The Golden Bowl (2000)

Director:

James Ivory

Writers (WGA):

Henry James (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 September 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A man marries an heiress for her money even though he is actually in love with her friend.

Plot Keywords:

Museum | Italy | Billionaire | Italian | American

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Kate Beckinsale	...	Maggie Verver
James Fox	...	Colonel Bob Assingham
Anjelica Huston	...	Fanny Assingham
Nick Nolte	...	Adam Verver
Jeremy Northam	...	Prince Amerigo
Madeleine Potter	...	Lady Castledean
Uma Thurman	...	Charlotte Stant
Nicholas Day	...	Lord Castledean
Peter Eyre	...	A.R. Jarvis, Shopkeeper
Nickolas Grace	...	Lecturer
Robin Hart	...	Mr. Blint
Daniel Byam Shaw	...	Principino at Five Years
Francesco Giuffrida	...	Duke's Younger Son
Marta Paola Richeldi	...	The Duchess
Rossano Rubicondi	...	Duke's Older Son
Mattia Sbragia	...	The Duke
Billy Monger	...	Principino
Pauline Rayner	...	Nursemaid
Susan Gutfreund	...	Vivacious Guest
Arturo Venegas	...	Italian Ambassador
Raymond Green	...	Photographer
Anthony Bevan	...	Butler
Neville Phillips	...	Man Talking to Castledean
Paul Bradley	...	Executioner
Lucy Freeman	...	Lucy Moncreif
Philip Tabor	...	William Davenport (as Phillip Tabor)
Catherine Aldrich	...	Guest at Fawns
Isabel de Pelet	...	Guest at Fawns (as Isabel De Pelet)
Richard MacRory	...	Guest at Fawns (as Richard Macrory)
Caroline Burnaby-Atkins	...	Guest at Fawns
Piers Gielgud	...	The Ballet: Pasha
Antonia Franceschi	...	The Ballet: First Queen
Philip Willingham	...	The Ballet: Slave
William Dignon	...	The Ballet: Little Prince
Ray Souza	...	Dancer
Simon Humphrey	...	Dancer
Leanne Codrington	...	Dancer
Michela Meazza	...	Dancer
Amy Bailey	...	Dancer
Stephen Hughes	...	Dancer
Michaela Burgess	...	Dancer
Tippi Maravala	...	Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shireen Kadivar	...	Mina (uncredited)

Directed by
James Ivory

Writing credits (WGA)
Henry James		(novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala		(screenplay)

Produced by
Paul Bradley	....	executive producer
Richard Hawley	....	executive producer
Ismail Merchant	....	producer
Fabrizio Mosca	....	associate producer: Italy

Original Music by
Richard Robbins

Cinematography by
Tony Pierce-Roberts

Film Editing by
John David Allen

Casting by
Celestia Fox

Production Design by
Andrew Sanders

Art Direction by
Lucy Richardson

Set Decoration by
Anna Pinnock

Costume Design by
John Bright

Makeup Department
Carol Hemming	....	hair designer
Amanda Knight	....	makeup designer
Elizabeth Lewis	....	hair coordinator
Elizabeth Lewis	....	makeup coordinator
Trefor Proud	....	makeup artist
Andrea Schaverien	....	hair colorist
Zoe Tahir	....	hair stylist
Claire Matthews	....	makeup artist: dailies (uncredited)

Production Management
Marcantonio Borghese	....	production manager: Italy
Sarah Bradshaw	....	production manager
Alexandre Déon	....	production manager: Italy (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Filippo Fassetta	....	second assistant director: Italy
Christopher Granier-Deferre	....	first assistant director
Anya Gripari	....	third assistant director
Emma Horton	....	third assistant director
Adrian Toynton	....	second assistant director
Paula Turnbull	....	third assistant director
Fiona Spillard	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Sias Wilson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Gill Ducker	....	buyer
Joanna Foley	....	assistant art director
Martin Foley	....	draughtsman
Gary Fox	....	dressing props
Mark Fruin	....	stand-in props
Gianni Giovagnoni	....	art director: Italy
Tony Graysmark	....	construction manager
Roberto Magagnini	....	property master: Italy
Mark McNeil	....	stand-in props (as Mark Venn Mcneil)
Sebastiano Murer	....	stand-in props: Italy
Mark Reynolds	....	dressing props
Cinzia Sleiter	....	set decorator: Italy
Graham Stickley	....	props storeroom
Anthony Szuch	....	drapes
Steve Westley	....	dressing props
Arthur Wicks	....	property master
Ashley Winter	....	art department assistant

