Howards End

Rating:
Summary: Stunningly acted, well-made drama, but compare the R2 DVD.
Review: A marvellous adaptation of E.M Forster's novel. All the performances are first rate, with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson particularly fine. The latter won an Oscar for her role.

The DVD has a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer which looks superb: the locations throughout England are lavish, and the images on the DVD are excellent, warm and vivid with outstanding natural fleshtones. Pretty close to state of the art, in fact.

The sound is 5.1 Dolby Digital, which does full justice to the very pleasing soundtrack. No special effects to give your system a workout, of course, but the voices and music come across marvellously. And what voices! Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter are a joy to hear.

Any criticisms? Well, the film is well over two hours (although never boring), and while I am loath to describe it as overlong, perhaps some skilful editing could have brought it closer to 2 hours.

IMPORTANT POINT: the R2 DVD has the identical anamorphic transfer and sound, but has considerably more extras, so if your machine can play R2 discs, you may want to consider that.

Rating:
Summary: Umbrellas and Fate
Review: A story that follows the lives of two unconventional sisters in England in the early 1900's (?), where class determined a great deal about the type of life a person would live.

Generally, the movie follows the lives of the two open-minded sisters, particularly the eldest, played by Thompson, and how their lives twist and turn after meeting and attempting to assist a lower-class, but seemingly promising ordinary guy. The sisters paths also cross at several turns with the family presided over by Hopkins and Redgrave. As fate would have it, the lower-class bloke, the Hopkins/Redgrave clan and Thompson's family are all interconnected through various happenings in the past. All this is woven together artfully, and is not as contrived as it may sound in writing.

A lush and visually pleasing movie, with a once in a lifetime cast of actors (and the trite question I must pose, have and will Bonham-Carter and Emma ever work together again, after the Branaugh affair?)including the formidable Anthony Hopkins and the even more formidable Redgrave.

A thinking person's movie, about fate and life, teamed with fine actors, a great dramatic story line and excellent period costumes and settings.

Rating:
Summary: One of Merchant and Ivory¿s Best
Review: Acting talent alone does not ensure a great film, but when you have a lineup like, "Howard's End", creating a bad film would be a chore. Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, and Joseph Bennett are just the start of a phenomenal cast that brings this EM Forrester story to the screen. When you then have the duo of Merchant and Ivory together with all the talent they attract to create these period pieces, the result is always special. Some of their films are better than others, but all are very worthwhile.

This film explores the results of reasonably small human actions that are greatly magnified, either through indifference or emotions that take control of common sense and a reasoned response to a given plight. The events and the consequences are exacerbated as the players come from 3 very different strata of London Society. And in this tale the three not only meet, they mix, and the results are dramatic at the very least, and tragic at their worst. The differing groups even join when Emma Thompson marries in to the highest level leaving her sister in the middle, while she, Helena Bonham Carter, insists on crashing every convention when she champions the cause of a poor couple whose plight she blames on her new in-laws. The relationship between the sisters that begins the film as warm and humorous, becomes strained, damaged, and nearly severed before the film's end.

This is one of the richer Merchant and Ivory productions as it is not confined to a few picturesque homes, but is expanded to include vast cityscapes full of period transportation people and their costumes. This is not my favorite film they have done, but is certainly excellent when compared to films in general, and very good for this remarkable team of filmmakers.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it! Brilliant adaptation of Forster's masterpiece!
Review: After having read the incredible novel, Howards End, by E.M. Forster, I felt compelled to watch the movie. It was an incredible adaptation. I was very pleased and I believe that Forster would have been as well. Anyone who did not like this movie has obviously not read the novel, nor should they, for they would find it sentimental and dull, which proves that they have no appreciation for classic English literature. For those of you who did enjoy the movie, I would recommend the novel. It is absolutely stunning.

Rating:
Summary: Digital Gliches
Review: Although Howard's End is a favorite movie, this DVD version of it is not. On a standard single play Sharpe DVD player, this DVD has sound and video pauses and hesitations throughout the feature. This is the first DVD I have ever had this problem with. Playing it on a neighbor's player resulted in the same jerky sound and video. I don't know the reason why this occurred, but it ruins the viewing experience of the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great film full of English dress and traditions.
Review: Another beautiful film by the combo of Merchant Ivory. Photography makes the countryside in England come alive with the romance and conflicts of Thompson and Hopkins. Film makes you think about class differences throughout time and all over the world.

Rating:
Summary: Perfection Personified
Review: Anthony Hopkins stars as Henry Wilcox, a member of England's ruling class who finds himself slipping into a romance with Margaret Schlegle (Emma Thompson) after his wife has passed away. However, before her death, Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) had stipulated that she wished to leave her family home "Howards End" to both Margaret and her sister, Helen (Helena Bonham-Carter). Of course the Wilcox family, being stuck up and spoiled, did not follow through with her wishes and this becomes the focal point of the plot. Along the way there is adultry, corruption, deception, original sins revisited and even murder - in short, everything one could expect from an impeccibly crafted story turned into a poignant and stirring film experience. Producers, James Ivory and Ismal Merchant have given us one of a handful of truly stirring dramatic/epics, filled with the sort of grand illusion and entertainment value that Hollywood used to provide en masse during the 1930's and 40's. This is definitely a worthwhile excursion.
Columbia has done a beautiful job on the transfer. There is absolutely nothing to complain about and I defy anyone to be disappointed with the quality of this mastering effort. My one regret, this disc comes with NO EXTRA FEATURES. Apart from this oversight, you must definitely take a road trip to Howards End.

Rating:
Summary: MERCHANT IVORY'S SUBLIME VISUAL BANQUET
Review: Anthony Hopkins stars as Henry Wilcox, a member of England's ruling class who finds himself slipping into a romance with Margaret Schlegle (Emma Thompson) after his wife has passed away. However, before her death, Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) had stipulated that she wished to leave her family home "Howards End" to both Margaret and her sister, Helen (Helena Bonham-Carter). Of course the Wilcox family, being stuck up and spoiled, did not follow through with her wishes and this becomes the focal point of the plot. Along the way there is adultry, corruption, deception, original sins revisited and even murder - in short, everything one could expect from an impeccibly crafted story turned into a poignant and stirring film experience. Producers, James Ivory and Ismal Merchant have given us one of a handful of truly stirring dramatic/epics, filled with the sort of grand illusion and entertainment value that Hollywood used to provide en masse during the 1930's and 40's. This is definitely a worthwhile excursion.
Columbia has done a beautiful job on the transfer. There is absolutely nothing to complain about and I defy anyone to be disappointed with the quality of this mastering effort. My one regret, this disc comes with NO EXTRA FEATURES. Apart from this oversight, you must definitely take a road trip to Howards End.

Rating:
Summary: Well made -- but the movie drags.
Review: As always, superb acting by Hopkins and Thompson. The story is a good one, however the movie leaves the viewer in wonder of what is realling going on for much too long. I almost gave up after a while, but got back into it about half way. In the end I was rather dissapointed, left with a "that's it?" kind of feeling. Overall a well made movie, but i'd recommend Remains of the Day over this feature.

Rating:
Summary: Simply terrible!
Review: As an Anthony Hopkins fan, I rented this acclaimed film. IT WAS AWFUL! The acting was pretty good, but the story did not ascend, it descended! It was way too long, and, consequently, a movie that achieves only one good thing: MANAGING TO PUT YOU TO SLEEP!