User Reviews

I have enjoyed 'A Room with a View' since it arrived on the scene in 1985. I have watched it many times and the video is wearing out and I fully intend to get the DVD of it soon. I saw it again the other night and am still charmed by it, in fact, I enjoyed it more than ever. Yes, it's a costume drama under glass, but it's a very well-done example of that popular genre. Films like this are greatly appealing to people like me who yearn for a gentler society and manners, though without the uptight staidness as exemplified by Aunt Charlotte (Maggie Smith) and Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis). So this movie falls under the category of "comfort" film for me, and it is one of the very best.

Often Merchant/Ivory productions ring false ('Remains of the Day', for example), when they attempt to make a political statement; in that case regarding the under-current in Britain that led to the surprisingly popular British Union of Fascists created by Sir Oswald Mosley prior to WW2. But when James Ivory and his team stick to romance and the pretty manners of Edwardians, they are hard to beat.

Of the performers, Julian Sands seems the most "improved" in my opinion from earlier viewings. He is wonderful as the Byronic lover and has a ton of chemistry with Helena Bonham-Carter's lovely, spicey Lucy Honeychurch. Daniel Day-Lewis's Cecil Vyse seems a bit more contrived as time passes but is in the end a touching portrayal of a type of man that I despise.

There isn't weak link in the entire cast. The Puccini arias and Beethoven piano sonatas are beautiful and enhance the story. The photography is gorgeous and the other technical aspects are flawless.

This is the pinnacle of Merchant/Ivory films, I cannot imagine them producing anything better in the future, but who knows. They do seem to be in a cultural rut now, however.

The fringe film crowd will probably descry this sort of populist cinema, but I think that is narrow-minded snobbery, as boorish as Cecil Vyse and his insufferable intolerance to "the plebians."

A Room with a View possesses a fabulous cast, beautiful cinematography, an awesome adapted script, and a tale of oppressed desire during the paradigm shift from the repressive Victorian age to the more liberal Edwardian time. The film moves at a deliberate pace of country strolls and carriage rides filling the viewer with literary awakenings and music compositions. Poppies, barley, and Florence architecture decorate the screen.

The film is witty if anything with carefree individuals roaming about with leisure on their minds. Pure love and desire aches throughout and Italy is the place to bring the lovers together.

It is a handsome picture. Detailed period pieces and costumes. The cast is phenomenal! Helena Bohnam Carter portrays the peevish Lucy Honeychurch on her way to becoming her prudish Cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett (The Great Maggie Smith.) However The spirit of Italy will prevent such an occurrence and fill Miss Honeychurch with pure desire for George, the man who was brought up from the evils and hate of the world.

The adaptation is superb. Fun. It is a film to live in and swim in the sacred lake. One of the best films of the 80's. Terrific!

The remarkable thing about the Merchant-Ivory productions (in fact a solid triumvirate if we count the writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) is that they're generally less about plots than characters, and so real they never seem to act according to a specific screenplay, but are rather conditioned by the two main forces of the story: space and time.

Indeed, over the course of time, relationships are done and undone and the coldest heart can melt like Anthony Hopkins in "The Remains of the Day". "Howard's End" was much about an estate, symbolizing the rural roots of British aristocracy, before it surrendered to business-driven modernism. Generally set at crucial periods of British history, the Merchant-Ivory productions are about people who are the products of their age while a new one is coming, and they generally use their houses as a symbolic stronghold to resist the ineluctable changes.

And "A Room with a View", adapted from E.M Forster's novel of the same name, is the metaphor of the very point the story makes. Even the smallest room can open onto a large town, the sky, the infinite, like so many paths one can take from life, if he or she dares to get rid of the weight of past and conventions. A room can be made of beds and austere furniture to welcome a young woman from a British hamlet, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bohnam Carter) and her restraining chaperon Charlotte (Maggie Smith), but it can offer a panoramic view of one of the most romantic towns in the world: Florence.

