THERE IS a montage early in "The Remains of the Day" that conveniently sums up the Merchant Ivory film legacy, a collection of meticulous moments designed to demonstrate the duties performed by faceless servants who are preparing for a formal banquet. They bustle about an awesome mansion, banishing every speck of dust, laying out an elaborate meal and generally busying themselves with all manner of seemingly menial duties.
Yet, in the hands of the Merchant Ivory team, these tasks become so detailed and specific that they take on fascinating proportions. Likewise, "The Remains of the Day," like most Merchant Ivory movies, is so detailed and specific that it becomes absolutely fascinating.Ismail Merchant, one-third of that team (with director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) has produced some of the best "art films" of the past three decades, a few of which have managed to transcend that label, going on to claim exceptional box office earnings, critical praise and Oscar success, most notably "Howards End" and "A Room With a View."
And from the looks of the first week's grosses - a very impressive $11/2 million in only 94 theaters - "The Remains of the Day" should have no trouble joining their ranks.
"We respect each other's work," Merchant said in a telephone interview, speaking from his New York office. "We are a very unusual team. And we have used much of the same crew over the past years, as well. The same cameraman, the same designers - even the same composer."
In the movie business it is unusual to see a partnership flourish for more than a few years. But Merchant, Ivory and Jhabvala have been together for more than 30 years, though each has occasionally gone off to do solo projects.
Merchant met Ivory in 1961 when both were en route to the Cannes Film Festival. The Indian-born producer had seen the American-born Ivory's documentary film "The Sword and the Flute," which dealt with Indian art objects. Merchant suggested they join forces, and the result was the Merchant Ivory production company, formed in India.
For their first project, they settled on a comic novel Merchant had read called "The Householder," about a schoolteacher who finds himself in an arranged marriage. The book was written by Jhabvala, and she collaborated with Ivory on the screenplay.
"I said (to Ivory), `The studios will never touch it, but you must do it!' And that's how we really started together."
But it was the trio's second film, "Shakespeare Wallah," about a small-time English theater troupe touring India, that attracted international attention and established their reputation for turning out intelligent, low-budget, cultured comedies. The early films, in general, poked fun at Western views of Indian culture - but gradually Merchant, Ivory and Jhabvala expanded their view to deal with broader subjects and larger issues.
Though their films always made money, it was the late 1970s before they began to attract attention beyond the normal art-house crowd - primarily with two adaptations of Henry James' works, "The Europeans" and "The Bostonians," along with "Heat and Dust," based on a novel by Jhabvala.
But it was "A Room With a View" in 1986 that went far beyond art-house expectations and crossed over into mainstream movie theaters, earning more money than any of Merchant Ivory's previous films and garnering almost uniform praise from critics.
Then, last year, "Howards End" cleaned up at both the box office and the Academy Awards. "The Remains of the Day" reunites the stars of "Howards End," Anthony Hopkins and Oscar-winner Emma Thompson.
As the producer, Merchant is, of course, responsible for the money side, and Merchant Ivory films have always been notable for managing to make $5 million movies look like $30 million movies.
After "Howards End," Merchant, Ivory and Jhabvala decided to pursue "The Remains of the Day," which was a project in development at Columbia Pictures with a $28 million production budget. "Other directors, Sydney Pollack and others, were going to make this for $28 million," Merchant says. "But we had just come off of `Howards End,' which we made for $8 million, and we knew we could do it for much less."
Columbia allowed them to take a stab at "The Remains of the Day," and the result is a $12 million picture that looks like it cost much more. "Our people, the people who work with us, the production designers and costume people, everybody has the approach of putting all the money on the screen."
Merchant Ivory has also signed a contract with a major studio for the first time. Merchant, Ivory and Jhabvala have agreed to a five-year, multipicture but nonexclusive deal with Walt Disney Productions, a partnership designed to allow Merchant Ivory to more smoothly develop and distribute its pictures.
"But they are letting us alone," Merchant emphasizes. "They are letting us alone to do what we do best."
Next up, and the first for Disney, is "Thomas Jefferson in Paris," which will begin shooting on location in France in February, with Nick Nolte in the title role. Meanwhile, Merchant has just directed his first feature, "In Custody," based on a novel by Anita Desai and scheduled for release early next year.
But there are plenty of other projects in various stages of discussion. "An independent producer must be thinking of seven, eight or 10 projects at a time," Merchant explains. "He can't depend on just one at a time."