Ismail Merchant Movies

The Householder was the very first collaboration between producer Ismael Merchant and James Ivory. A pleasant, low-key domestic comedy, the film details the travails of a young married couple. The husband (Shashi Kapoor) had wanted no part of the arranged marriage in the first place: now he must not only deal with a virtual stranger for a wife, but also a passle of financial headaches. Despite the unfamiliarity of the surroundings, American filmgoers should recognize several universal truths in this touching tale. The script was the handiwork of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, adapted from her own novel; Jhabvala would remain a valuable member of the Merchant-Ivory aggregation. Offering an uncredited assist in the editing room was none other than legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tom Pickle (Michael York) is the British rock star who travels to India to learn the sitar from Ustad Zafar Khan (Uptal Dutt). Much to the dismay of his aggressive agent Chris (Barry Foster), he leaves the money-making music world behind to learn about the exotic Indian instrument. Khan believes Tom lacks focus but has the talent, and a young hippie girl arrives (Rita Tushingham) who has the focus but not the natural talent that Tom possesses. There is a romantic angle between the hippie-girl Jenny and Tom, but it is more implied than demonstrated. Soon the Guru Khan is besieged by women who all try to capture his attention. He becomes frustrated over the lack of spiritual commitment of his students, as the rocker contemplates his return to swinging London town. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This hippie parable, co-written and directed by James Ivory and produced by his long-time partner Ismail Merchant, tries to make a heavy-handed parallel between civilization and corruption. A tribe of nameless natives (played by Sam Waterston, Susan Blakely, Salome Jens and Martin Kove, among others) finds a croquet ball and, rolling it along the ground mystified by what it might be, stumbles upon an estate. They enter and occupy the mansion and don the clothes and trappings of civilized luxury. A dividing line begins to develop between strong and weak tribe members, with the weak becoming subordinate to the others. A lavish party is thrown that resembles nothing so much as a summer weekend gathering of sophisticates. After a game of croquet, however, the natives begin to tire of their masquerade and devolve back into their original, more primitive state, and disappear into the forest. Cinematographer Walter Lassally makes the film's point more blunt and obvious by filming the prologue in black and white and then switching to color once the tribe discovers the estate. One of Ivory's co-writers was Michael O'Donoghue, infamous bad boy of the original Saturday Night Live writing staff. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Autobiography of a Princess represents the return to East Indian themes by the team of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory after the unsuccessful Hollywood-based The Wild Party (1973). The basic Merchant/Ivory "props", including landed gentry, old folks taking unnatural interest in the goings-on of young folks, period costumes and reams of upper-class dialogue are here in abundance. The elderly character is James Mason, playing the former tutor of the father of Indian princess Mahur Jaffrey. For nearly an hour, tutor and princess discourse over their experiences in colonial India. Made for television, Autobiography of a Princess may be a yawnfest for non-fans of the Merchant/Ivory output, but the opportunity to see the brilliant Indian actress Mahur Jaffrey in full artistic flower should not be missed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced for British TV by the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala triumvirate, this India-based comedy was released theatrically in the US. Victor Banerjee, best known to American audiences for his star turn in David Lean's A Passage to India, plays a young rajah named George, while Aparna Sen portrays his sister Bonnie. Brother and sister are the proud possessors of a priceless collection of miniature paintings, which makes them the target of every critic, appraiser and huckster in the art world. George can't understand the "hullabaloo;" to him, art is a picture of a naked woman. Still, he finds himself in a tricky bargaining position as British gentlewoman Peggy Ashcroft (who also would appear in Passage to India) and wealthy American Clark Pine pull out their checkbooks and square off over the ownership of George and Bonnie's pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Ismail Merchant-James Ivory team generated this account of a pair of teachers battling for the rights to produce an unpublished Jane Austen play. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Two women, related but separated by one generation and 60 years, have parallel experiences in the evocative mystical environment of India in this period drama from producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Although a little slow-paced for some, and slightly confusing because the stories of the two women are intercut, the scenery and script evoke a time and place that mesmerize. Based on the 1975 novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, a long-time collaborator in Merchant-Ivory Productions, the story begins with Ann (Julie Christie) who discovers some letters written by her grandfather's first wife Olivia (Greta Scacchi) that open up a whole new world as Ann travels to India to continue researching her grandmother's past. The letters reveal that when she was young, the free-spirited grandmother fell in love with an Indian nobleman (Shashi Kapoor) and left her husband -- an administrator in the British colonial government -- for her lover. After Ann arrives in India, her life and the modern rush of cars and people are played off against flashbacks to Olivia's life in a colonial setting. When the environment of each woman is compared and the nature of their momentous decisions placed side-by-side, their rites of passage and the society that dominated their choices stand out in high relief. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala won "Best Adapted Screenplay" at the 1983 British Academy Awards for her script of Heat And Dust. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by Henry James, Merchant/Ivory's The Bostonians is set among the Back Bay uppercrust of the 19th century. Basil Ransom (Christopher Reeve), bored by his opulent lifestyle and his "proper" friends, is fascinated by his cousin, outspoken suffragette Olive Chancellor (Vanessa Redgrave). Basil and Olive's mutual friend is likeable, gregarious Verena Tannant (Madeleine Potter). Soon a triangle develops, albeit an unorthodox one: Basil and Olive both find themselves pursuing Verena, Basil because he is in love with her, and Olive because she wants to exploit Verena's social connections and gift for public speaking to promote her own political ideology. Lurking in the background is Verena's true love, poor-but-honest attorney Henry Burrage (John Van Ness). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by E.M. Forster, A Room with a View is a shining example of Merchant-Ivory's ability to achieve maximum quality and opulence at minimum cost. Set during the Edwardian Era, the film stars Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, who like all proper young British ladies is compelled to tour Europe in the company of an older chaperone -- in this instance, her spinster cousin Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). While in Italy, the ladies make the acquaintance of a wide variety of personalities; the most fascinating of their fellow tourists -- at least in Lucy's eyes -- is free-spirited George Emerson (Julian Sands). Aware that her cousin is becoming too familiar with Emerson, Charlotte demands that Lucy return to England posthaste. Lucy complacently settles for the tiresomely traditional courtship of nerdish Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) -- and then Mr. Emerson moves into the neighborhood. Lucy now finds herself on the horns of a dilemma: Should she opt for a safe, proper marriage to Cecil, or the bohemian unpredictability of the charismatic Emerson? A winner of three Academy Awards, A Room with a View is not what one could call fast-moving, but fans of the Merchant-Ivory team will enjoy luxuriating in the film's leisurely pace and stimulating cast of characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The elderly owner of an aging but still beloved Catskill's landmark inn must decide whether to make necessary repairs to the hotel or to sell the land to developers. Meanwhile the owner's granddaughter toils in the hotel kitchen for the summer and the other staff members do their jobs. Essentially Sweet Lorraine is a plain-spoken but heartwarming slice-of-life drama. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Someone has tried to murder Mr. Perfect (Dinshaw Daji) and now the beleaguered Inspector Ghote (Krishna Shah) must figure out who tried to do it. Set in Bombay, India, this rollicking crime drama centers on Ghote's search for the would-be killer. Mr. Perfect was knocked out with a candlestick in the home of the jovial Dilap Lal, his employer. As there was no sign that the assassin forced his or her way into the home, Ghote assumes the prime suspect is Lal or one of his family members. Unfortunately, the pressures from his other cases that include a ring of jewel smugglers and a bureaucrat's purloined piece of costume jewelry prevent Ghote from giving his full attention to Perfect's assailant. That Ghote must also entertain the meddlesome Axel Svensson (Stellan Skarsgård), a renowned Swedish crime scientist, does nothing to help matters. To make matters worse, Lal's clan belongs to the upper caste, making it nearly impossible for him to get answers to his questions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on the stories by Tama Janowitz, this film follows the relationships and problems of a group of artists struggling to survive in New York City. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide