Post by petrolino on Mar 11, 2018 0:55:45 GMT
The gentle period drama 'A Room With A View' is based on the novel 'A Room With A View' (1908) by E.M. Forster. Young student Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) takes a trip to Italy that changes her life. She's carefully watched over by her experienced chaperone Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). While staying in Florence, Lucy consorts with an odd assortment of bohemians, spiritualists and misfits, causing Charlotte's pulse to race.
I first saw 'A Room With A View' when I was a kid and it made an impression on me. I bought a few books written by E.M. Forster and enjoyed reading them. I went on to see a number of period pieces and historical dramas directed by American abroad James Ivory who enjoyed a long creative association with supportive Indian producer Ismail Merchant and German screenwriter (and novelist) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.
"In the late 1950s, James Ivory visited an art dealer’s shop in San Francisco. Ivory, then a cinema student at University of Southern California, had completed his thesis film on Venetian paintings and was looking to buy some artwork. He saw a set of Indian miniature paintings at the shop. The paintings intrigued him, and even though the Berkeley-born and Oregon-raised Ivory did not know much about India, he eventually decided to make a short documentary about classical Indian art called The Sword and the Flute (1959). Through a friend, Ivory met New York-based Indian actor Saeed Jaffrey who agreed to do the voiceover for the film. After a screening of the film at the Indian Consulate in New York City, Jaffrey introduced Ivory to an Indian management student, Ismail Merchant. Merchant was obsessed with popular Indian cinema (actress Nimmi was his family friend in Bombay) and he was keen to make films in India for international audiences. That chance meeting on the steps of the consulate changed the face of American independent cinema."
- Aseem Chhabra, Scroll
"I go to Venice all the time. I suppose it’s the place I love most in the world. When I went to Europe for the first time, I went to Paris and then to Venice. So after Paris, Venice was my first great European city, and it just blew me away. The reason I made that documentary as my thesis at USC film school was to have an excuse to go back to Venice. [laughs] I thought I was going to be a set designer. That’s why I went to architecture school. I mean, I hardly knew how movies were made. The cult of the director and all that stuff didn’t exist then. That didn’t come until the 1960s French new wave. I scarcely knew what a director even did. I knew what actors did and I could imagine what a screenwriter would do, but I didn’t understand the whole setup, really, until I made my first feature. And that first feature was with Ismail Merchant."
- James Ivory, Andy Warhol's Interview
"James Ivory has won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay at the 90th Academy awards for his work on the film Call Me By Your Name, adapted from André Aciman’s novel of the same name. At 89, Ivory is the oldest ever winner of an Academy award; it is his first win after three previous nominations in the best director category, for the films A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and The Remains of the Day. Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the face of Call Me By Your Name star Timothée Chalamet, Ivory thanked his deceased Merchant-Ivory partners Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as well as André Aciman."
- Jake Nevins dissects the 2018 Academy Awards, The Guardian
"James Ivory was recognised at this year’s ceremony for his screenplay for the much-loved gay coming-of-age romance Call Me By Your Name, which he adapted from a novel by André Aciman – and there is something fitting about an Ivory Oscar feeling perfectly of its moment while also having the air of a lifetime achievement. His work as both a director and a screenwriter has always striven for timelessness, yet is precise to the finest period detail. Any other result last night would have felt like the wrong one. But at the same time: guys, what took you so long?"
- Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
Maggie Smith & Judi Dench
James Ivory & Helena Bonham Carter attend the 2018 BAFTA Awards
'Maybe You're Right' - Cat Stevens
The joyous ensemble assembled for 'A Room With A View' includes former circus clown Rupert Graves who's ideally cast as Lucy's foolhardy brother Freddy Honeychurch. Rosemary Leach plays Lucy and Freddy's mother Mrs. Honeychurch, Judi Dench is attentive writer Eleanor Lavish and Simon Callow lets it all hang out as The Reverend Mr. Beebe. Daniel Day-Lewis, possibly now retired from screen acting, chisels a perfect caricature as stuffy Cecil Vyse. Julian Sands, back in Britain now to co-headline the wrestling-themed 'Full Monty' clone 'Walk Like A Panther' (2018), regularly turns on the afterburners as passionate wildling George Emerson. Add Denholm Elliott to this mix and you have a charismatic line-up of British theatre stars past and present.
