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Merchant Ivory Productions

 
Hoover's Profile: Merchant Ivory Productions
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Contact Information
Merchant Ivory Productions
250 W. 57th St., Ste. 1825
New York, NY 10107
NY Tel. 212-582-8049
Fax 212-459-9201

Type: Private
On the web: http://www.merchantivory.com
 Employees: 4

Merchant Ivory Productions is an independent movie production house that is most known for its high quality, low budget period pieces, such as A Room With A View (1985) and Howards End (1992), which won three Oscars apiece. Newer titles include The City of your Final Destination (2009), The White Countess (2006), and Le Divorce (2003). Merchant Ivory was founded by filmmaking partners Ismail Merchant, from Bombay, and American James Ivory. The pair met in New York City in 1961 and teamed with German-born screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala to form the production company, with Merchant generally serving as the producer and Ivory as director. Merchant died in 2005.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $0.4M

Officers:
Partner: James Ivory
Partner: Motion Picture Production & Distribution

Competitors:
BBC Films
HBO Films
Independent Film Channel

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Wikipedia: Merchant Ivory Productions
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Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. Their films were for the most part directed by the former, produced by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (a noted exception of a few films). The films were often based upon novels or short stories, particularly the work of Henry James, E. M. Forster, and two novels by Jhabvala herself.

The initial goal of the company was "to make English-language films in India aimed at the international market," but the company ended up making many films set in England and America.

Some Hollywood actors and producers associated with the tightly-knitted Merchant Ivory film family include Uma Thurman, Madhur Jaffrey, Aparna Sen, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendal, Hugh Grant, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Anthony Hopkins, Glenn Close, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Of this collaboration, Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory... I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!".[1]

The expression "Merchant-Ivory film" has made its way into common parlance, to denote a particular genre of film rather than the actual production company. The heyday of this genre was the 1980s and 1990s with such films as A Room with a View and Howards End. A typical "Merchant-Ivory film" would be a period piece set in the early 20th century, usually in Edwardian England, featuring lavish sets and top British actors portraying genteel characters who suffer from disillusion and tragic entanglements.[2] [3]

Selected filmography

Year Title Screenwriter Other notes
1963 The Householder Ruth Prawer Jhabvala screenplay, adapted from the novel by Jhabvala
1965 Shakespeare Wallah Ruth Prawer Jhabvala screenplay
1969 The Guru Ruth Prawer Jhabvala screenplay
1970 Bombay Talkie Ruth Prawer Jhabvala screenplay
1972 Savages George Swift Trow and Michael O'Donoghue written by
1975 The Wild Party Walter Marks based on a poem by Joseph Moncure March
1975 Autobiography of a Princess Ruth Prawer Jhabvala written by
1977 Roseland Ruth Prawer Jhabvala story and screenplay
1978 Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures Ruth Prawer Jhabvala TV (story)
1979 The Five Forty-Eight Terrance McNally based on the story by John Cheever
1979 The Europeans Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Henry James
1980 Jane Austen in Manhattan Ruth Prawer Jhabvala written by
1981 Quartet Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Jean Rhys
1983 The Courtesans of Bombay Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala TV feature; directed by Ismail Merchant
1983 Heat and Dust Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Jhabvala
1984 The Bostonians Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Henry James
1985 A Room with a View Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by E. M. Forster
1986 My Little Girl Connie Kaiserman original; directed by Kaiserman
1987 Maurice James Ivory & Kit Hesketh-Harvey based on the novel by E. M. Forster
1988 The Deceivers Michael Hirst based on novel by John Masters
1988 The Perfect Murder H.R.F. Keating and Zafar Hai based on the novel by Keating
1989 Slaves of New York Tama Janowitz based on collection of stories by Janowitz
1990 Mr. & Mrs. Bridge Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on novels by Evan S. Connell
1991 The Ballad of the Sad Cafe Michael Hirst play by Edward Albee
(based on novel by Carson McCullers)
directed by Simon Callow
1991 Street Musicians of Bombay directed by Richard Robbins
1992 Howards End Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by E. M. Forster
1993 The Remains of the Day Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
1994 In Custody Shahrukh Husain and Anita Desai based on the novel by Desai
directed by Ismail Merchant
1995 Feast of July Christopher Neame based on a novel by H.E. Bates
1995 Jefferson in Paris Ruth Prawer Jhabvala written by J. T. Hyndman
1996 The Proprietor Jean-Marie Besset and George Swift Trow directed by Ismail Merchant
1996 Surviving Picasso Ruth Prawer Jhabvala screenplay (based on the book by Arianna Huffington)
1998 Side Streets Tony Gerber, Lynn Nottage directed by Tony Gerber
1998 A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Kaylie Jones
1999 Cotton Mary Alexandra Viets directed by Ismail Merchant
2001 The Golden Bowl Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by Henry James
2002 The Mystic Masseur Caryl Phillips based on a novel by V. S. Naipaul
2002 Merci Docteur Rey Andrew Litvack directed by Andrew Litvack
2003 Le Divorce Ruth Prawer Jhabvala & James Ivory based on the novel by Diane Johnson
2004 Heights Amy Fox directed by Chris Terrio
2005 The White Countess Kazuo Ishiguro screenplay
2007 The City of Your Final Destination Ruth Prawer Jhabvala screenplay (based on book by Peter Cameron)
2008 Before the Rains Cathy Rabin directed by Santosh Sivan

Notes

  1. ^ "Ismail Merchant", The Times, 26 May 2005.
  2. ^ LaSalle, Mick. "Merchant-Ivory's final film a refined delight. Naturally.", San Francisco Chronicle, 13 January 2006.
  3. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Ismail Merchant: In Memory", 26 May 2005.

External links

v • d • e
Films by Merchant Ivory Productions
1960s
The Householder (1963)  · Shakespeare Wallah (1965)  · The Guru (1969)
1970s
1980s
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)  · Quartet (1981)  · The Courtesans of Bombay (1983)  · Heat and Dust (1983)  · The Bostonians (1984)  · A Room with a View (1985)  · Maurice (1987) · The Deceivers (1988)  · The Perfect Murder (1988)  · Slaves of New York (1989)
1990s
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)  · The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991)  · Howards End (1992)  · The Remains of the Day (1993)  · In Custody (1994)  · Feast of July (1995)  · Jefferson in Paris (1995)  · The Proprietor (1996)  · Surviving Picasso (1996)  · Side Streets (1998)  · A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1999)  · Cotton Mary (1999)
2000s

The Golden Bowl (2001)  · The Mystic Masseur (2002)  · Le Divorce (2003)  · Heights (2004) · The White Countess (2005)  · The City of Your Final Destination (2007)
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