And the first pages of this cinematic book open in Florence, in a small pension, where a group of vacationers meet. Miss Charlotte complains about the missing view in the room, to which, invited during the following dinner, a free-spirited man, Mr. Emerson (Delnhom Elliott) proposes to switch their rooms. Emerson came with his son, and both belong to another class, high enough to afford a voyage to Italy, but whose philosophical views suggest that they embraced the turn-of-century, contrarily to the Victorian Charlotte, who refused the proposal, shocked by Emerson's lack of tact, while his reaction proves that he meant no disrespect. She eventually accepts, convinced by other guests of the pension, Reverend Beebe (Simon Callow) and the old Allan sisters.

This benign episode foreshadows the coming conflicts between the old and new order in England circa 1910, to which space and time provide crucial elements. The film is set during the Edwardian period; a sort of in-between decade where British people could nonchalantly enjoy the achievements of the more prestigious Victorian era, like a historical calm before the storm of the Great War. And being a film of dazzling imagery, the sight of these British vacationers enjoying a picnic in a Tuscan setting, savoring tea and bathing under a sepia summer sun, and a cool summer breeze, is an eloquent illustration of the quiet optimism that prevailed during that period.

And this bourgeois idleness, combined with a natural setting, creates the perfect cocktail for a passionate romance, leading to the inevitable moment when the mysterious George Emerson, played by the handsome Julian Sands, gives a passionate kiss to an unchaperoned Lucy. She didn't see it coming, nor did she expect the kiss' everlasting effect, awakening the most passionate impulses. The kiss sweeps off all the conventions, the good manners that condemned Lucy to a life of rigidity, giving all its meaning to the setting in Florence, the most defining town of the Renaissance. Literally, George's kiss is Lucy's renaissance.

But this is only the first act and back home; the kiss is already history after Charlotte's intervention. And when during the next scene, we meet Cecil Vyse, Daniel Day-Lewis as Lucy's future husband, a living caricature of snobbish prig with his oiled hair, rigid stature and annoying noise clip, we're puzzled but not surprised. The film doesn't embarrass itself with explanations and trusts us enough to connect the events together. So, regarding the mysterious choice of Cecyl as a husband, I guess, we should get back to the 'room with a view' metaphor.

Indeed, with George, Lucy had 'a room with a view', with Cecyl, she would have thousands of rooms with no view at all. Breaking his eternally taciturn facade, George is given one opportunity to have a heart-talk with Lucy; he tells her that her marriage with Cecyl would turn her into an ornament, for the man would never be able to value her, or any woman for that matter. This is one of the outbursts of passion the film serves at the right moment to remind us that there is still a story after all, and a question: to which direction will Lucy's heart lean? And it's not just a choice between two men, but two orders, two states of mind, two kissing ways.

Roger Ebert, in one of his most enthusiastic reviews, insisted on the conflict between heart and mind, passion and intellect. I wish he had a few words about space and time as either the restraining or catalyzing elements in our lives. It's restraining when you have characters with the privilege to enjoy some escapism in a beautiful Italian landscape, but are still tied to Victorian good manners, or catalyzing, when three men, including a priest, play like children in a lake, all naked. The swimming sequence is exhilarating, and the massive male nudity never bothers, a credit to the directing and the cast's performances.

Of course, as enchanting as it is, "A Room with a View" is less politically oriented than other Ivory-Merchant productions while there was more to say about socialism, feminism, weight of traditions, bourgeois insouciance, but the specific pretension of "A Room with a View" was to depict another slice of British life, from which two hearts would converge in a small point of the world, a room with a view … on the infinite, on the future, on love.

"A Room with a View" is one of the best-known Merchant-Ivory films, the one that made their reputation for tastefully adapting Edwardian novels. Working from E. M. Forster's charming story, Merchant and Ivory add gorgeous Tuscan cinematography, lush opera music, and a cast of talented British actors. Even a skinny-dipping scene is done with enough class that the movie got away with a PG rating (though that probably wouldn't happen nowadays!). In short, Merchant-Ivory makes it look easy—and this ease has led to charges of their films being dull and middlebrow, as well as to many imitators.

But this stereotype of "a Merchant-Ivory film" fails to mention just how vivid and hilarious "A Room with a View" actually is. With scene-stealing actors like Maggie Smith as a prim, passive-aggressive chaperone and Daniel Day-Lewis as a self-centered young man whose every gesture tells of his fastidious rigidity, a rich vein of humor runs through the film. The movie also delights in putting its heroine Lucy (a baby-faced Helena Bonham Carter) in situations that prove awkward, funny, and ultimately invigorating for a well-bred young lady of 1905. Lucy finds herself in a love triangle, with society telling her to choose Cecil (Day- Lewis) but a deeper force pulling her toward the unconventional, moody George Emerson (Julian Sands).

