A Room with a View (1985 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Room with a View | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
Directed by | James Ivory |
Produced by | Ismail Merchant |
Screenplay by | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala |
Based on | A Room with a View by E. M. Forster |
Starring | Helena Bonham Carter Maggie Smith Denholm Elliott Julian Sands Daniel Day-Lewis Judi Dench |
Music by | Richard Robbins (score) Giacomo Puccini (sung byKiri Te Kanawa) |
Cinematography | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
Edited by | Humphrey Dixon |
Production
company | |
Distributed by | |
Release dates
|
|
Running time
| 117 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £2.3 million[1] |
Box office | $20,966,644[2] |
A Room with a View is a British romance drama film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant of E. M. Forster's 1908 novel of the same name. The film follows closely the novel by use of the chapter titles to section the film into thematic segments.[citation needed] Set in England and Italy, it is about a young woman in the restrictive and repressed culture of Edwardian era England and her developing love for a free-spirited young man.
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
Miss Lucy Honeychurch is from an English village in Surrey and is on holiday in Italy with her much older cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett. Charlotte is conventionally English, with an extremely restrictive personality and tends to get her way by expressing her emotions to manipulate others. Lucy has been brought up in an upper class but loving and easygoing household, and had fewer inhibitions, which creates a strong tension between herself and Charlotte. They are in contrast with the more free-thinking and free-spirited backdrop of Italy. At a smallpensione Lucy meets such people as Reverend Beebe, the two Miss Alans, and the author Miss Eleanor Lavish, but most importantly, the nonconformist Mr. Emerson and his handsome, philosophical son, George, who becomes friends with Charlotte. These men, although also English, represent the forward-thinking ideals of the turn-of-the-century, seeking to leave behind the repression and caution that was the norm in Victorian times. At first, the Emersons seem strange and unfamiliar to Lucy and Charlotte. They seem sincere but unaware of finer upper class Victorian manners. Mr. Emerson offers to switch rooms with the women, who desire a room with a view. Charlotte is offended, believing him to be rude and tactless for what she perceives to be indebting them with his offer. As Lucy begins her journey to maturity, she finds herself drawn to George due to his mysterious thinking and readily expressed emotions.
A number of people staying at the pension take a carriage ride in the country. A mischievous Italian driver gets back at Charlotte by misdirecting an unchaperoned Lucy to George in a barley field as he admires the view. George suddenly embraces and passionately kisses Lucy as she approaches him. Charlotte has followed Lucy, witnesses the act, and quickly stops the intimacy. George's unreserved passion shocks Lucy, but also lights a secret desire and romance in her heart. Charlotte suggests George kissing her was the act of a rake . Charlotte makes reference to a heartbreak from her youth that occurred the same way and has behaved accordingly with disgust and anger toward George. Charlotte uses guilt to coerce Lucy to secrecy to save both their reputations as a young lady and a chaperone, but it is mostly for her own benefit. Normally, if a young man kissed a young lady, an engagement should be announced to preserve her reputation, but Charlotte considers George to be an undesirable influence. Upon returning to England, Lucy tells her mother nothing and pretends to forget the incident. She accepts a marriage proposal from a wealthy and respectable but snobbish man named Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis). However, she soon learns that both George and his father have moved to her small village and will be her neighbors due to a letter from Cecil Vyse inviting them to reside in an empty cottage.
The appearance of George soon disrupts Lucy's plans and causes her suppressed feelings to resurface, complicated by the supposed need for secrecy. Lucy consistently refuses George's pursuit of her, but mysteriously breaks off her engagement to Cecil, and makes plans to visit Greece. George has also decided that he must move for peace of mind and makes arrangements. Lucy stops by Reverend Beebe's and is confronted by George's father before they are to leave town. She suddenly realizes that the only reason that she planned to travel was to escape her feelings for George. At the end, we see George and Lucy eloped in the Italian pension where they met, in the room with the view.
