Howards End

Cohen Media go all-out to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Merchant Ivory film "Howards End" with a 4K-scan Blu-ray release prepared from the original camera negatives.

Why does this technical stuff matter? Because -- as director James Ivory explains -- for this initial release, the film was enlarged to 70mm prints, which meant that more generations than usual of the filmed images were part of the process and the final image quality seen in theaters suffered. After supervising this new transfer tougher with cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts, Ivory notes that the colors and resolution are top-notch.

And he's not wrong: This Blu-ray looks stunning, which is only proper given the film itself, a masterful adaptation from E.M. Forster's novel (the third and final Forster adaptation that Merchant Ivory undertook following "A Room with A View" and the author's gay-themed, posthumously published "Maurice").

Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins light up the screen (their performances are hailed as a "master class" on the audio commentary track), and Thompson took home the Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Schlegel, the eldest of a trio of siblings sharing a home in London. Margaret's younger sister, Helen (Helena Bonham Carter -- who, as it turns out, was a casting choice producer Ismail Merchant insisted on) falls into a giddy, but brief, romance with the son of the prosperous Wilcox family; the aftermath might have been awkward, save for a friendship that blossoms between Margaret and the Wilcox matriarch, Ruth (Vanessa Redgrave). When the ailing Ruth dies, she leaves behind a scribbled note to the effect that she wishes her house -- a modest, though comfortable, farm house called Howards End, situated not far from London -- to go to Margaret. Ruth's own family have no great affection for the house, but it's theirs and they are loathe to give it up, so the note finds its way to the fireplace.

Less crustily class-conscious are the Schlegels, however, and thus they befriend an impoverished clerk named Leonard Bast (Sam West), a good-hearted man whose sense of duty has led him to defy his family and marry a "fallen woman" named Jacky (Niccola Duffet). In trying to help Bast, the sisters inadvertently derail his life; meantime, Margaret and the bereaved Mr. Wilcox (Hopkins) fall in love, or at least fall into a companionable familiarity, and decide to marry.

Social issues ranging from the economic to the political to the sexual resonate through the script, adeptly written by Merchant Ivory screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (who, we learn in the special features, was the one who had the idea that Merchant Ivory should produce a cinematic version). Central to the book's themes is the titular property (for which the home of an acquaintance was used when it came time to film). The farm house may be ramshackle, but its roots in history and tradition run deep; the monied class may wish to hold onto it, despite their neglect, but the working class have just as much a right to it, should it happen to pass into their possession. The story is rich in symbolism, much of which the film preserves.

Handsomely produced, gorgeous to look at, enchanting at every turn, this is a movie to own and cherish. The extras are a special treat, too: Aside from the audio commentary there are behind the scenes featurettes, and also a number of interviews with cast and crew, including interviews from this year with James Ivory, the surviving partner of Merchant Ivory. The director is effortlessly charming, and older interview material of him with Ismail Merchant is likewise delightfully absorbing. If nothing else, we learn in great detail the tale of how Ivory was determined to include a scene in which Margaret, in a car being driven by her future stepson, the spiritually lacking Charles Wilcox (James Wilby, a Merchant Ivory alumni from "Maurice"), is so horrified when the car runs over a child's pet cat that she leaps from the moving vehicle. Ivory references this several times, but it's in the essay he provides for the accompanying booklet that we learn more about why the scene was never finished: Namely, in addition to losing the light before they film it, the crew rebelled at the idea of depicting a cat being killed.

That same booklet also offers an essay by John Pym that analyzes the plot and contextualizes the film and the story. Production designer Luciana Arrighi chimes in, too, recalling how she came to be associated with the film -- this first collaboration with Merchant Ivory was but the first of several. Sketches of Arrighi's designs are also reproduced in full color, as are a number of stills from the movie.

The entire package of two-disc Blu-ray and booklet fits snugly into a slipcase. This is a classy package all the way around.

"Howards End"
Blu-ray
$34.99
http://cohenmedia.net/films/howards-end