a pair of unmarried sisters (Emma Thompson, who won an Oscar, and Helena Bonham Carter) who befriend a poor young clerk (Sam West) and, without meaning to, ruin his life. Meanwhile, Thompson also makes the acquaintance of a dying neighbor (Vanessa Redgrave), who leaves her a family home in her will--which her husband (Anthony Hopkins) destroys. But, ironically, he meets and falls in love with Thompson, even as their paths once more intersect with the increasingly miserable young clerk. Nuanced acting, gorgeous but muted cinematography, and a beautifully economical script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, which also won an Oscar. --Marshall Fine

Description

Margaret and Helen Schlegel (Oscar® winner Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter) are sisters from a well-educated European family: intelligent, free-spirited, cultured, and highly emancipated by the standards of the time. A series of events brings them into a relationship with the Wilcox family: healthy, conservative, conventional, and very English, headed by the prosperous Henry (Anthony Hopkins) and his priggish son, Charles (James Wilby). Both families also come into contact with Leonard Bast (Samuel West) and his wife, a couple near the lowest tier of the rigid class system. Leonard's desire for cultural and intellectual status attracts the attention of Helen, who must come to terms with her unexpected feelings toward him. At the same time, Margaret must reconcile her independent spirit with her desire for companionship and a comfortable place in Edwardian society; her moral strength is eventually able to resolve the tangle of opposites. First published in 1910, E.M. Forster's Howards End remains one of the most important English novels of the twentieth century, and Merchant Ivory Productions' tour-de-force adaptation was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the 1990s.

Customer Reviews:

Another stellar production from Merchant-Ivory.......2007-05-12

I love most of Merchant-Ivory's productions, and this is one of their best. The stellar cast itself would compel one to view this excellent production. Anthony Hopkins plays the patriarch of the Wilcox clan, whose wife, played impeccably by the ever graceful Vanessa Redgrave owns Howards' End, the ethereal family homestead. Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter play the Shlegel sisters who are quite down to earth. Bonham Carter does an excellent job of portraying the wilful younger sister whose love for a working class man ultimately leads all three families to examine their values & principles, and most importantly, to look deep within their souls. A great movie about the class conflict in England as well as the passions that drive three different families.

Love the actors in this movie!.......2007-03-25

THis movie is great except for the ending. I am a hopeless romantic and always wish for a better ending.

5 Star Escapism.......2007-03-08

My wife and I both enjoyed this superbly acted, beautifully filmed period drama. As longtime PBS-TV Masterpiece Theatre fans, we were pre-disposed to enjoy this kind of production, but even so, this film adaptation of a classic E.M. Forster novel was particularly engrossing. Forster reflected his fatalistic take on a class-bound Edwardian society that was already crumbling as he wrote. To American eyes, the hopeless affair of Helen and Leonard and the marriage of social and financial convenience of Margaret and Henry seem both very outdated and very poignant. The romantic visions of Leonard, walking through fields of bluebells in his imagination while slaving away in a dingy London office, would seem laughable in an American setting but are perfectly suited to his time and place. This is essentially escapist fare, but for us is much preferable to the sex-and-violence saturated escapism of contemporary television and films. It's really a welcome escape from our culture's primary forms of escapism.

Possibly Merchant-Ivory's Finest Hours.......2007-02-24

A better cast could not have been assembled for this faithful adaptation of E. M. Forster's masterpiece, a stinging indictment of a society suffocated by its own class structure. What could have been a tedious social statement glistens with the beauty of Merchant-Ivory's production values and the actors' well-rounded characterizations. This film is so well executed that it sent me back to Forster's book, which is gem. Its motto remains timely, indeed necessary: "Only connect."

Great film, splendid bonus features, poor DVD.......2007-01-29

Other reviewers have already stated that this is a great film, so I have nothing to add here.
Most of the bonus features have been produced in 2005 and give valuable insight information. The double interview with Merchant and Ivory is sometimes funny to watch, both of them constantly interrupting each other - they were both very passionate about there work, even so many years later.
It says on the DVD cover that the film has been enhanced for widescreen TV sets. Well at least my copy of this 2 disc DVD is definitely NOT enhanced. And it is a sad thing to watch this beautiful film on a widescreen TV set, if it has just been mastered in 1:1,33. Why restore a film but not presenting it in the best possible way.
The film deserves 5 stars, but due to the poor DVD, I can not rate it higher than 3.

Average customer rating:

Another stellar production from Merchant-Ivory
Love the actors in this movie!
5 Star Escapism
Possibly Merchant-Ivory's Finest Hours
Great film, splendid bonus features, poor DVD

Howards End
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave , Helena Bonham Carter , Joseph Bennett (III) , Emma Thompson , and Prunella Scales
Director: James Ivory
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Remains of the Day (Special Edition)
A Room with a View (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Age of Innocence
Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)
The Europeans - The Merchant Ivory Collection

ASIN: 0767817680
Release Date: 1999-04-06

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Another stellar production from Merchant-Ivory.......2007-05-12

Love the actors in this movie!.......2007-03-25

THis movie is great except for the ending. I am a hopeless romantic and always wish for a better ending.

5 Star Escapism.......2007-03-08

Possibly Merchant-Ivory's Finest Hours.......2007-02-24

Great film, splendid bonus features, poor DVD.......2007-01-29

Average customer rating:

Another stellar production from Merchant-Ivory
Love the actors in this movie!
5 Star Escapism
Possibly Merchant-Ivory's Finest Hours
Great film, splendid bonus features, poor DVD

Howards End [Region 2]
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave , Helena Bonham Carter , Joseph Bennett (III) , Emma Thompson , and Prunella Scales
Director: James Ivory
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Remains of the Day (Special Edition)
A Room with a View (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Age of Innocence
Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)
The Europeans - The Merchant Ivory Collection

ASIN: B00004D02F

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Another stellar production from Merchant-Ivory.......2007-05-12

Love the actors in this movie!.......2007-03-25

THis movie is great except for the ending. I am a hopeless romantic and always wish for a better ending.

5 Star Escapism.......2007-03-08

Possibly Merchant-Ivory's Finest Hours.......2007-02-24

Great film, splendid bonus features, poor DVD.......2007-01-29

Average customer rating:

Another stellar production from Merchant-Ivory
Love the actors in this movie!
5 Star Escapism
Possibly Merchant-Ivory's Finest Hours
Great film, splendid bonus features, poor DVD

Howards End [Region 2]
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave , Helena Bonham Carter , Joseph Bennett (III) , Emma Thompson , and Prunella Scales
Director: James Ivory
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video