Howards End

James Ivory

United Kingdom

1992

142 minutes

Color

2.35:1

English

Watch Film for $5

488

Synopsis

The pinnacle of the decades-long collaboration between producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, Howards End is a luminous vision of E. M. Forster’s cutting 1910 novel about class divisions in Edwardian England. Emma Thompson won an Academy Award for her dynamic portrayal of Margaret Schlegel, a flighty yet compassionate middle-class intellectual whose friendship with the dying wife (Vanessa Redgrave) of rich capitalist Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) commences an intricately woven tale of money, love, and death that encompasses the country’s highest and lowest social echelons. With a brilliant, layered script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (who also won an Oscar) and a roster of gripping performances, Howards End is a work of both great beauty and vivid darkness, and one of cinema’s best literary adaptations.

Cast

Margaret SchlegelEmma Thompson
Henry WilcoxAnthony Hopkins
Ruth WilcoxVanessa Redgrave
Helen SchlegelHelena Bonham Carter
Leonard BastSamuel West
Charles WilcoxJames Wilby
Aunt JuleyPrunella Scales
Evie WilcoxJemma Redgrave
Paul WilcoxJoseph Bennett
Tibby SchlegelAdrian Ross Magenty
Dolly WilcoxSusie Lindeman
Jacky BastNicola Duffett
Miss AveryBarbara Hicks

Credits

DirectorJames Ivory
ScreenplayRuth Prawer Jhabvala
ProducerIsmail Merchant
Based on the novel byE.M. Forster
Associate producerDonald Rosenfeld
MusicRichard Robbins
CinematographyTony Pierce-Roberts
EditingAndrew Marcus
CostumesJenny Beavan and John Bright
Production DesignLuciana Arrighi
Art DirectionJohn Ralph

Disc Features

  • High-definition digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts and approved by director James Ivory (with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
  • New video appreciation of the late Ismail Merchant by director Ivory
  • Building “Howards End,” a documentary featuring interviews with Ivory, Merchant, Helena Bonham Carter, costume designer Jenny Beavan, and Academy Award–winning production designer Luciana Arrighi
  • The Design of “Howards End,” a detailed look at the costume and production designs for the film, including original sketches
  • The Wandering Company, a 50-minute documentary about the history of Merchant Ivory Productions
  • Original 1992 behind-the-scenes featurette
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kenneth Turan (available only with the Blu-ray edition)

From the Current

Press Notes: Howards End

Nov 20, 2009

The Academy Award–winning Howards End, starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins, is back in the spotlight, thanks to Criterion’s new Blu-ray disc. “Pure artistry defines this 1992 film from director James Ivory,” writes Amanda Mae Meyncke in a http://www.film.com/movies/howards...

Howards End: All Is Grace

by Kenneth Turan Oct 28, 2009

Who speaks of Howards End these days? Who expounds on the virtues of this magnificent drama, whose traditional style seems almost as distant as its Edwardian setting? Seen today, years...

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Available Editions

488_box_348x490_w128 Add to Cart

23 Feb 2010

DVD

2 Discs

SRP: $29.95

Criterion Store price

$23.96

488_bd_box_348x490_w128 Add to Cart

3 Nov 2009

Blu-Ray

1 Disc

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price

$31.96