Sound Department
Philip Alton	....	dialogue editor (as Phillip Alton)
Nigel Bennett	....	sound recordist
Martin Cantwell	....	foley editor
Alessandro Cattanio	....	boom operator: Italy
Nina Hartstone	....	dialogue editor
Peter Holt	....	foley editor
Robert Ireland	....	assistant sound editor
Dominic Lester	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gilberto Martinelli	....	sound mixer: Italy
Nigel Mills	....	supervising sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	sound re-recording mixer
Amie Stephenson	....	sound trainee
David Stephenson	....	sound mixer
Richard Street	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robin Whittaker	....	assistant sound editor (as Robin Quinn)
Colin Wood	....	boom operator
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tiberio Angeloni	....	special effects (uncredited)
Franco Galiano	....	special effects coordinator: Italy (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Alasdair MacCuish	....	senior data operator: MPC
Susi Roper	....	optical effects producer
Gavin Digby	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Gregory Salter	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
David Smith	....	optical cameraman (uncredited)
Jelena Stojanovic	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
William Willoughby	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Arnaud Borrel	....	still photographer
Fred Brown	....	best boy electric
Pete Cavaciuti	....	Steadicam operator (as Peter Cavaciuti)
Aldo Colanzi	....	key grip: Italy
Colin Corby	....	second camera operator
Tommy Finch	....	gaffer
Claudio Frollano	....	best boy electric: Italy
Sam Goldie	....	camera trainee
Rawdon Hayne	....	focus puller
Leo Holloway	....	video assist operator
Malcolm Huse	....	key grip
Erica Lennard	....	still photographer
Fernando Massaccesi	....	gaffer: Italy (as Nando Massaccesi)
Spencer Murray	....	clapper loader
Seth Rubin	....	still photographer: Italy
Jack English	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Mark Packman	....	electrician (uncredited)
Marco Sticchi	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michael White	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Shaila Rubin	....	casting: Italy
Chuck Douglas	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Louis Elman	....	adr voice casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Grace	....	wardrobe master
Laura May	....	wardrobe mistress
Janet Tebrooke	....	wardrobe supervisor
Sally Turner	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Jo Dale	....	assistant editor
Giles Gardner	....	first assistant editor
Jaquelin Pelzer	....	second assistant editor (as Jaqueline Peltzer)
Perri Pivovar	....	assistant editor
Sylvia Wheeler	....	negative cutter
John Dowdell	....	hd colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Geoff Alexander	....	music arranger: orchestral arrangements (as Geoffrey Alexander)
Simon Chamberlain	....	musician: solo piano
Marcia Crayford	....	orchestra leader
Phillip de Groote	....	musician: solo cello (as Philip De Groote)
Sally Ann Ewins	....	orchestra contractor
Harry Rabinowitz	....	conductor
Phil Todd	....	musician: solo saxophone
Kirsty Whalley	....	score recordist
Kirsty Whalley	....	score mixing (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Cengiz Asiliskender	....	driver
Hayati Asiliskender	....	driver
Waseem Barlas	....	driver
Mac MacLean	....	transportation captain (as Mac Maclean)

Other crew
Myleeta Aga	....	publicist
Charles Antelme	....	assistant location manager
Karole Armitage	....	choreographer
Rahila Bootwala	....	production accountant
Joanna Burnaby-Atkins	....	assistant location manager
Rizwan Chowhan	....	key floor runner
Jason Costelloe	....	film assistant
Lara dall'Antonia	....	production secretary: Italy
Gillean Dickie	....	administrator: Merchant Ivory office, London
Anna Hall	....	production coordinator
Linda Hartley	....	stand-in
Jonathan Hook	....	location manager (as J.J. Hook)
Becky Jones	....	assistant location manager
Ali Keshavji	....	production runner
Sunil Kirparam	....	accountant
Elizabeth Lewis	....	researcher
James Linton	....	stand-in
Matteo Marangoni	....	assistant: James Ivory, Italy
Christian McWilliams	....	key location manager
Justin Miller	....	assistant accountant
Mary P. Murphy	....	administrator: Merchant Ivory office, New York (as Mary Murphy)
Aisling O'Brien-Hall	....	assistant coordinator
Giorgia Onofri	....	script supervisor: Italy
Penelope Perry	....	production coordinator
Mark Richards	....	assistant: Uma Thurman
Barbara Ruggeri	....	production coordinator: Italy
Louise Savage	....	stand-in
Marla Shelton	....	assistant: James Ivory
Jill Streater	....	copyist
Gwenn Stroman	....	assistant: Anjelica Huston
Katherine Teakle	....	unit nurse (as Katie Teakle)
Chris Terrio	....	assistant: James Ivory (as Christopher Terrio)
Tim Tubbs	....	assistant: Karole Armitage
Dmitri Vigneswaren	....	production runner
Julia Wilson Dickson	....	voice coach (as Julia Wilson Dixon)
Beverly Winston	....	script supervisor
Sam Connelly	....	assistant: Ms. Thurman (uncredited)
Darren Harrison	....	runner (uncredited)
Theo J. Hyman	....	runner (uncredited)
Roger Phillips	....	title designer (uncredited)

