A Room with a View [HD DVD]
by James Ivory
![A Room with a View [HD DVD]](/images/A-Room-with-a-View-HD-DVD-B000T28Q14-L.jpg)
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DVD details
Actor: Denholm Elliott, Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Maggie Smith, Simon CallowDirector: James Ivory
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), DTS 5.1; Italian (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Restored, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-02
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Reviews of A Room with a View [HD DVD]
DVD Review: Still great; minor flaw may annoy long-time fans.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned this film on VHS for 20 years, and know it like the back of my hand. So I couldn't help but notice that, on the DVD version, the soundtrack was of a slightly higher pitch than what I'm used to--probably because the DVD plays the film at a slightly higher speed. This is quite noticeable the very start of the film, as the aria plays over the opening credits (compare this to how it's played over the DVD menu, where it's played correctly). This flaw is also noticeable in the voices of the women, particularly Maggie Smith's and Helena Bonham Carter's: Smith sounds slightly "chipmunk-y", and Bonham Carter's slightly deep, alluring voice is now somewhat reedy. There's also a slight "clip" in her delivery. I've read other reviews, and some have mentioned that the running time is about 3-5 minutes faster than what is usually listed.
The film itself however, is still as beautiful as I remember, and it's good to see Carter, Day-Lewis, and Sands in the roles that introduced me to them. I have yet to see the PBS remake, but I can't help but wonder as to the point of it--it's not as if this version was "horribly dated".
DVD Review: Awesome!
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though it's a low budget movie, it's superb! This is one of my favorite movies! It's clean (except for the pond scene). It's utterly charming! :)DVD Review: An Exquisite Edwardian Era Romp
Summary: 5 Stars
Keeping fairly in sync with E.M. Forster's novel of the same name, this 1985 Merchant-Ivory film follows its young English heroine, Lucy Honeychurch(Helena Bonham Carter) through a tour of Italy with her grave, spinster aunt Charlotte (Maggie Smith), and back home again, where the young, upper-crust Englishwoman must decide between a proposal to the stuffy, traditional, and passionless Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day Lewis), and the livelier George Emerson (a winning Julian Sands).
She and her aunt meet the latter suitor and his father, Mr. Emerson (the notoriously scene-stealing Denholm Elliott) over an incident in which the Emersons offer to change rooms in the hotel in Rome, which is run by a Cockney Signora (Amanda Walker) so that the women can have a room with a view.
Among the English tourists and residents they encounter are novelist Eleanor Lavish (Judi Dench), the prim but comical Misses Catherine and Teresa Alan (Fabia Drake and Joan Henley), the Reverend Mr. Arthur Beebe( Simon Callow), and the Reverend Mr. Eager (Patrick Godfrey).
We follow them through incidents ranging from the serene to the precarious. Miss Lavish gains inspiration for a novel (some of which is verbally handed to her by Charlotte), young Lucy witnesses a murder in the square and is assisted by George, subsequently making an observation about Italians that she does not seem to realize could apply to her fellow British as well.
A wistful moment arises during a coach ride when the driver, Phaeton ( Lucca Rossi) must part with his sweetheart, Persephone(Isabella Celani) so he can focus on his work.
To the aria " Chi Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta" (as sung by Kiri Te Kanawa), we reach a point of high drama during the trip to Italy when Lucy and George kiss in an open field, only to find Lucy hastily returned to the protective custody of Charlotte and Eleanor.
Soon, all are home again, and we view the contrasting staidness of the English countryside at the Honeychurch home of Windy Corner. Mrs. Marion Honeychurch(Rosemary Leach)presides over a residence that will witness her daughter's engagement to Cecil, amid the visible apprehension of Lucy's brother, Freddy(Rupert Graves), gatherings attended by Reverend Beebe's niece, Minnie(an Alice-in-Wonderland like Mia Fothergill), and one slightly racy adventure in a nearby lake as the drama continues.
George and his father soon move nearby Windy Corner, and Lucy is compelled to rethink certain life-altering decisions.
Ultimately, the best result will occur, Lucy will find herself back at the pensione with the proper husband, and we will see the cycle of the young English girl, a chaperone, elderly spinster sisters, English clergymen, the free-spirit with an elderly father, and the debate over whether or not to have a room with a view on one's first trip to Italy renew itself.
From Dame Kiri's initial and final notes of "O Mio Babbio Cara" to the decorative style of the credits, this film remains a delightful masterpiece.