A comedy of manners, "A Room with a View" is sometimes guilty of seeing its characters as types, rather than people. Even Lucy is not much more than "the young girl transfigured by Italy" that Miss Lavish (Judi Dench), a writer of cheap novels, labels her as. Still, it's easy to get caught up in the romance of this delightful movie. After seeing it, you'll want to go out and defend Truth and Love from all those who would deny them. Or at least to start saving up for a trip to Italy.

"A Room with a View" is perhaps the jewel in the Merchant-Ivory crown, done in 1985, during their marvelous heyday. It was an era in film of lushly photographed dramas of another time and place, popular perhaps because many of us yearned for a simpler life and a return to some basic manners and standards. But these films also pointed up how much better women have it now, given the repressive ways women in earlier times were forced to live, and how often true love had to give way to convention.

Beautifully orchestrated with Puccini operatic music from "Gianni Schicchi" and "La Rondine," "A Room with a View" is a story set in Victorian times and concerns a young woman named Lucy, the petite Helena Bonham-Carter, who, while in Italy with her chaperone (Maggie Smith), meets George Emerson (Julian Sands). He falls madly in love with her, but unaccustomed to such boldness, she snubs him. Back home in England, she becomes betrothed to the tiresome, proper and erudite Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis). Then George appears on the scene again. The passion only evidenced in Lucy's piano playing begins to surface, and it frightens her.

The story is told with both lightness and humor, and this intimate film is buoyed by wonderful acting. With her petite figure, magnificent head of hair, and a face full of expression, Bonham Carter is perfect as a confused and resentful young woman who doesn't know what's happening to her emotionally. Maggie Smith is brilliant as a troublesome chaperone who lives life by strict rules; Judi Dench is equally good as a novelist who lives in the exact opposite way. As George, Sands is a subtle yet ardent swain, and both Denholm Elliott as George's caring father and Simon Callow as the good reverend create marvelous, full characters. The chameleon, though, is Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil, Lucy's skinny, snobbish fiancé. Each performance he gives is so drastically different from the one before - he is truly an amazing actor.

The film is an allegory in its way for the passage from Victorian England to the Edwardian period, and it's clear that E.M. Forester had no use for the repressions of the day and celebrated a boldness of spirit. Both the repressed and the rebellious are perfectly represented in "A Room with a View," a true Valentine to love.

Sensitive, engaging and enjoyable period piece. A truly romantic flick though soporifically gentle yarn about a high class British girl called Lucy and her uncle : Maggie Smith spending vacation in Florence, Italy. There the young Lucy : Helena Bonham Carter falls for the good-looking, dashing George : Julian Sands who is also on holiday along with his father : Denholm Elliot . As Lucy observes an outrageous behaviour, then George takes her from a street fight executed by some unruly Italians and he attempts to convince her that there is more to life than poetry, good manners, decorum and well-prepared sandwiches. Later on, George plants on Lucy a deep kiss on her unsullied lips but she flees scandalously .Returned to England she rejects him and engages marriage to snob, supercilious Cecil: Daniel Day Lewis.

This is a triple Academy Award winning rendition of E M Foster's fey novel about requerited love, and mutual feeling, in addition, there is much hilarious scenes and a lot of humor too. This is a nice film, gorgeous to look at, though rather soap opera and sentimental. Multi-Oscar nominee and winning 5 of them as : Actress Maggie Smith, Adapted screenplay, Art direction, Set design, Costume design. Casting is frankly magnificent, outstanding Helena Bonham as the feisty British idealist who repents herself a previous decision, Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, Daniel Day Lewis is particularly distinguished and the Oscar winner Maggie Smith.

