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- 2024
- Cohen Media Group
- 1 h 52 m
- 2024
- Cohen Media Group
- 1 h 52 m
Summary Merchant Ivory is a tribute to the Merchant Ivory partnership, anchored by interviews with James Ivory and forty-one Merchant Ivory close collaborators detailing and celebrating their experiences of being a part of the “wandering company” helmed by legendary producer Ismail Merchant.
Directed By: Stephen Soucy
Written By: Jon Hart, Jon Hart, Stephen Soucy
- 2024
- Cohen Media Group
- 1 h 52 m
- 2024
- Cohen Media Group
- 1 h 52 m
Merchant Ivory
67
6.7
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Summary Merchant Ivory is a tribute to the Merchant Ivory partnership, anchored by interviews with James Ivory and forty-one Merchant Ivory close collaborators detailing and celebrating their experiences of being a part of the “wandering company” helmed by legendary producer Ismail Merchant.
Directed By: Stephen Soucy
Written By: Jon Hart, Jon Hart, Stephen Soucy
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 Critic Reviews
67
50% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
50% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 Critic Reviews
67
50% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
50% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Soucy’s documentary joyfully fulfills the mission of educating and entertaining, infused with the tremendous delight and loyalty of all those who worked with this seemingly magical production group.
The interviews are the best part of the film, which lacks the sleek, focused, concentrated quality of the best Merchant Ivory movies but succeeds on its own terms as sort of a “hangout” movie, non-fiction division.
Merchant Ivory ultimately feels like a a devoted document of a group of artists who lived complicated, interesting lives. And while this film may not fully capture that complexity, there are forty films they made that get to the heart of the matter.
Like many documentaries of this sort, “Merchant Ivory” opts to be a survey without a thesis — informative, even engaging, but lacking an argument that might drive the documentary itself forward.
The documentary gets by on its interviews, archival footage and fascinating subjects, who in some respects always seemed like stalwarts of a fusty tradition.
This sloppy, scattered documentary, very much lacking the refinement of Merchant Ivory’s own films, is a missed opportunity to explore why their films are great, what exactly is it that makes viewers return to them time and time again.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
In the annals of filmmaking, few cinematic collaborations can match the accomplishments of Merchant Ivory Productions, the brainchild of producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, whose work together yielded a prolific 43 movies. While perhaps best known for such iconic period piece offerings as “A Room with a View” (1985), “Maurice” (1987), “Howards End” (1992) and “Remains of the Day” (1993), the duo was also responsible for many other releases primarily filmed in the US, the UK and India, often with the participation of a “family” of regular contributors, including screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. Their work is now showcased in this insightful documentary from director Stephen Soucy, featuring contemporary and archive interview footage with this team of creatives, along with numerous film clips and the observations of various crew members and a stellar lineup of actors featured in their films, including Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Hugh Grant, Helena Bonham Carter, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Samuel West and James Fox. However, this offering goes beyond presenting a mere litany of accomplishments, providing an in-depth examination of the sensibilities that characterized this team’s output and the back stories of how these productions came into being (often on shoestring budgets and under rigorous, sometimes-contentious filming conditions). The film also looks at the personal lives of its two principals, who were romantically linked as one of the movie industry’s first gay power couples at a time when such relationships weren’t looked on with the same degree of tolerance that’s in place today. What’s more, much of this material is punctuated with a healthy sprinkling of wry wit, providing viewers with many laugh-out-loud moments, a quality not often seen in documentary releases. Fans of these tremendous talents are sure to enjoy everything that’s on offer here, while those unfamiliar with their work can savor an excellent introduction to one of the movie industry’s formidable creative teams, as well as an array of film classics well worth seeing. In an age where cinema has been experiencing its share of letdowns, it’s heartening to see a showcase for the repertoire of what truly great filmmakers are capable of, giving avid moviegoers hope that this is not a declining artform but one that can be revived, one would hope to match the accomplishments of those who contributed significantly to establishing its richly deserved legacy.
Report
Production Company
Modernist Films
Release Date Aug 30, 2024
Duration 1 h 52 m
Genres
Awards
Miami Film Festival
• 1 Nomination