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Special Features
- Conversation with the filmmakers, part of a new series of interviews with Ismail Merchant, James Ivory, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and Richard Robbins
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman has never been one to zig when he can zag. Not only did he wait until he was in his mid-70s to direct his first feature film, but his crowd-pleasing adaptation of Ronald Harwood's 1999 play is a thoroughly British affair. Set at one of England's most scenic estates, the fictional Beecham House for Retired Musicians, Quartet centers on four opera singers. Cecily (Pauline Collins), Wilfred (Billy Connolly), and Reginald (Tom Courtenay, who appeared in Harwood's The Dresser) are busy preparing for the annual Verdi Gala when word spreads about a famous new resident. After Reggie catches sight of the elegant figure, his excitement about the benefit gives way to sorrow: it's his ex-wife, Jean (Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith). If the amusingly acid-tongued Jean appears to have moved on--she's married twice since--Reggie hasn't, and still blames her for the failure of their brief marriage. Under the directorship of the supremely self-satisfied Cedric (Michael Gambon), the entire facility continues to rehearse for the concert, except Jean, who says she's retired from singing, though her former partners long to perform their acclaimed version of Verdi's Rigoletto. As they concentrate on persuading her to reconsider, the ice between Reggie and Jean starts to thaw just as Cissy's memory starts to fade, but priorities shift as old friends become reacquainted. If Quartet doesn't offer many significant surprises, Hoffman skillfully honors the humor, the romance, and the wall-to-wall music--most played by veteran performers--of Harwood's warm-hearted script. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
A story of a girl who, adrift with her feckless husband amid the literati of glittering Paris in the 1920s, becomes entrapped by a rich and sybaritic English couple. From the wistful melancholy of the autobiographical novel by Jean Rhys, Quartet is full of intense confrontations dazzlingly acted by Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Anthony Higgins, and Isabelle Adjani. The characters act out their passions not only in the usual seedy cafés and louche hotels of Rhys’ Parisian novels but also the smoky jazz haunts and lavish settings of a James Ivory film. Nevertheless, Quartet remains, in theme, one of the Merchant Ivory team’s darkest and most compelling dramas of relationships dangerously intertwined.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
84 of 92 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
Since its release in the early 1980s, Quartet hasn't been remembered as much as some of their other films. Thats a shame because Quartet is one of their finer works. A very engrossing drama about mind control and deceit. As one would expect from M & A, the attention to detail in recreating the roaring 20's is fabulous. Alan Bates does a wonderful job as H.B., the controlling maniac disguised as a gentleman. Maggie Smith is heartbreaking as the passive wife who tries desperately to cling to her husband despite his infidelities. But its Isabelle Adjani who steals the show. Her character's development from innocent, to arrogant, to ignorant makes Quartet memorable.
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was really surprised by the negative reviews for this film. But Quartet is not the standard Merchant Ivory film at all. The topic may be dark, but there is still great beauty, great acting and great filmmaking in this story of repression, decadence, alienation and the search for something better (even thought the lead character never finds it).
Very incredible performances from Adjani, Smith and Bates. But that's to be expected. And there should be great applause for many of the supporting actors as well: Anthony Higgins(as Adjani's seductive yet caring husband), Sheila Gish(as a chatty,gossipy closet lesbian) and Daniel Chatto (in a supporting role as a melodramatic adolescent pretty boy).
See this movie for the rare dramatic performance from Maggie Smith, who can still make on laugh with just a glance or roll of the eyes. Adjani is astonishing, as is to be expected, playing the lead role of the confused and naieve Mayra. It is probably her best performance since her debut in the Story of Adele H.
It is actually quite easy to see why Merchant Ivory decided to make the Jean Rhys novel into a film. There are clear parallels between characters that Rhys writes about and those In EM Forster's novels. Quartet's main character, Mayra, is an outsider, desperately trying to get to the inside of something that is considered "normal". Forster lived his life in the same way. Both writers, in their journey for a better life, simply wrote about both the joy and pain along the way in their books.
I saw this movie a long time ago on video and the quality was not good. I have to give this movie another 5 stars just because of the excellent transfer. It is 100% better in the audio and the screen presentation. Here you can see the great detail found in the scenery, the costumes and the performance from the actors.
This is a definite must see.
Very incredible performances from Adjani, Smith and Bates. But that's to be expected. And there should be great applause for many of the supporting actors as well: Anthony Higgins(as Adjani's seductive yet caring husband), Sheila Gish(as a chatty,gossipy closet lesbian) and Daniel Chatto (in a supporting role as a melodramatic adolescent pretty boy).
See this movie for the rare dramatic performance from Maggie Smith, who can still make on laugh with just a glance or roll of the eyes. Adjani is astonishing, as is to be expected, playing the lead role of the confused and naieve Mayra. It is probably her best performance since her debut in the Story of Adele H.
It is actually quite easy to see why Merchant Ivory decided to make the Jean Rhys novel into a film. There are clear parallels between characters that Rhys writes about and those In EM Forster's novels. Quartet's main character, Mayra, is an outsider, desperately trying to get to the inside of something that is considered "normal". Forster lived his life in the same way. Both writers, in their journey for a better life, simply wrote about both the joy and pain along the way in their books.
