Life, Animated (2016)
89%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
19 wins & 25 nominations total
A superbly-mounted adaptation of E.M. Forster’s tale of British class tension, with exceptional performances all round, Howard’s End ranks among the best of Merchant-Ivory’s work
Howards End is like a fancy cake that you can’t help but devour. It’s rich, sumptuous, and oh-so-filling, with layer upon layer of deliciousness. The film is a feast for the eyes, but it’s also a deeply romantic and political story that will move your heart. Sure, it may unfold at a deliberate pace, but there’s so much happening that you’ll be on the edge of your seat waiting to see how it all plays out. If you’re looking for a cinematic spectacle that belongs to a bygone era, Howards End is the perfect choice.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements, and language including a suggestive reference
Year of Release
2016
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 20m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 13, 1992 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 3, 2009
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave, James Wilby, Samuel West, directed by James Ivory, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, drama, PG, box office gross $157.9K, reviewed by Hollywood Reporter, Sight & Sound, Observer (UK), Guardian, Times (UK), Globe and Mail, LarsenOnFilm, IONCINEMA.com, VultureHound, The Gate, The New York Review of Books, Richard Robbins, Ismail Merchant, Sony Pictures Classics, Suround, Stereo, British class tension, inheritance, family house, relationships, love, betrayal, adaptation, E.M Forster, period piece, high-class communities, England, turn of the 20th century, art direction, cinematography, ensemble acting, costumes, dialogue, emotionally resonant, existentially complex, thrilling, pacing, engaging, lively, magnetic performances, tremendous filmmaking
Worldwide gross: $342,664
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $422,333
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,779
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 46,056
US/Canada gross: $255,388
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $314,765
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,448
US/Canada opening weekend: $21,883
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $26,971
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,403
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Emma Thompson – Margaret Schlegel
Helena Bonham Carter – Helen Schlegel
Vanessa Redgrave – Ruth Wilcox
James Wilby – Charles Wilcox
Samuel West – Leonard Bast
Director – James Ivory
Producer – Ismail Merchant
Writer – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Director(s)
James Ivory
Writer(s)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Producer(s)
Ismail Merchant
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
19 wins & 25 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (67) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (63) | Rotten (4)
From start to finish, Howards End is a sumptuous visual delight. But the beauty of this film is far more than skin deep.
March 5, 2020
Jeff Menell
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
A more troubling and rigorous inquest into a bygone era than usual.
August 1, 2017
Lizzie Francke
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Deeply romantic, political, emotion-led, respectful of music and literature, impeccably dressed and, in one of the characters’ own words, “overexpressive”.
July 30, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
In its own severe and occasionally stolid way, Howards End offers real passion.
July 28, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The high watermark of Merchant Ivory film-making.
July 28, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A can’t-miss opportunity to experience some of the finest filmmaking of the 20th century.
October 21, 2016 | Rating: 4/4
Barry Hertz
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
…an uneven work of adaptation.
February 12, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
An incredibly executed period piece, Howards End is as impassioned and refined a cinematic spectacle you’re apt to see, belonging to a tradition of narrative and characterization belonging to a format now all but extinct.
September 16, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
If this film were a cake it would be a grand one — rich, sumptuous, oh-so-filling and with numerous tiers.
January 27, 2020
Charlotte Harrison
VultureHound
Howard’s End unfolds at a deliberate, measure pace, and it always feels like so much is happening that Ivory will scarcely be able to contain it all.
August 28, 2018
Andrew Parker
The Gate
It is an intelligent movie, a good movie, about real and not fake issues. And it moves the heart.
August 14, 2018
Noel Annan
The New York Review of Books
[Howards End] is an ever-pertinent, wondrous and welcome return to the big screen.
December 27, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Matthew Anderson
CineVue…
Plot
Owen Suskind was a boy of considerable promise, until he was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. As Owen withdrew into his silent state, his parents almost lost hope that he find some way to interact with his world in some meaningful way. However, that way was found through animated films, especially those of the Walt Disney Company, which provided Owen a way to understand the world through its stories to the point of creating his own. This film covers the life of Owen and how he manages to become as functional as possible with the help of Disney and his family to the point of having his own life. However, Owen soon learns as well that there is more to real life than what Disney can illustrate in animation even as his family prepares itself for an uncertain future with him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Howards End includes Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave, James Wilby, and Samuel West.
James-Ivory.jpg
