A twisted relationship between a wealthy English couple and a young woman they take in, plays out against a stunning recreation of the Golden Age of 1920s Paris. In adapting Jean Rhys's 1928 autobiographical novel, Merchant Ivory achieved an artistic breakthrough that remains one of the team's finest works. Isabelle Adjani plays the vulnerable but complicated West-Indian Marya, who, after her shady husband Stefan (Anthony Higgins) is imprisoned, finds shelter in the home of a manipulative and lecherous English art patron (Alan Bates) and his painter wife (Maggie Smith). Nominated for the Palme d'Or at **Cannes Film Festival**. Nominated for a **BAFTA Award** for Best Actress (Maggie Smith). *"The direction, intimate yet retaining a sense of distance, is true both to Rhys and to Ivory." - Time Out Staff, **Time Out***

Cross-cutting between two generations, James Ivory's sprawling epic of self-discovery is also a lush evocation of the prismatic and sensuous beauty of India. As she searches for answers to the mystery surrounding a long-ago affair between her aunt Olivia and an Indian prince, Anne (Julie Christie) becomes immersed in the local culture, the pull of the past simultaneously leading her into a clearer view of her own future. Winner of Best Adapted Screenplay and nominated for seven other awards at the **BAFTA Awards.** Nominated for the Palme d'Or at **Cannes Film Festival.** *"Heat and Dust contains wonderful sights and sounds and textures. It is seductive, treating both of its love stories with seriousness; these are not romances, but decisions to dissent." - Roger Ebert, **Chicago Sun-Times***

Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) become involved with two couples: a wealthy, conservative industrialist (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife (Vanessa Redgrave), and a working-class man (Samuel West) and his mistress (Niccola Duffet). The interwoven fates and misfortunes of these three families and the diverging trajectories of the two sisters' lives are connected to the ownership of Howards End, a beloved country home. A compelling, brilliantly acted study of one woman's struggle to maintain her ideals and integrity in the face of Edwardian society's moribund conformist values. Winner of three **Oscars** including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Emma Thompson). Winner of a **Golden Globe** Award and a **BAFTA** for Best Actress as well as a **BAFTA** for Best Film. Official Selection at the **Cannes Film Festival**.

Boston, 1876: At a Women's Movement meeting, fiercely independent Olive (Vanessa Redgrave) becomes mentor to gifted young orator Verena (Madeleine Potter) - who soon attracts the amorous attentions of Olive's Southern cousin Basil (Christopher Reeve). The contesting demands of courtship and sapphic friendship in this love-triangle in all but name are further complicated by New York society matron Mrs. Burrage, who tries to secure Verena for her son. Merchant Ivory explores the subtle power struggles between sex, class and the Women's Movement at the heart of Henry James' classic novel with delicate precision and a marvelous sense of social milieu. Nominated for an **Academy Award** and **Golden Globe** for Best Actress (Vanessa Redgrave). *"''The Bostonians'' is, from its opening shot to last, a rare delight, a high comedy with tragic undertones, acted to passionate perfection by a cast of the best actors ever assembled by the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala team." - Vincent Canby, **The New York Times***

Elegiac and atmospheric, SHAKESPEARE WALLAH was the feature film that really put Merchant Ivory Productions on the international movie map, winning them great critical acclaim. Starring a young Felicity Kendal, the film's inspiration lies in the real-life adventures of Ms. Kendal's family as a traveling theater group in India during the final days of English colonial rule. The Buckingham Players try to uphold British tradition by staging Shakespeare plays for the general public, boarding schools, and local royalty, but are unable to compete with the wildly popular Bollywood film industry. The film also traces the developing relationship between the acting troupe's young ingénue, Lizzie, and Sanju, a wealthy Indian playboy. But their romance is beset by hindrances, not the least being the machinations of Manjula, a fiery Indian film star who is also in love with Sanju. Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear and winner of the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress (Madhur Jaffrey) at the **Berlin International Film Festival.** *"A breezy and beguiling study, comedy, romance, elegy." - Alan Scherstuhl, **Village Voice***