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Friday, October 8, 2010

A Room With A View

A Room With A View (Special Edition) [DVD] [1985]

Amazon.co.uk Review

The prestigious film-making trio of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala had made other critically acclaimed films before A Room with a View was released in 1985, but it was this popular film that made them art-house superstars. Splendidly adapted from the novel by E.M. Forster, it's a comedy of the heart, a passionate romance and a study of repression within the class system of manners and mores. It's that system of rigid behaviour that prevents young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) from accepting the loving advances of a free-spirited suitor (Julian Sands), who fears that she will follow through with her engagement to a priggish intellectual (Daniel Day-Lewis) whose capacity for passion is virtually non-existent. During and after a trip to Italy with her protective companion (Maggie Smith), Lucy gradually gets in touch with her true emotions. The fun of watching A Room with a View comes from seeing how Lucy's thoughts and feelings finally arrive at the same romantic conclusion. Through an abundance of humour both subtle and overt, the film rose to an unexpected level of popular appeal. The Merchant-Ivory team received eight Academy Award nominations for their efforts, and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction and Costume Design. --Jeff Shannon


Hurray! A Digitally Remastered DVD Version At Last!5
Having played my VHS tape of this wonderful film until my VHS player broke, and having followed other customers' advice about the previous, poor DVD editions, I am so glad that I am now able to watch a flawless version of this classic - the picture and sound quality is as crystal clear as is possible for a film produced 22 years ago, making visible the precious details of this meticulous production: the lacey costumes and beautiful sets, the authentic interiors and coiffures, and even minute facial expressions that I had missed so far.
Among the extras are interviews with Simon Callow and Daniel Day-Lewis. The most interesting extra for me was a 1970 BBC tribute to E. M. Forster, featuring footage, photographs and quotations of himself and interviews with some of his friends, critics and contemporaries, including Frank Kermode, Christopher Ishwerwood and George Steiner.
Priceless!

A Room With A View (Special Edition) [DVD] [1985]

A Room With A View (Special Edition) [DVD] [1985]
Directed by James Ivory



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