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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

Product Description
A superb English cast in the acclaimed comedy of manners from Merchant/Ivory based on E.M. Forster's novel of wit and romance. Off to the sensuous landscape of Florence for her horizon-broadening tour, Lucy, a perfectly proper young Edwardian lady, is chaperoned by her even more proper Aunt Charlotte. At the merest hint of scandal--Lucy is kissed by an improper suitor--Charlotte whisks her back to the serene English countryside, where she is betrothed to a supposedly suitable gentleman, insufferably in love with himself. With its "superb ensemble acting, intelligent writing and stunning design" (The New York Times), this delightful comedy of manners sparkles with keen observations of class behavior and genuine humor.

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