Drama > Ivory, James Drama

The Remains of the Day - Repressed Love, Beautifully Acted

Advantages: Great lead performances and supporting cast.
Disadvantages: Claustrophobic, lacks excitement

...with Miss Kenton (Thompson) and the film takes place with events leading up to the Second World War. During their time they form a close relationship but repress true feelings for each other. The subplot involves meetings between diplomats taking place within the hall which are to shape political foreign relations between America, Britain and Germany and the controversy that surrounds Lord Darlington’s friendship with right-wing extremists. The story ...
...during their time working at the hall and then 20 years later when they both reflect on their time together. The films famous supporting cast are excellent but it is Hopkins and Thompson who give the film subtlety and meaning. Hopkins deeply conveys a man unable to display political views or express desire properly and who has much dignity and authority but who is torn inside. The settings are quite claustrophobic but genuine as most of the film ...

webtoolsclient1 28.04.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Remains Of The Day (DVD)

The Golden Bowl - the film version of the Henry James novel

Advantages: Attention to period detail, good work with costume accuracy
Disadvantages: Poor dialogue, too long, badly produced in my view

The Golden Bowl is a film released in 2000, based on the book written at the turn of the twentieth century by Henry James. The film lasts for 130 minutes, and my review is based on the DVD. In essence, the plot is that Prince Amerigo marries Maggie Verver, the daughter of Adam Verver. However Amerigo is in love with Verver's best friend, Charlotte Stant. There are some really good actors in the film, Jeremy Northam plays Amerigo, who I thought was ...
...Maggie is played by the beautiful and talented actress Kate Beckinsale, Nick Nolte plays her father in the film, and Uma Thurman, who I remembered from her roles in Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, plays Stant. The film is directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. And as for the quality of the film, I was disappointed. The film lasts for over two hours, but to be honest, feels a lot more. The length of the film is far too long, the structure ...

julwhite 30.06.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Golden Bowl (DVD)

Cold Comfort

Advantages: Technically excellent
Disadvantages: Emotionally cold

During the politically turbulent 1930s Former American diplomat Todd Jackson retreats to Shanghai after losing his sight and his family. He plans to build the perfect bar and befriends the mysterious Matsuda, even after being warned the Japanese is employed to plan the invasion of China. He meets impoverished Russian noblewoman Sofia in bar where she works as a dancer and part-time prostitute. She supports her extended family financially but they ...
...lead to the Second World War grows, the two begin a tentative relationship that brings both hope and despair. Like many Merchant Ivory productions, "The White Countess" is a richly detailed evocation of a bygone era. In Ismail Merchant's hands inter-war Shanghai comes to life, showing the decadence of the nightclubs available to only the richest ex-patriots with the harsh existence of the less fortunate. At night the rich and beautiful come together ...

afy9mab 24.10.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The White Countess (DVD)

A Timeless Tale

Advantages: A beautifully made period film
Disadvantages: None that i can think of

Heat And Dust (1983) I love watching films with an Indian setting made by British directors.They somehow make India look more beautiful , much more romantic and exotic and yet at the same time they are very realistic in their approach. There have been many such films made on the British experience in India, and most of these films have tried to highlight some aspect of the cultural contrast between the East and the West. There were films like ' ...
...with the film script. Heat and Dust (1983) is a Merchant Ivory productions Award winning film.Directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, this is one of their many films on colonial India.They had earlier made 'Householder' and 'Shakespeare wallah' , both of which starred the Indian Actor Shashi Kapoor in the lead role. This film again has Shashi Kapoor in the lead. . The story of the film ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heat and Dust is the story ...

kiran8 02.02.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Heat And Dust (DVD)

A modern classic

Advantages: As beautiful as any Merchant/Ivory production
Disadvantages: Lesser known because of its subject matter

...relationship and the contrast between Maurice Hall and Clive Durham. Both are undergraduates together, and through the course of very English educational encounters, discover in each other 'the love that dared not speak its name', a situation reinforced by all worldly standards. I heard it once remarked that one thing that makes so many people rankle at discussions of homosexuality is that many people rankle at frank discussions of ANY sexuality. ...
...we see the relationship between Maurice and Clive run full course, and see the classic options: Clive runs in a panic (rather literally) into marriage and a respectable life with a wife who seems to think she is a keen judge of human nature, but really hasn't a clue on this one; Maurice opts for love true to his nature albeit against society, even against his social class, but at what cost? Alas, we don't know. The manuscript was unfinished, and ...

frkurt 13.12.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Maurice (DVD)