Cast[edit]
- Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch
- Julian Sands as George Emerson
- Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlett
- Denholm Elliott as Mr. Emerson
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil Vyse
- Simon Callow as The Reverend Mr. Beebe
- Rosemary Leach as Mrs Honeychurch, Lucy's mother
- Rupert Graves as Freddy Honeychurch, Lucy's brother
|
Filming[edit]
A Room With a View was filmed in Emmetts Garden, Sevenoaks and Foxwold House, Chiddingstone. Lucy and Cecil take a walk through the village after their engagement party. They stop at St Mary's Church to speak to Mr Beebe. Later in the film the Emersons rent a house in the village, Mr Beebe's house is also in the village behind the church. It is there that Lucy and Mr Emerson talk about her relationship with his son at the end of the film. Lucy's engagement party was filmed in the grounds of Emmetts Garden.[3]
Box office[edit]
The film made $4.4 million at the US box office in the first 12 weeks of release.[1]
Awards[edit]
- Wins
- Academy Awards: Best Art Direction (Gianni Quaranta) (Brian Ackland-Snow) (Brian Savegar) (Elio Altamura), Best Costume Design (Jenny Beavan) (John Bright) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala)[4]
- BAFTAs: Best Actress (Maggie Smith), Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), Best Costume Design (Jenny Beavan), Best Film (James Ivory), Best Production Design (Brian Ackland-Snow)[5]
- Evening Standard British Film Awards: Best Film (James Ivory), Best Technical/Artistic Achievement (Tony Pierce-Roberts)[5]
- Golden Globes: Best Supporting Actress (Maggie Smith)[6]
- Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Denholm Elliott), Best Supporting Actress (Maggie Smith)[5]
- London Critics Circle Film Awards: Best Film (James Ivory)[7]
- National Board of Review: Best Film, Best Supporting Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)[8]
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Cinematography (Tony Pierce-Roberts), Best Supporting Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)[9]
- Writers Guild of America: Best Adapted Screenplay (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala)[10]
- Nominations
- Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Denholm Elliott), Best Supporting Actress (Maggie Smith), Best Picture (Ismail Merchant), Best Cinematography (Tony Pierce-Roberts), Best Director (James Ivory)[11]
- BAFTAs: Best Supporting Actor (Simon Callow), (Denholm Elliott), Best Supporting Actress (Rosemary Leach), Best Cinematography (Tony Pierce-Roberts), Best Direction (James Ivory), Best Editing (Humphrey Dixon), Best Score (Richard Robbins), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), Best Sound[12]
- Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (James Ivory)[13]
- Golden Globes: Best Director (James Ivory), Best Motion Picture – Drama[14]
Soundtrack[edit]
- "O mio babbino caro" (from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini) – Kiri Te Kanawa with London PO, conducted by Sir John Pritchard
- "The Pensione Bertollini"
- "Lucy, Charlotte, and Miss Lavish See the City"
- "In the Piazza Signoria"
- "The Embankment"
- "Phaeton and Persephone"
- "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" (from La Rondine, Act One by Puccini) – Kiri Te Kanawa with London PO, conducted by Sir John Pritchard
- "The Storm"
- "Home, and the Betrothal"
- "The Sacred Lake"
- "The Allan Sisters"
- "In the National Gallery"
- "Windy Corner"
- "Habanera" (from Carmen by Georges Bizet)
- "The Broken Engagement"
- "Return to Florence"
- "End Titles"
- Original music composed by Richard Robbins
- Soundtrack album produced by Simon Heyworth
- Arrangements by Frances Shaw and Barrie Gurad
- Music published by Filmtrax PLC
See also[edit]
- Baedeker, a travel guide mentioned several times in the film
- Chiddingstone Castle, used as a location for the film
References[edit]
- ^ ab "Bad Beginning." Sunday Times [London, England] 15 June 1986: 45. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
- ^ A Room with a View at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office A Room With A View Film Focus".
- ^ "The 1987 Oscar Winners – RopeofSilicon.com Award Show Central". Ropeofsilicon.com. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ ab c http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091867/awards
- ^ "The 1987 Golden Globe Award Winners – RopeofSilicon.com Award Show Central". Ropeofsilicon.com. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/London_Critics_Circle_Film_Awards/1987
- ^ "National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards". Nbrmp.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ "New York Film Critics Circle: 1986 Awards". Nyfcc.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Writers_Guild_of_America_USA/1987
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1987
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/BAFTA_Awards/1987
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Directors_Guild_of_America_USA/1987
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Golden_Globes_USA/1987
External links[edit]
- Merchant Ivory Productions
- A Room with a View at the Internet Movie Database
- A Room with a View at AllMovie
- A Room with a View at Box Office Mojo
- A Room with a View at Rotten Tomatoes
- A Room with a View at Metacritic
|
|
|
|
Categories:
- 1985 films
- English-language films
- 1980s romantic drama films
- British films
- British romantic drama films
- E. M. Forster in performing arts
- Films based on novels
- Films directed by James Ivory
- Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe winning performance
- Films set in country houses
- Films set in England
- Films set in Florence
- Film4 Productions films
- Films set in hotels
- Films set in Italy
- Films set in the 1900s
- Films shot in England
- Films shot in Italy
- Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award
- Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
- Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award
- Goldcrest Films films
- Independent films
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film winners
- Merchant Ivory Productions films
No comments:
Post a Comment