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Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Hi-fi Stereo
Margaret and Helen Schlegel (Oscar winner Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter) are sisters from a well-educated European family: intelligent, free-spirited, cultured, and highly emancipated by the standards of the time. A series of events brings them into a relationship with the Wilcox family: healthy, conservative, conventional, and very English, headed by the prosperous Henry (Anthony Hopkins) and his priggish son, Charles (James Wilby). Both families also come into contact with Leonard Bast (Samuel West) and his wife, a couple near the lowest tier of the rigid class system. Leonard's desire for cultural and intellectual status attracts the attention of Helen, who must come to terms with her unexpected feelings toward him. At the same time, Margaret must reconcile her independent spirit with her desire for companionship and a comfortable place in Edwardian society. First published in 1910, E.M. Forster's Howards End remains one of the most important English novels of the twentieth century, and Merchant Ivory Productions' tour-de-force adaptation was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the 1990s, earning three Academy Awards and nine nominations, as well as being named Best Picture of 1992 by both the National Board of Review and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
"Director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant... have outdone themselves in the sublime Howards End." Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"Emma Thompson is superb... Helena Bonham Carter has never been better... Anthony Hopkins gives a heartbreaking performance... And Vanessa Redgrave... casts a spell over the whole movie." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
Editor's Note
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.
Plot Summary
Subtle romance, callous class distinctions, and needless tragedy converge in this excellent drama of manners in Edwardian England, centered around a country house known as Howards End. The film, based on E.M. Forster's 1910 novel, assembles Merchant-Ivory standouts Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins; it won three Oscars and was nominated for six others.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Building Howards End, A New Documentary Featurette | | Interactive Menus | | Original Behind-The-Scenes Featurette | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English | | The Design Of Howards End, An In-Depth Look At The Costume And Production Designs | | The Wandering Company, A 48-Minute Twentieth-Anniversary Documentary From 1984 About The History Of Merchant Ivory Productions |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Howards End - DVD Review By: Christopher Null - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 10/23/2009 5:09 PM | |
After 35 years of toiling and only one hit to their name (A Room with a View), the directing-producing team of Merchant-Ivory finally hit their stride with Howards End, a work that would become synonymous with their names and the template for their unmistakable style. Slow, intricate, and deeply symbolic, Howards End ranks among the top films in their oeuvre. It's a history that, if you look at it closely, really amounts to three greats (End, Room, and The Remains of the Day) and a whole lot of nothing-much-else. But that's a subject for another day....read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Home Vision/Public Media |
| Release Date: 2/15/2005 |
| Running Time: 142 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1992 | | Catalog ID: 040 | | UPC: 00037429198223 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Academy Awards (1992) |  | Emma Thompson, Winner, Best Actress | | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Winner, Best Adapted Screenplay |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...Incisively witty, provocative and acted to perfection, this sublime entertainment is a career peak for producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala..." 04/02/1992 p.41New York Times
"...[Merchant, Ivory and Jhabvala] triumph again....[Thompson] comes into her own...[with] the film's guiding performance..." 03/13/1992 p.C1 Los Angeles Times
"...For everyone who's yearned for the dimly remembered satisfactions of traditional filmmaking, for movies of passion, taste and sensitivity that honestly touch every emotion, this is the one you've been waiting for..." 04/15/1992 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...This is the year's most literate and civilized film..." 12/27/1992 p.3 Total Film
"...[The film] crackles with repressed energy....Acting honours go to Bonham Carter and Hopkins..." 10/01/1999 p.104 Entertainment Weekly
"[A]n achingly poignant literary adaptation....The performances remain fresh and appallingly human..." 02/25/2005 p.84 Washington Post 10 of 10
Director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who also brought E.M. Forster's novels Maurice - Rita Kempley
Chicago Sun Times 10 of 10
Howards End is one of the best novels of the 20th century. Read it. This film adaptation, by - Roger Ebert
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