'A Room With A View' is the movie that put Helena Bonham Carter on the map. A defining role as Lady Jane Grey followed in Trevor Nunn's earnest historical drama 'Lady Jane' (1986), paving the way for Bonham Carter to become one of the leading performers in period dramas. Without doubt, Lucy Honeychurch is one of the most cherished characters in British cinema. Bonham Carter would go on to star in two more Forster adaptations, Charles Sturridge's 'Where Angels Fear To Tread' (1991) and James Ivory's 'Howards End' (1992).
In addition to 'A Room With A View' and 'Howards End', James Ivory also directed the E.M. Forster adaptation 'Maurice' (1987) which includes a cameo appearance from Helena Bonham Carter. I wrote on imdb last year about another Forster adaptation I enjoy, David Lean's historical epic 'A Passage To India' (1984). The song 'Death Of A Supernaturalist' by pop group The Divine Comedy opens with a soundbite from the film 'A Room With A View' and this track can be found on the album 'Victory For The Comic Muse' which derives its title from a line in Forster's book. Last year, 'Howards End' was newly adapted as a television mini-series.
"I’ve found throughout my life that people jump to assumptions without having any knowledge, really. But they like to make an opinion and if it’s flashy or well-chosen or whatever then it becomes a catchphrase and becomes passed around. It’s like catching a cold, it seems to me.”
- Vanessa Redgrave
Helena Bonham Carter
'The First Cut Is The Deepest' - P.P. Arnold
'The First Cut Is The Deepest' - P.P. Arnold
I first saw 'A Room With A View' when I was a kid and it made an impression on me. I bought a few books written by E.M. Forster and enjoyed reading them. I went on to see a number of period pieces and historical dramas directed by American abroad James Ivory who enjoyed a long creative association with supportive Indian producer Ismail Merchant and German screenwriter (and novelist) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.
"In the late 1950s, James Ivory visited an art dealer’s shop in San Francisco. Ivory, then a cinema student at University of Southern California, had completed his thesis film on Venetian paintings and was looking to buy some artwork. He saw a set of Indian miniature paintings at the shop. The paintings intrigued him, and even though the Berkeley-born and Oregon-raised Ivory did not know much about India, he eventually decided to make a short documentary about classical Indian art called The Sword and the Flute (1959). Through a friend, Ivory met New York-based Indian actor Saeed Jaffrey who agreed to do the voiceover for the film. After a screening of the film at the Indian Consulate in New York City, Jaffrey introduced Ivory to an Indian management student, Ismail Merchant. Merchant was obsessed with popular Indian cinema (actress Nimmi was his family friend in Bombay) and he was keen to make films in India for international audiences. That chance meeting on the steps of the consulate changed the face of American independent cinema."
- Aseem Chhabra, Scroll
"I go to Venice all the time. I suppose it’s the place I love most in the world. When I went to Europe for the first time, I went to Paris and then to Venice. So after Paris, Venice was my first great European city, and it just blew me away. The reason I made that documentary as my thesis at USC film school was to have an excuse to go back to Venice. [laughs] I thought I was going to be a set designer. That’s why I went to architecture school. I mean, I hardly knew how movies were made. The cult of the director and all that stuff didn’t exist then. That didn’t come until the 1960s French new wave. I scarcely knew what a director even did. I knew what actors did and I could imagine what a screenwriter would do, but I didn’t understand the whole setup, really, until I made my first feature. And that first feature was with Ismail Merchant."
- James Ivory, Andy Warhol's Interview
"James Ivory has won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay at the 90th Academy awards for his work on the film Call Me By Your Name, adapted from André Aciman’s novel of the same name. At 89, Ivory is the oldest ever winner of an Academy award; it is his first win after three previous nominations in the best director category, for the films A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and The Remains of the Day. Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the face of Call Me By Your Name star Timothée Chalamet, Ivory thanked his deceased Merchant-Ivory partners Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as well as André Aciman."
- Jake Nevins dissects the 2018 Academy Awards, The Guardian
"James Ivory was recognised at this year’s ceremony for his screenplay for the much-loved gay coming-of-age romance Call Me By Your Name, which he adapted from a novel by André Aciman – and there is something fitting about an Ivory Oscar feeling perfectly of its moment while also having the air of a lifetime achievement. His work as both a director and a screenwriter has always striven for timelessness, yet is precise to the finest period detail. Any other result last night would have felt like the wrong one. But at the same time: guys, what took you so long?"
- Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
Maggie Smith & Judi Dench
James Ivory & Helena Bonham Carter attend the 2018 BAFTA Awards
'Maybe You're Right' - Cat Stevens
The joyous ensemble assembled for 'A Room With A View' includes former circus clown Rupert Graves who's ideally cast as Lucy's foolhardy brother Freddy Honeychurch. Rosemary Leach plays Lucy and Freddy's mother Mrs. Honeychurch, Judi Dench is attentive writer Eleanor Lavish and Simon Callow lets it all hang out as The Reverend Mr. Beebe. Daniel Day-Lewis, possibly now retired from screen acting, chisels a perfect caricature as stuffy Cecil Vyse. Julian Sands, back in Britain now to co-headline the wrestling-themed 'Full Monty' clone 'Walk Like A Panther' (2018), regularly turns on the afterburners as passionate wildling George Emerson. Add Denholm Elliott to this mix and you have a charismatic line-up of British theatre stars past and present.
'A Room With A View' is the movie that put Helena Bonham Carter on the map. A defining role as Lady Jane Grey followed in Trevor Nunn's earnest historical drama 'Lady Jane' (1986), paving the way for Bonham Carter to become one of the leading performers in period dramas. Without doubt, Lucy Honeychurch is one of the most cherished characters in British cinema. Bonham Carter would go on to star in two more Forster adaptations, Charles Sturridge's 'Where Angels Fear To Tread' (1991) and James Ivory's 'Howards End' (1992).
"A Room with a View: Helena Bonham Cartner started her career with this role as the free-spirited Lucy Honeychurch in EM Forster's tale of Edwardian repression; the first of many period dramas roles (and her first Forster adaptation before Howards End). Aged just 19 at the time, the actress excelled opposite Julian Sands as George Emerson, in a cast which also included Judi Dench and Daniel Day-Lewis. The New York Times commented: "Miss Bonham Carter gives a remarkably complex performance of a young woman who is simultaneously reasonable and romantic, generous and selfish."
- Hannah Jane Parkinson, The Guardian
"She is the queen of the British period pictures, the forceful heroine with the flashing eyes and the knack of looking as if she's worn those costumes all her life. Helena Bonham Carter has played Lady Jane Grey and Ophelia, and the heroines of E.M. Forster's "Room With a View" and "Howard's End," and the evil doctor's lover in "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," and Olivia in "Twelfth Night," and if she somehow missed starring in one of the Jane Austen adaptations, now here she is as Kate Croy, a woman prepared to loan out the man she loves, in Henry James' "The Wings of the Dove."
It is one of her best performances, making her a likely candidate for an Academy Award nomination, and yet like all of her work she cannot bear to watch it. She slipped out of the gala premiere at the Toronto Film Festival: "I didn't particularly want to see it with 1,200 people. I'm totally unmoved by the whole thing. But then I'm never moved by anything that I'm in. It's too excruciating. You know it's only you, you know the drama behind the whole thing, you know the story, everything always seems so long and boring and unsympathetic and uninvolving when it's something I'm in . . ." But she does like to watch other people in others' movies: "Oh yes, absolutely. Sometimes I can even watch myself, when I have something to hide behind; an accent, or it's a character part. But mostly it's a painful process and not one that I enjoy."
