Merchant-Ivory: Interviews

In his introduction to this entry in the Conversations with Filmmakers Series, editor Raw (Theatre of the People) identifies cultural conflict as a central theme of Merchant-Ivory films, and this subject is addressed in most of the volume’s 22 interviews. The selected interviews with director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant (1936-2005), and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1927-2013) span 42 years of their prolific partnership, covering critical and popular triumphs like A Room with a View (1986) and The Remains of the Day (1993) and relating how studio interference ruined The Wild Party (1975). Ivory confronts critics who dismiss the team’s films as little more than showcases for elaborate set dressing, emphasizing instead a devotion to portraying communication failures among complex characters. Merchant discusses the artistic freedom afforded by independent financing. Jhabvala’s interviews explore the team’s preference for literary adaptations and the complexities of bringing novels to the screen. The interviews reveal a remarkable harmony of intention among the three collaborators, who remained unapologetically dedicated to crafting films of personal interest without regard to trends or financial pressures.