Rousing and picturesque cinematography by Tom Pierce Roberts reminiscent of a Claude Monet or Renoir painting. Including an attractive and charming soundtrack by Richard Robbins , adding classic music courtesy of Puccini. The motion picture was splendidly directed by James Ivory, using his ordinary team, writer Ruth Prawer, novelist E M Foster, cameraman Tom Pierce Roberts, musician Richard Robbins. Ivory was an expert on dramas and costumers, such as : Wild party, Savages, Bombay talkie, The Europeans, Roseland ,Heat and dust, The Bostonians, The courtesans of Bombay, Quartet, Maurice, Slaves of NY, Howards End, Jefferson in Paris, The remains of the day, Jane Austin in Manhattan, Surviving Picasso, The golden bowl, among others. Rating : Above average. Wothwhile watching.

This movie is completely beautiful and always fascinating to watch. Each actor does great work, with Maggie Smith (as usual) being the most memorable. Her nomination was deserved, but where was one for Daniel Day-Lewis? I thought he was more memorable than Denholm Elliot, who was nominated. This movie is one to own and take out to enjoy when the mood strikes.

Best line - "Because she IS Charlotte Bartlett"!

With 'A Room With A View' the Merchant Ivory duo present a splendid period piece and a smart classy romantic comedy. The writing is smooth and the characters are so wonderfully surprising. The humour is both creative and intelligent and is rather subtle when compared to the over-the-top nonsense toilet humour that is so frequently evident in films these days. Yet, there is also the in-your-face shocking humour. While I found the skinny dipping sequence ghastly, it was also hilarious.

'A Room With A View' has class.The Italian and English locations are stunning and the costumes are intriguing. The cinematography is delightful and the score, especially the piano pieces, are marvelous. The cast is superb as it includes a very young Helena Bonham Carter, a brash Julian Sands, a gossipy Judi Dench, a pompous Daniel Day-Lewis, an opinionated Maggie Smith, a funny Denholm Elliot, an eccentric Simon Callow and a wild Rupert Graves. To sum it up, 'A Room With A View' is a delightfully beautiful little film. It became a surprise smash hit in the U.S. which helped gain the much-deserved international acclaim.

This movie remains one of my favorites of all time. The acting is extremely pro. A case in point, I didn't realize for 5 years after first seeing the movie that Daniel Day Lewis was "Cecil Vyse". That's acting! "Lucy Honeychurch" (well played by Helena Bonham-Carter) embodies the struggle that most people must face at the beginning of their adult lives. Whether to listen to their own voice or the voice of others. Choosing one or the other can severely change the course of one's life. "George Emerson" as perfectly captured by Julian Sands, is the perfect man that most hope to find in their lifetime and we all push for "Lucy" to realize this. The supporting performances by the veteran cast that include Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Denholm Elliot, Simon Callow (the wonderful Reverend Beebe) equally are brilliant. Well done!

What can I say about my favorite film. The first time I saw it I thought it was a laughable bore. However, I grew up a little, got an education and viewed the film again. Let me tell you one thing, if I could live in any film, this would be the one.

To swim in the sacred lake. To venture off to Florence. To play tennis with Freddy, Lucy, and George. To play comical songs on the piano which drives Cecil crazy. To believe not in world sorrow as I play Beethoven. To poke fun at "poor" Charlotte Bartlett.

The adaptation from novel to screen is phenomenal. The Eternal Why. If only I could find such love as George and Lucy. It has been my favorite film for over ten years now. So far there hasn't been a film to knock it off. This film is hard to get in to if you're not used to seeing British flicks but, hang in there and you will see something magical.

The cast is phenomenal. Perhaps the greatest collection of actors to appear together in one film. Just see it for these actors. They all went on to appear in many more popular productions.

Although I've seen it many times, I stumbled upon it on TMC the other night, and although it was late, absolutely HAD to watch it all again. Maybe I should buy my own copy???

Daniel Day-Lewis is the most 'sublime' and although he was offered the role that went to Julian Sands, he chose Cecil. And his acting speaks quiet volumes when Lucy has refused him and before going up to his bedroom, sits on the stair and calmly puts on his shoes.

The music, the scenery, and the period feel of the entire movie is just so perfect. So no wonder I didn't go to sleep, even though I've seen the movie 30+ times. It's just that good!! Denhom Elliot must also be mentioned - it was once said of him "don't ever get in a scene with him or a cute animal because nobody will pay attention to the other 'star'.

