Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11901 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-02-24
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dolby, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 136 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Howards End is E M Forster's beautifully subtle story of the criss-crossing paths of the privileged and those they disdain--and of a remarkable pair of women who can see beyond class distinctions. Dramatic and tragic but also surprisingly funny, this James Ivory film focuses on a pair of unmarried sisters (Emma Thompson, who won an Oscar, and Helena Bonham Carter) who befriend a poor young clerk (Sam West) and, without meaning to, ruin his life. Meanwhile, Thompson also makes the acquaintance of a dying neighbour (Vanessa Redgrave), who leaves her a family home in her will--which her husband (Anthony Hopkins) destroys. But, ironically, he meets and falls in love with Thompson, even as their paths once more intersect with the increasingly miserable young clerk. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's beautifully economical script also won an Oscar.--Marshall Fine

Special Features
Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
30th Anniversary Merchant Ivory Promotion
Howards End Featurette
Interviews With The Cast
Behind The Scenes Featurette
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection

Synopsis
E.M. Forster's 1910 novel is adapted for the screen by Merchant Ivory Productions in this masterful Edwardian Age romance directed by James Ivory. The dying Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) wishes to leave her country home, Howards End, to Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson in an Academy Award-winning role), a modest woman of little means who will soon be forced out of her own home in London. But Ruth's husband, Henry (Anthony Hopkins), an upper middle class businessman, keeps secret her desire even after he and Margaret become friends. However, after Henry and Margaret marry, their class differences and philosophies threaten to cause them unhappiness. Margaret's sister, Helen (Helena Bonham Carter), is disgusted by the Wilcox's snobbish ways and is attracted to helping struggling clerk Leonard Bast (Sam West) improve his position. Merchant-Ivory screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was the force behind adapting this Forster novel into a film, winning her second Academy Award for her screenplay; her first Oscar was for A ROOM WITH A VIEW.

Customer Reviews

Boring.
I bought this dvd to help me when studying Howards End at a-level. I found myself unable to concentrate for long and spent most of the film either playing on games on my phone or finding excuses to leave the room whilst leaving the dvd playing.

"What I remember principally about Speyer was the great pleasure of meeting you, Miss Schlegel"
"What I remember principally about Speyer was the great pleasure of meeting you, Miss Schlegel."

Thus does Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) sincerely complement Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson). And it is from the meeting and friendship of these two ladies that the fate of Howards End - the name of Mrs Wilcox's rural home - is ultimately determined. As Anthony Hopkins states in the interviews that come as extras to this DVD, Howards End is a story about property and inheritance. "Isn't it curious that our carpet fits?" says Helen Schlegel (Helena Bonham Carter) to her sister Margaret towards the end of the movie, as if fate and unseen forces had been at work all along.

This was Merchant Ivory's third E.M. Foster adaptation, and arguably the best. There is the usual studious attention paid to period detail both in scenes of great intimacy and in great set-pieces such as at railway stations and Christmas shopping. The film adopts a steady pace, never lingering too long but never rushed either. And despite being over two hours long, I was never conscious of its length, so involved did I become in the marvellous storytelling.

With actors such as these, of course, including a perfect Anthony Hopkins and a brilliant Sam West, the whole film becomes a joy to watch. Their performances are quite clearly so good by virtue of their natural ease in their roles, bringing them alive by a mere look in the eye or by the stance of their bodies. Even the minor character players, such as Tibby and Jackie, also shine. And there is a marvellous cameo by Simon Callow.

Not everything is perfect. We had great fun disentangling, for example, the geography of the Schlegel's house, both in its internal arrangement and in its relationship with the street: for we see characters climb the stairs, move into a room at the back of the house, and then see them peer through the curtains at the front. In addition some of the ADR is badly done, not terribly so, but enough to notice. The incongruous circumstances of Leonard Bast's death could have been more dramatic too.

The extras on this DVD are short but sweet. There is a five-minute featurette bearing interviews with Anthony Hopkins, James Ivory, Helena Bonham-Carter, Emma Thompson and Ismail Merchant. In addition there are separate short interviews with Sam West, and James Wilby. An eight-minute behind-the-scenes feature is fascinating as we see the team shooting scenes in London. Finally, there is a short Merchant Ivory thirtieth-anniversary promo.

A gorgeous piece
Ismail Merchant and James Ivory will probably be best remembered for their gorgeous productions of E.M. Forster novels, of which 'Howard's End' is second to none. How can one fail, given their winning formula of lush period settings, perfect musical accompaniment, and flawless matching of character to actor? This particular Merchant/Ivory film was nominated for countless awards, including nine Academy Awards, among them Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress.

The story revolves around the Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, and their involvement with various characters including a ruthless businessman and his dying wife, and a down-on-his-luck day clerk. Margaret is the sensible sister, caring but careful, while Helen is the idealist, out to save the world, without realising how condescending she can be in attempting to do so. Their brother is almost an afterthought in the story. Margaret is portrayed by Emma Thompson, veteran Shakespearean and British actress; Helen is played by Merchant-Ivory veteran Helena Bonham Carter. Other players include Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins, James Wilby (also in other Merchant-Ivory productions), Samuel West, and the great Vanessa Redgrave. (Look for Prunella Scales, best known as Sybil Fawlty from 'Fawlty Towers' in what might be described as an extended cameo role.)

The characters show some of the principal social class divisions of late Victorian/Edwardian England. The Wilcoxes are a successful business family, unlettered and conservative; the Schlegels are genteel aristocrats with an idealistic bent but slowly declining economic fortunes; the Basts are underprivileged but yearning for more. One of the better lines comes from the aunt of the Schlegel sisters, as she explains their upbringing: 'Of course, they are British to the backbone, but their father is German, which is why they care for literature and art.' This is a world in which everyone expects to have a discernable and well defined role, but the world around these social classes is changing rapidly.

At first, Helen is engaged to the younger Wilcox son. In short order, this relationship breaks, but not before the Wilcoxes and the Schlegels are intertwined in continuing social encounters. Eventually, the elder Schlegel sister Margaret gets a marriage proposal from the patriarch Wilcox, after his wife dies of a long illness. Helen has, in the meanwhile, become pregnant from the underprivileged Leonard Bast, whose wife, we discover, had a brief fling with the elder Wilcox in the past. If this sounds like a soap opera, you might be on to something. However, no daytime drama was ever so lavishly and well appointed.

The title for 'Howard's End' comes from the country home of the Wilcoxes, in fact the property of Mrs. Wilcox, which she means for Margaret to have. She willed it to Margaret when they became friends, but Henry Wilcox suppressed the will after his wife's death. In the end, Howard's End comes to the Schlegels in a different way, as the world continues its unsteady path between Victorian/Edwardian sensibilities and the new world to come.

This is a flawless film in many ways - well acted, well designed, well directed. This is a visual treat indeed.