Thanks
Michael Carr	....	grateful thanks
Jon Culverhouse	....	grateful thanks: Burghley House
Sarah Culverhouse	....	grateful thanks: Burghley House
Caroline De Cabarrus	....	grateful thanks
Lady Levene	....	grateful thanks: Portsoken
Lord Levene	....	grateful thanks: Portsoken
Fabrizio Massimo	....	grateful thanks: Castello Massimo
Lord Tollemache	....	grateful thanks: Helmingham Hall

Production Companies

• Merchant Ivory Productions (present)
• TF1 International (present)

Distributors

• Lionsgate (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• A-Film Distribution (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (????) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Films sans Frontières (2000) (France) (theatrical) (edited version)
• Movienet (????) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Wise Policy (2002) (Japan) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (video)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Medusa Home Entertainment (2001) (Italy) (DVD) (special edition)
• TF1 Vidéo (2001) (France) (DVD) (edited version)
• Teleview International (2000) (Lebanon) (TV) (Middle East)

Special Effects

• Digital Film (digital effects) (as Digital Film, London)

Other Companies

• Shepperton Studios  sound re-recorded at (as Shepperton Studio, Shepperton, England)
• Cosprop  costumes (as Cosprop, London)
• C.T.S. Studios  music recorded at (as CTS Studios, Wembley, England)
• Set Meals  catering
• British Film Institute (BFI)  archive footage
• National Archives, The  archive footage (as The National Archives, Washington D.C.)
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  archive footage (as UCLA Film & Television Archive)
• Archive Films  archive footage
• Frameline Productions  title design (as Frameline)
• Peerless Camera Company  opticals
• Technicolor  processing and printing (as Technicolor UK)
• Société Générale  production bank
• Film Finances  completion guarantee
• The Modern Library  published by: The Golden Bowl
• 2020 Casting  background casting
• AFM Lighting  lighting
• Asprey & Garrard  grateful thanks
• Corporation of London, The  filming at the Mansion House by permission of
• Global Music Service  music copyist

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for a sex scene

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA | France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:R | Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England, UK

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

According to costume designer John Bright, Cosprop provided lace and sequined dresses for the principal actresses: 28 outfits for Uma Thurman, 15 for Anjelica Huston and 20 for Kate Beckinsale.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the merchant delivers the golden bowl to Charlotte, he examines two pictures on the table behind the sofa. As he sets them down, the one on the right (seen from behind it) is placed so that it scrunches up the cloth runner. After Charlotte arrives, and he is explaining the coincidence of the subject couple asking about the bowl, the picture is seen again (from the front) and the cloth runner is smooth, as if recently ironed.

Quotes:

Adam Verver:Of course. No-one would dream of burying a queen while she was still alive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Reflections of Evil (2002)

Soundtrack:

Wall Street Rag

Subtle, complex and wonderfully portrayed

The best Merchant Ivory so far, and ideal film material.

The story is engrossing and perceptive, dealing with human relationships in all their forms. It takes a hard and frank look at the motivation behind several different relationships, which varies from selfishness, loneliness and boredom to love of the deepest kind. The film makes you wonder how and why we choose our friends.

Personally, I found the acting and direction superb, apart from a couple of flat speeches by Kate Beckinsale (whose accent also varied quite a bit). Unfortunately one of these comes in the scene where her character is introduced, which may have put some people off this film at an early stage (there are a lot of negative comments on here!). The rest of the cast are superb, especially Uma Thurman who is mastering the art of conveying a lot of meaning with just a single look. Tension builds up throughout and is skillfully maintained right until the end.

It is, of course, a film that you need to see on a big screen as part of the point of a Merchant Ivory production is the exquisite detail that goes into getting the costumes and locations just right. Even more so than in their past productions, a huge amount of effort has been spent here.

One thing I found is that the characters felt fairly isolated: most of the time, you just saw the leading characters in a scene on their own and, apart from a couple of party scenes, there was not much attempt to show the society in which they lived; also there were few exterior shots in the cities. It may be that that was quite deliberate, to show that these incredibly wealthy people lived very insular lives.