Ismail Merchant and James Ivory (and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala – the scriptwriter who was an essential part of the triumvirate) made some of the most successful and popular films of the last 40 years – Room With A View, Remains of the Day, Howard’s End and many more. Their films starred many household names, such as Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Anthony Hopkins who all appear in this fond but clear-eyed documentary which follows not only their career and their films, but also their relationship; Merchant and Ivory were both business and life partners.
The film gives us a chance to see the bigger picture of how they came to make so many interesting films, and also how infuriating and impossible it was to work for them. A must watch for all their fans.
MERCHANT IVORY is the first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. Footage from more than fifty interviews, clips, and archival material gives voice to the family of actors and technicians who helped define Merchant Ivory’s Academy Award-winning work of consummate quality and intelligence.
With six Oscar winners among the notable artists participating, these close and often long-term collaborators intimately detail the transformational cinematic creativity and personal and professional drama of the wandering company that left an indelible impact on film culture.
