HOWARDS END

• Directed by James Ivory
• Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• Produced by Ismail Merchant
• Actors included Emma Thompson (Margaret Schlegel), Helena Bonham Carter (Helen Schlegel), Anthony Hopkins (Henry Wilcox), Vanessa Redgrave (Ruth Wilcox), Samuel West (Leonard Bast) and James Wilby (Charles Wilcox)
• 9 Academy Award nominations; 3 wins: Jhabvala for screenplay, Thompson for actress, Luciana Arrighi for art direction-set decoration

      By far my favorite Forster adaptation. "Howards End" is also my all-time favorite movie. Although it's not and can't be the same as the novel, the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala team -- I think mainly Jhabvala's written foundation -- really brought out a rich and focused drama that really complements the novel. There's no way to make a "true" or word-for-word adaptation, so what the team decided to include and exclude obviously influenced the end product.

      Having a good screenplay from the start really made a difference, and I don't think anyone else could have done a better job than the people who were involved with the production. Although I loved Emma Thompson as Margaret, I'm convinced that James Wilby's portrayal of Charles is underrated -- he's a talented character actor, and it's the best work I've ever seen him do. Only a few people won Oscars, but if there had been a "best ensemble" award, the cast would have earned it. Then again, if this film had been released a few years later, it would have cleaned up house. :-) (Curious about my love for the novel?