MERCHANT IVORY opened in Chicago on Friday, August 30 and will expand to the Landmark Century Centre (Chicago) along with many cities across the country on September 6. View Full List of Theaters. This documentary film is as rich and deep as the films produced by this group.
Hearing or reading the name “Merchant Ivory” sets off for me beautiful scenic views, fantastic acting, a compelling story with the perfect actors, exquisite costumes and a feeling of satisfaction and gratitude to be able to see whichever film it was. I always felt they would go on forever but I never gave a thought or read much about how these films came to be. I love the way this film brings into focus the MERCHANT IVORY magic while telling a complex and important story. This is a terrific film.
MERCHANT IVORY (2024), A film by Stephen Soucy, documents the films, the actors, directors, the whole family with depth and sensitivity This is the first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. The film incorporates footage from more than fifty interviews, clips, and archival material gives voice to the family of actors and technicians who helped define Merchant Ivory’s Academy Award-winning work of consummate quality and intelligence. There were six Oscar winners among the notable artists participating. Interviews with these close and often long-term collaborators intimately detail the transformational cinematic creativity and personal and professional drama of the wandering company that left an indelible impact on film culture.
Stephen Soucy states: “There’s no other story like Merchant Ivory in the history of cinema and what a gift to be given an inside view of the Merchant Ivory World from James Ivory and the more than 50 collaborators I interviewed in New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles, in making this documentary film.
James Ivory is one of our greatest living directors and at 95 years old, this Oscar-winner for the much-lauded, Call Me by Your Name, shows no sign of slowing down. He’s still working, having recently adapted a Ruth Jhabvala short story, The Judge’s Will, for director Alexander Payne and the French novel, The End of Eddy, slated to be a multi-episode miniseries.
Once James Ivory, Ismail Merchant, and Ruth Jhabvala met, they were connected forever. Their work and personal lives entwined for over forty-five years, and they became the most famous collaborative troika in film history.
Merchant Ivory released 43 films. Many were fraught productions, often budget-related, and their last film, The City of Your Final Destination, brought the company to bankruptcy. A look at the comprehensive list of films that Merchant Ivory made, and the roster of talent they worked with, reveals that theirs was a spectacular achievement. The Merchant Ivory story, with James Ivory and Ismail Merchant at its center is about art, money, partnership, loyalty, dysfunction, love, jealousy, and eventually for Jim, the necessity to move forward and embark on a new chapter after Ismail’s passing.”
Stephen Soucy – Producer, Director, Writer Stephen Soucy at Modernist | Film believed in this film. His Current projects include Merchant Ivory, a documentary feature film executive produced by Charles S. Cohen and Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter, James Ivory. Merchant Ivory has been released theatrically, distributed by Cohen Media Group in 2024. The next film projects in development include: the short film, Reggie Rose, adapted from a story by David Ebershoff, and the narrative features, Orientation, and Scanner Days, Starry Nights.
Merchant Ivory Opens Friday, September 6
Pasadena, CA // Landmark Pasadena
Chicago, IL // Landmark Century Cinema
San Francisco, CA // Landmark Opera Plaza
Washington, DC // Landmark E Street Cinema
Boston, MA // Landmark Kendall Square
Phoenix, AZ // Harkins Shea 14
Run Time: 111 minutes
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