The book "A Room with a View" is immensely charming, filled with warmth, humour, beautiful sophisticated dialogues and just wonderful to read really. This film adaptation is nigh-on perfect, with rock-solid acting, nuanced direction and gorgeous visuals.

First off, as I've kind of said already, the film is gorgeous to look at, with exquisite Italian scenery, beautiful costumes and stunning cinematography. The direction is sensitive and very nuanced, the sort of direction you would find in a film like say "The Remains of the Day". The music is like the visuals, absolutely gorgeous. Beethoven's sonatas, La Rondine and Gianni Schicci are put to perfect use and enhanced the scenes they featured in. Though I do think Kiri TeKanawa has sung better, her performance of O Mio Babbino Caro was good but the conducting was a bit too fast and there are occasional mispronunciations of the Italian words.

The screenplay is beautiful, funny, sophisticated, at best like poetry, very like the dialogues in the book. Even more importantly, the film stays true to the book's spirit. And the acting is pretty much perfect. Helen Bonham Carter is sublime as Lucy, a performance of innocence and spirit and came across as touching. Maggie Smith is as wonderful as ever as Charlotte Bartlett, Julian Sands is a handsome George Emerson and Daniel-Day Lewis is a somewhat touching yet suitably contrived Cecil Vyse, a man you sort of love to hate. Judi Dench also is outstanding as Eleanor Lavish and Denholm Elliot is memorable as Mr Emerson.

Overall, a beautiful adaptation, not quite perfect, being occasionally too slow, but I recommend it highly. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

Merchant-Ivory always do a good job. Their films are not only stunning visually, but they evoke an emotional response. A Room with a View is superficially a love story. and I hate to admit it kind of stays there. But they stick to the books. Having read the respective, Howard's End, and a Passage to India, I can truly say they adhere to what has been written. But the books are completely about what you read between the lines. E.M Forester was pretty disgusted by his culture. Yet it was his....and he loved it.......because it provided itself with misfits...i.e Lucy and her beau. He was an echo of Oscar Wilde. I think if you look very hard into this movie you will see that. Denholm Elliot is the epitome of an englishman who isn't an englishman. and he is the complete opposite of Mrs. Vyse....his opposing character. Even the vicar isn't what he supposed to be. Nude Bathing (Oh my Goodness) and in praise of passion he is a free spirit. I think anyone who can say bad about his movie has issues. Yes, its main-stream international. But its beautiful.

I will gush over this film because it is worthy of praise and a standing ovation. A Room With A View is likely one of the most perfect films to grace screens in decades. The E.M. Forrester story produced and directed by the team of Ivory and Merchant brings the tale of Miss Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter) to life in perfect Edwardian splendor.

Wonderful locations of the Florence cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, sculpture by Donatello, and an assortment of rolling landscapes are stunning visual fodder for this comic tale of Apolonian vs. Dionesian parlor manners. Exquisite young Bonham-Carter's casting as the virginal heiress is thwarted by her traveling companion, the venerable Dame Maggie Smith as her meddling biddy chaperon, Aunt Charlotte, with Dame Judy Dench as a proto-Jackie Collins author, Elenore Lavish, Daniel Day-Lewis as the prissy snobbish Cecil Vyse, and, a gorgeous, naked Julian Sands as socialist George Emerson comprises a most outstanding casting achievement.

The excellent soundtrack offering of Dame Kiri Te Kaniwa's rendition of "O Mio Caro" takes your breath away as are the bits of wonderful piano solos that Lucy produces throughout the film. The cinematography is most wonderful with scenic panoramas of the far off Florence or Lucy sauntering through a field of poppies and wildflowers to receive the kiss to curl your toes from George Emerson, well, can romantic love get any better? This video is required for collectors of films of Julian Sands and Daniel Day-Lewis, however, its real value is as one of the finest of the Merchant Ivory magic touch in film making.

This is a film that oozes quality. Every scene is beautiful crafted and the cast are wonderful. Daniel Day-Lewis, as always, provides a master class.

The only barrier lies in in the willingness of the modern viewer to relate to such outmoded behaviours and mores. Understanding Lucy Honeychurch's erratic conduct requires some effort. Her world is so different, as are the expectations that her society lays upon her. Her head is laden with them!

But if you can do that there is still joy and emotional fulfilment to be found in this film.