Set in 1930s Shanghai, where a blind American diplomat develops a curious relationship with a young Russian refugee who works odd -- and sometimes illicit -- jobs to support members of her dead husband's aristocratic family.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kansas University doctoral student Omar Razaghi wins a grant to write a biography of Latin American writer Jules Gund. Omar must get through to three people who were ... See full summary »
Director:
James Ivory
Stars:
Omar Metwally,
Anthony Hopkins,
Charlotte Gainsbourg
One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old ... See full summary »
This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotionless slice-of-life story. Jones here is portrayed as Bill Willis, a former war hero and now successful... See full summary »
Director:
James Ivory
Stars:
Leelee Sobieski,
Kris Kristofferson,
Barbara Hershey
Set during World War II, an upper-class family begins to fall apart due to the conservative nature of the patriarch and the progressive values of his children.
Director:
James Ivory
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Joanne Woodward,
Saundra McClain
The passionate Merchant Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso, who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty, and move on with her life.
Director:
James Ivory
Stars:
Anthony Hopkins,
Natascha McElhone,
Julianne Moore
Eleanor lives with the artist Stash. Just like his artist friends, he is completely unknown but is waiting for the big break. Stash is mean to her and finally she leaves him. Ironically, ... See full summary »
Director:
James Ivory
Stars:
Bernadette Peters,
Adam Coleman Howard,
Chris Sarandon
On a rainy London night in 1946, novelist Maurice Bendrix has a chance meeting with Henry Miles, husband of his ex-mistress Sarah, who abruptly ended their affair two years before. ... See full summary »
A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.
Director:
James Ivory
Stars:
Anthony Hopkins,
Emma Thompson,
John Haycraft
In the opulent St. Petersburg of the Empire period, Eugene Onegin is a jaded but dashing aristocrat - a man often lacking in empathy, who suffers from restlessness, melancholy and, finally,... See full summary »
Shanghai. 1936. Crossroads of the world and into this city of political intrigue comes Sofia, a Russian Countess who, with the remains of her family, has been left stateless by the Revolution. Forced by her reduced circumstances to support herself and her family as a bar-girl and taxi dancer, Sofia forms a relationship with Jackson, a blind former diplomat who opens an elegant bar; The White Countess. Their curious relationship matures but they are caught up in the fall of the city to the Japanese invaders. Written by
johnno.r@xtra.co.nz
When Todd is proposing the job to Sophia he says, "It's up here. The bar, everything. It's all inside." When he says this, the camera is from behind him and two fingers are briefly shown pointing to his temple. The camera angle quickly changes to show from the front and only one finger is at his temple. See more »
Quotes
Todd Jackson:
Why aren't you at home in your bed?
Sofia:
There is no bed for me till morning. My daughter... Sorry, I was forgetting our agreement.
Todd Jackson:
I told you, there is no agreement. I just once thought that we'd get on best if we confined our friendship to within these walls.
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I was caught up in this film from the very beginning. For me, Richardson's performance is Oscar-worthy and Fiennes does a credible job as a recently blind diplomat doing his best to hide from the realities of the world by creating a world of his own. This film could be considered "Casablanca" turned on its head, where people of all different races and religions and beliefs come together at a nexus of great social turmoil, and the story of two small people doesn't amount a hill of beans to anyone but us, the audience. The White Countess is one of my favorite films of 2005. And I have to admit I'm not much of a Merchant-Ivory fan, but this one was truly exceptional.
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I was caught up in this film from the very beginning. For me, Richardson's performance is Oscar-worthy and Fiennes does a credible job as a recently blind diplomat doing his best to hide from the realities of the world by creating a world of his own. This film could be considered "Casablanca" turned on its head, where people of all different races and religions and beliefs come together at a nexus of great social turmoil, and the story of two small people doesn't amount a hill of beans to anyone but us, the audience. The White Countess is one of my favorite films of 2005. And I have to admit I'm not much of a Merchant-Ivory fan, but this one was truly exceptional.