I believe her. I believe she is impatient with herself, and doesn't enjoy looking at herself in a mirror, and spends her days off wearing jeans with holes in the knees, and sees acting in the British way, as more of a job or a craft than an art or a calling. That's why I like her in her period roles: She plays her characters as if she's not impressed with them, as if she knows their weaknesses all too well. She doesn't, like some actors, behave as if she knows she's in a Great Literary Classic."
- Roger Ebert, 'Helena Bonham Carter : Queen Of The Period Picture'
”In London, I’m a genre unto myself there. If a period film opens and I’m not in it, the critics write, ‘And the Helena Bonham Carter role is played by…’ Period movies are my destiny. I should get a few ribs taken out, because I’ll be in a corset for the rest of my life.”
- Helena Bonham Carter
"One always tends to overpraise a long book because one has got through it."
- E.M. Forster
Helena Bonham Carter & Julian Sands
Daniel Day-Lewis & Helena Bonham Carter
- Hannah Jane Parkinson, The Guardian
"She is the queen of the British period pictures, the forceful heroine with the flashing eyes and the knack of looking as if she's worn those costumes all her life. Helena Bonham Carter has played Lady Jane Grey and Ophelia, and the heroines of E.M. Forster's "Room With a View" and "Howard's End," and the evil doctor's lover in "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," and Olivia in "Twelfth Night," and if she somehow missed starring in one of the Jane Austen adaptations, now here she is as Kate Croy, a woman prepared to loan out the man she loves, in Henry James' "The Wings of the Dove."
It is one of her best performances, making her a likely candidate for an Academy Award nomination, and yet like all of her work she cannot bear to watch it. She slipped out of the gala premiere at the Toronto Film Festival: "I didn't particularly want to see it with 1,200 people. I'm totally unmoved by the whole thing. But then I'm never moved by anything that I'm in. It's too excruciating. You know it's only you, you know the drama behind the whole thing, you know the story, everything always seems so long and boring and unsympathetic and uninvolving when it's something I'm in . . ." But she does like to watch other people in others' movies: "Oh yes, absolutely. Sometimes I can even watch myself, when I have something to hide behind; an accent, or it's a character part. But mostly it's a painful process and not one that I enjoy."
I believe her. I believe she is impatient with herself, and doesn't enjoy looking at herself in a mirror, and spends her days off wearing jeans with holes in the knees, and sees acting in the British way, as more of a job or a craft than an art or a calling. That's why I like her in her period roles: She plays her characters as if she's not impressed with them, as if she knows their weaknesses all too well. She doesn't, like some actors, behave as if she knows she's in a Great Literary Classic."
- Roger Ebert, 'Helena Bonham Carter : Queen Of The Period Picture'
”In London, I’m a genre unto myself there. If a period film opens and I’m not in it, the critics write, ‘And the Helena Bonham Carter role is played by…’ Period movies are my destiny. I should get a few ribs taken out, because I’ll be in a corset for the rest of my life.”
- Helena Bonham Carter
"One always tends to overpraise a long book because one has got through it."
- E.M. Forster
Helena Bonham Carter & Julian Sands
Daniel Day-Lewis & Helena Bonham Carter
In addition to 'A Room With A View' and 'Howards End', James Ivory also directed the E.M. Forster adaptation 'Maurice' (1987) which includes a cameo appearance from Helena Bonham Carter. I wrote on imdb last year about another Forster adaptation I enjoy, David Lean's historical epic 'A Passage To India' (1984). The song 'Death Of A Supernaturalist' by pop group The Divine Comedy opens with a soundbite from the film 'A Room With A View' and this track can be found on the album 'Victory For The Comic Muse' which derives its title from a line in Forster's book. Last year, 'Howards End' was newly adapted as a television mini-series.
"I’ve found throughout my life that people jump to assumptions without having any knowledge, really. But they like to make an opinion and if it’s flashy or well-chosen or whatever then it becomes a catchphrase and becomes passed around. It’s like catching a cold, it seems to me.”
- Vanessa Redgrave
