Howard's End (1992)
Anthony Hopkins and Emma
Thompson in Howard's End
This is E.M. Forster's beautifully subtle story of the crisscrossing paths of the privileged and those they disdain — and of a remarkable pair of women who can see beyond class distinctions. Dramatic and tragic, but also surprisingly funny, this James Ivory film focuses on a pair of unmarried sisters (Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter) who befriend a poor young clerk (Sam West) and, without meaning to, ruin his life. Meanwhile, Thompson also makes the acquaintance of a dying neighbor (Vanessa Redgrave), who leaves her a family home in her will — which her husband (Anthony Hopkins) destroys. But, ironically, he meets and falls in love with Thompson, even as their paths once more intersect with the increasingly miserable young clerk. The film features nuanced acting, gorgeous but muted cinematography, and a beautifully economical script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, which won an Oscar.
- Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Joseph Bennett, Sam West, Emma Thompson, Prunella Scales
- Director: James Ivory
- Running time: 140 minutes
- Speaker: University of Wisconsin-Madison Emeritus Professor of English, Bob Baker
- When and where: the auditorium of the Wisconsin Historical
Society, 816 State Street, Madison, at 1:30 p.m. Sunday,
January 20, 2008.
Admission
to all the screenings is free to the public on a first-come,
first-serve basis.
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