DVD Review: Zest for life film in brilliant Blu-ray featuring fine cast of actors
Summary: 4 Stars
This film is based on the novel of the same name by E.M.Forster, published in 1908, and is set in Florence, Italy and the English countryside. The movie is a coming of age story about the freeing of self from the repression of British upper class manners and mores. This is a hysterically humorous life affirming film filled with hilarious performances, from the pompous Cecil (Daniel Day Lewis), to the awkward Charlotte (Maggie Smith), to the demented old woman with flowers in her hair. Things get off to a bit of a slow start, and the stabbing in the square, reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, comes across as contrived. Initially the blossoming love affair between Lucy (Helena Bonham Carter) and George (Julian Sands) seems to take second stage to the the joyous expression of life conveyed by the multiple characters. When the three men jump naked into the pond and splash about it seems as if George could just as easily have formed a relationship with either of the other men. George loves life, and is an expression of life, and his attraction to Lucy seems as if it's only a reflection of his love for life itself. Lucy though has something boiling deep inside her too, and her love of Beethoven's music reflects this, but it takes some time before this intensity rises to the surface and she comes into her own.
Seeing the young Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Day Lewis is a treat. Helena's shy, naive character is a curious thing to watch early on given that her later movie roles are so energized. It is only about three quarters of the way through the film, once she rejects Cecil, that she truly blossoms and comes into her own. It's as if she sees her potential for the first time, and she seems repeatedly pleasantly surprised to find that she has this other side.
Daniel Day Lewis portrays his character with the same wry wit that we have come to enjoy in his more recent films. When we hear that Cecil is taking Lucy's snub hard there is nothing further from the truth. Cecil's character is a humorous study of an individual enclosed in his self satisfied intellectualized world, who seems out of touch with everything. Daniel Day Lewis seems to relish the role and pushes his character to the edge of absurd.
The romance between Lucy and George never really seems real until the very end when they are in Florence sitting in the frame of the window kissing. George is an uninhibited young man, and Lucy reacts to his stolen kisses early on with surprise. Gradually this vibrant young man awakens something within her. This shift is accentuated by the shift from the stuffy ornate interiors seen earlier in the film to the natural environments of fields and ponds Lucy and George find themselves surrounded by later on.
Julian Sands, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliot, and Simon Callow also star.
This film is a gorgeously filmed movie, from the rich interiors to the marvelous landscapes, and the Blu-ray transfer takes full advantage of this.
DVD Review: Why are you complaining about the HD DVD on the Blu-Ray product?
Summary: 4 Stars
I am highly annoyed when folks complain about one specific version or item on the WRONG item. This is the BLU-RAY item and everybody is complaining about the HD DVD. Two different things entirely!!!
The movie itself is awesome - now all these crappy reviews are confusing to me because I feel that people don't understand the difference in the available technologies.
Description of A Room with a View [HD DVD]
Nominated for eight Oscars in 1986, including Best Picture, and winner of three (Costumes, Art Direction and Adapted Screenplay), A Room With a View is the film that defined Merchant-Ivory as the masters of the romantic period piece. A brilliant adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, A Room With a View tells the story of the coming of age of Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter). Longing to burst free from the repression of British upper class manners and mores, she must wrestle with her inner romantic longings to choose between the passionate George (Julian Sands) and the priggish but socially suitable Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis). Boasting a brilliant supporting cast, A Room With a View isone of the most romantic of romantic comedies ever filmed.DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Featurette
Other
Photo gallery
The prestigious filmmaking trio of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala had made other critically acclaimed films before A Room with a View was released in 1985, but it was this popular film that made them art-house superstars. Splendidly adapted from the novel by E.M. Forster, it's a comedy of the heart, a passionate romance and a study of repression within the British class system of manners and mores. It's that system of rigid behavior that prevents young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) from accepting the loving advances of a free-spirited suitor (Julian Sands), who fears that she will follow through with her engagement to a priggish intellectual (Daniel Day-Lewis) whose capacity for passion is virtually nonexistent. During and after a trip to Italy with her protective companion (Maggie Smith), Lucy gradually gets in touch with her true emotions. The fun of watching A Room with a View comes from seeing how Lucy's thoughts and feelings finally arrive at the same romantic conclusion. Through an abundance of humor both subtle and overt, this crowd-pleasing "art movie" rose to an unexpected level of popular appeal. The Merchant-Ivory team received eight Academy Award nominations for their efforts, and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, and Costume Design. --Jeff Shannon
The prestigious filmmaking trio of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala had made other critically acclaimed films before A Room with a View was released in 1985, but it was this popular film that made them art-house superstars. Splendidly adapted from the novel by E.M. Forster, it's a comedy of the heart, a passionate romance and a study of repression within the British class system of manners and mores. It's that system of rigid behavior that prevents young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) from accepting the loving advances of a free-spirited suitor (Julian Sands), who fears that she will follow through with her engagement to a priggish intellectual (Daniel Day-Lewis) whose capacity for passion is virtually nonexistent. During and after a trip to Italy with her protective companion (Maggie Smith), Lucy gradually gets in touch with her true emotions. The fun of watching A Room with a View comes from seeing how Lucy's thoughts and feelings finally arrive at the same romantic conclusion. Through an abundance of humor both subtle and overt, this crowd-pleasing "art movie" rose to an unexpected level of popular appeal. The Merchant-Ivory team received eight Academy Award nominations for their efforts, and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, and Costume Design. --Jeff Shannon
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