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DVD A Room with a View (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The prestigious filmmaking 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 British class system of manners and mores. It's that system of rigid behavior 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 nonexistent. 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 humor both subtle and overt, this crowd-pleasing "art movie" 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
Review(s): DVD A Room with a View (Two-Disc Special Edition)
2-disc version Audio problems
This is a warning to anyone who is considering buying the two-disc Special Edition of this film, especially if you already own and love this movie. The transfer is flawed. The audio is a whole pitch higher than the original film. Maggie Smith sounds like she is being strangled throughout the film. If you don't already own it, buy the single disk version released July 2000.
Pre WW I innocence
E.M. Forster's novel brought to the screen, a young woman (Maggie Smith) must decide between marrying a doltish and boring Englishman or the man who arrouses her passions. Set in Florence and England, the movie captures faithfully the period (1900-1910) of Edwardian transition in morals in England. The acting is superb and the love story told evocatively. Definitely worth a watch.
Classic movie of the times
This was one of the outstanding movies of the times. It features one of the greatest stories showing the moving from Italy to England back to Italy. It captures the blossoming of a girl in Italy and features one of the greatest cast. Every one of the persons from Helena Bonham Carter to Daniel Day Lewis as the insufferable Cecil Vyse did a wonderful job. Maggie Carter was superb as "poor Charlotte" as was Simon Callow as reverent Mr. Beebe. Judy Dench was also great as Miss Lavish, the ubiquitous novelist. Forster took a trip to Italy in 1901 and the book came out in 1908 after considerable rewriting. This was one of the best romance novels that was made into a movie and the screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala rightly won the oscar.
Even the humor is unusual and understated. When the English chaplain in Florence, Mr Eager, takes people to see a chapel, Denholm Elliot, as Mr Emerson, shows Lucy Honeychurch around. At one point, Mr Eager remarks "Remember that this chapel was built in faith during the full fervor of medievalism". This prompt Mr Emerson to retort "Built by faith indeed. It simply means that the workers were not paid enough". Scenes were the brother and sister are together are especially wonderful. One of the best scenes is the one in the lake where the three take a bath and are discovered. Forster was always not one to go with the flow of the era and this story captures the essence of a person who is engaged to a rich person but is in love with a free spirited person, George Emerson. It shows how she is in a quandary and decides to break the engagement and marry George which would have been scandalous in those times.
This movie is a shining example of maximum Merchant-Ivory ability to achieve maximum quality and opulence at minimum cost. A winner of three Academy Awards, A Room with a View is not what one could call fast-moving, but fans of the Merchant-Ivory team will enjoy luxuriating in the film's leisurely pace and stimulating cast of characters. I for one feel that the DVD is well made and the problems are minor. Despite issues pointed out by previous reviewers, this is still one of the outstanding movies made. Unlike a number of movies, this movie will never age due to its quality, ageless story and innocence. It also touches people across all ages.
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