Howard’s End

One of Merchant Ivory’s undisputed masterpieces, this adaptation of E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel is a compelling study of one woman’s struggle to maintain her ideals and integrity in the face of Edwardian society’s conformist values.

In a star-making, Oscar®-winning performance, Emma Thompson plays Margaret Schlegel, an idealistic, liberal-minded, middle-class Londoner. Her fate becomes intertwined with the upper-crust Wilcoxes, Henry (Anthony Hopkins) - a wealthy, conservative industrialist - and his wife Ruth (Vanessa Redgrave), as well as the working-class Leonard Bast (Samuel West), both due to dalliances of her free-spirited sister, Helen (Helena Bonham Carter). The complex intersection of these three very different families becomes a penetrating study of irreconcilable social and class divisions, amidst an emotionally bruising struggle for inheritance - of Ruth’s splendid country home, Howard’s End - which itself comes to reflect the values of an entire country.

Rarely has a screen adaptation of a work of classic literature been pulled off with as much intelligence, power, and artistry. Presented here in a beautiful new digital restoration celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film’s original release, don't miss this chance to visit anew this compelling, brilliantly acted adaptation.

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