I saw this movie a long time ago on video and the quality was not good. I have to give this movie another 5 stars just because of the excellent transfer. It is 100% better in the audio and the screen presentation. Here you can see the great detail found in the scenery, the costumes and the performance from the actors.
This is a definite must see.
23 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By pac
Format:DVD
Note: Rating is for DVD only, not the film itself. As details on this DVD transfer of "Quartet" are pretty thin to date, both from Amazon and also existing customer reviews, you should know that this release was produced in association with The Criterion Collection.
Part of Home Vision's 2003-2005 Merchant Ivory Collection, the DVD was released under the "supervision of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory," according to the liner notes. As you would expect from a collaboration of Criterion and Merchant/Ivory, obvious care was taken with the DVD transfer and package.
The anamorphically enhanced digital transfer comes from the original 35mm interpositive and is presented in the OAR 1.78:1. Most dirt and debris have been cleaned up so viewers can more fully appreciate Pierre Lhomme's cinematography. Although much of the time colors are dark and muted, moments of rich color are also fully rendered here. Not without flaws, but this transfer appears very solid to someone who never saw the film during roadshow theatrical release in 1981.
The audio transfer is limited to Dolby Digital mono from the film's original 35mm magnetic soundtrack master. The film is largely dialogue driven with selected musical moments. So while it is mostly clear and listenable, there is no indication from the liner notes that efforts were made to complete a sound restoration beyond using the original elements.
For subtitles there are a few options. The DVD default is subtitles for the French dialogue only. There are also options for full subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as no subtitles at all.
There is really not much here in terms of extras, but the main offering is an all too brief 11-minute interview about the production with Merchant, Ivory, and the script writer, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The film's composer, Richard Robbins, is also included in this segment. The DVD has the original trailer and some promos for other titles in the Merchant Ivory Collection. An essay on the film by the author Robert Emmet Long ("The Films of Merchant Ivory") and DVD production liner notes are also included.
For international buyers, note that this DVD is coded Region 1 only.
Part of Home Vision's 2003-2005 Merchant Ivory Collection, the DVD was released under the "supervision of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory," according to the liner notes. As you would expect from a collaboration of Criterion and Merchant/Ivory, obvious care was taken with the DVD transfer and package.
The anamorphically enhanced digital transfer comes from the original 35mm interpositive and is presented in the OAR 1.78:1. Most dirt and debris have been cleaned up so viewers can more fully appreciate Pierre Lhomme's cinematography. Although much of the time colors are dark and muted, moments of rich color are also fully rendered here. Not without flaws, but this transfer appears very solid to someone who never saw the film during roadshow theatrical release in 1981.
The audio transfer is limited to Dolby Digital mono from the film's original 35mm magnetic soundtrack master. The film is largely dialogue driven with selected musical moments. So while it is mostly clear and listenable, there is no indication from the liner notes that efforts were made to complete a sound restoration beyond using the original elements.
For subtitles there are a few options. The DVD default is subtitles for the French dialogue only. There are also options for full subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as no subtitles at all.
There is really not much here in terms of extras, but the main offering is an all too brief 11-minute interview about the production with Merchant, Ivory, and the script writer, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The film's composer, Richard Robbins, is also included in this segment. The DVD has the original trailer and some promos for other titles in the Merchant Ivory Collection. An essay on the film by the author Robert Emmet Long ("The Films of Merchant Ivory") and DVD production liner notes are also included.
For international buyers, note that this DVD is coded Region 1 only.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
IT'S LIKE WATCHING PAINT DRY
How anyone could make such a souless, pointless, tedious film with one of the most extraordinary cast of actors imaginable truly strains credulity. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Randolph W. Dellago
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark flick with Adjani shining ever so bright
Based on Jean Rhys' first novel, this dark story appears to be a thinly-veiled autobiography of when her literary mentor, novelist Ford Maddox Ford, had her as his 'kept woman. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bert vanC Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon error
Why was a paragraph on the new "Quartet" movie included with the Merchant Ivory version. Makes for a very confusing review. Read more
Published 2 months ago by rocky
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing story from Jean Rhys
Well acted with great actors but I did not like it at all. The 20s society in Paris was corrupt and unsympathetic. A depressing movie. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Olive Gale Mullet
3.0 out of 5 stars
Paris in the 20's for better or worse
This film has the splendid visuals you expect from a Merchant Ivory production. Set in Paris in the 20's with the wonderful costumes as well as the bars and bistros of Montmarte,... Read more
Published 16 months ago by R. Swanson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite a Quartet, simply a Maggie Smith solo...
When one sees the production/direction team of Merchant & Ivory, there comes with that name a level of sophistication, or one could say an air of dedication. Read more
Published on August 30, 2008 by A. Gyurisin
1.0 out of 5 stars
AVOID AT ALL COST...
Merchant-Ivory have never been more self-conscious or grasping for, for , what...a decent script by the usually capable Ruth Prawer Jhabvala? Read more
Published on August 15, 2004 by J. MACKENZIE
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