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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1); Dolby Surround Sound, Commentariey, Featurettes, Tribute, English Subtitled, French Dubbed & Subtitled
In this final film by Oscar-nominated producer Ismail Merchant (1994, Best Picture, Remains of the Day), and Oscar-nominee James Ivory (1993, Best Director, Howard's End), 1930s Shanghai provides the backdrop for this exceptional drama starring two-time Oscar-nominee Ralph Fiennes (1997, Best Actor, The English Patient; 1994, Best Supporting Actor, Shindler's List) as Todd Jackson, a diplomat blinded in a bombing. An encounter with Sophia (Natasha Richardson, Maid in Manhattan), an exiled Countess employed as a bar girl, inspires him to open his own club, but only if she will work for him. Sophia's in-laws (two-time Oscar-nominee Lynn Redgrave) and Sarah (Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave), greedily pocket her income, but denounce her as a bad influence on her daughter. When Japanese troops invade the city, a mass exodus ensues! Alone and afraid, Sophia clings to the only hope left to her - finding her missing daughter!
"James Ivory at his storytelling best. One of the top films of 2005. " Barry Caine, The Oakland Tribune
"Two Thumbs Up" Ebert & Roeper
"James Ivory Storytelling At His Best" Barry Caine, Oakland Tribune
"...Casablanca crossed with The English Patient." Stephen Holden, The New York Times
Editor's Note
The final entry in the canon of quietly rich tales from producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, THE WHITE COUNTESS enlists Kazuo Ishiguro (REMAINS OF THE DAY) and master cinematographer Christopher Doyle (CHUNGKING EXPRESS) to weave its sumptuous magic. The incomparable Natasha Richardson stars as Sofia, a former Russian countess who has fled with her dead husband's family to 1930s Shanghai, where she works in a seedy dance hall to earn the household's only income. But Sofia's dependents are less than grateful, turning up their noses at her fallen stature while remorselessly accepting her money. The blue blood runs thick in Sofia's house, with two other Redgraves, Vanessa and Lynn, flawlessly portraying deposed nobility; Sofia's daughter Katya (Madeleine Potter) is her only source of joy. Meanwhile, blind former diplomat Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) patronizes Shanghai's colorful drinking establishments, and dreams of opening one of his own. This he gains the courage to do when he meets Sofia; she saves him from being robbed one night, intercepting some thuggish types and seeing him to safety while also capturing his imagination. She becomes his muse, her history injecting Jackson's bar, the White Countess, with just the right note of tragedy and romance. Their relationship, however, is kept strictly on the level of a professional friendship. But as the tension between the Chinese and Japanese mounts towards war--catalyzed in part by Jackson's friend, the mysterious but powerful Mr. Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada)--Mr. Jackson is forced to accept that he cannot keep the world at bay inside the White Countess, and must instead deal directly with his feelings for Sofia.
| Features | Commentary with Director James Ivory and Natasha Richardson | | Behind The Scenes of The White Countess | | Making of The White Countess Featurette | | A Tribute to Ismail Merchant | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English Dolby Digital (5.1); Dolby Surround Sound | | Subtitles: English, French |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 5/1/2007 |
| Running Time: 138 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 11718 | | UPC: 00043396117181 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"Fiennes gives a nuanced performance....The conclusion is moving and satisfying." 12/21/2005 p.3DEntertainment Weekly
"[A] gilded-canvas work of graceful and touching skill -- a repressed love story that basks in smoky wisps of period intrigue." -- Grade: B 01/13/2006 p.56 Movieline's Hollywood Life
"[T]he chaotic climactic scenes of a city under attack achieve a mournful power....There are lovely supporting performances by Madeleine Potter as well as Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave." 01/01/2006 p.102 Chicago Tribune 9 of 10
It's a very classy, finely made film, and, as one watches it -- particularly those last sweeping scenes of political turbulence and escape -- one feels both pain at their (Merchant-Ivory) parting and grateful for what, together, they achieved. - Michael Wilmington
Entertainment Weekly 8 of 10
I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this oasis of romance amid the turmoil of Shanghai represents the way that Merchant and Ivory, for 40 years, saw themselves: as a sanctuary of calming, life-size taste in a movie culture grown coarse. It was often far from perfect, but I'll miss that sanctuary. - Owen Gleiberman
Rolling Stone 8 of 10
Richardson -- acting with her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, who plays her aunt, and her aunt Lynn Redgrave, who plays her mother -- finds the story's grieving heart. Fiennes is her match in soulful artistry. - Peter Travers
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