The Bostonians (1984)

Director:

James Ivory

Writers:

Henry James (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)

Release Date:

September 1984 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A BEAUTIFUL FILM . . . An intimate and exquisite probe of the feminist heart. [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

19th-century Boston woman dedicated to the suffrage movement, meets a faith healer's daughter, a Mississippi lawyer also has eyes for the young woman.

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Womens Lib | Independent Film | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Christopher Reeve	...	Basil Ransome
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Olive Chancellor
Jessica Tandy	...	Miss Birdseye
Madeleine Potter	...	Verena Tarrant
Nancy Marchand	...	Mrs. Burrage
Wesley Addy	...	Dr. Tarrant
Barbara Bryne	...	Mrs. Tarrant
Linda Hunt	...	Dr. Prance
Charles McCaughan	...	Music Hall Policeman
Nancy New	...	Adeline
Jon Van Ness	...	Henry Burrage (as John Van Ness Philip)
Wallace Shawn	...	Mr. Pardon
Peter Bogyo	...	Mr. Gracie
Martha Farrar	...	Mrs, Farrinder
Dusty Maxwell	...	Newton Tarrant
J. Lee Morgan	...	Music Hall Official
De French	...	Patient
Maura Moynihan	...	Henrietta Stackpole
June Mitchell	...	Maid
Lee H. Doyle	...	Mr. Filer (as Lee Doyle)
Janet Cicchese	...	Irish Washerwoman
Scott Kradolfer	...	Tough Boy
Jane Manners	...	Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Beyer	...	Organist
James Huston	...	Photographer
Christopher Childs	...	New York socialite (uncredited)
David Montee	...	New York socialite (uncredited)

Directed by
James Ivory

Writing credits
Henry James		(novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala		(screenplay)

Produced by
Paul Bradley	....	associate producer
Connie Kaiserman	....	associate producer
Michael S. Landes	....	executive producer
Ismail Merchant	....	producer
Albert Schwartz	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Richard Robbins

Cinematography by
Walter Lassally

Film Editing by
Mark Potter Jr.
Katherine Wenning

Production Design by
Leo Austin

Art Direction by
Don Carpenter
Tom Walden

Set Decoration by
Richard Elton

Costume Design by
Jenny Beavan
John Bright

Makeup Department
Marleen Alter	....	assistant makeup artist
Jeffrey Haines	....	hair stylist
Carol Hemming	....	hair stylist
Jeanne Richmond	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ted Morley	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Appleton	....	assistant director
Simon Moseley	....	third assistant director
Ron Peck	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Tommy Allen	....	property master
John Campbell	....	scenic artist
Debbie Davis	....	scenic artist
Peter Derbyshire	....	scenic artist
Timothy Freuh	....	scenic artist
Janet Low	....	scenic artist
John Moynihan	....	scenic artist
Nan Starr	....	scenic artist
Pat Tanpone	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Ray Beckett	....	sound recordist
Brian Blamey	....	sound editor
Jon Blunt	....	sound re-recordist
Nick Hammond	....	boom operator
Chris Leong	....	adr editor
Chris Leong	....	sound editor
Eric Peters	....	assistant sound editor
Lionel Strutt	....	adr mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Mikki Ansin	....	still photographer
John D. Burkley	....	gaffer (as John Burkley)
Andy Clapp	....	electrician
Marie Cosindas	....	still photographer
Tom Dischert	....	key grip
Bill Floyd	....	assistant camera
Tom Paul Hoppe	....	assistant camera
David Houlle	....	electrician
James Jansen	....	gaffer
Karan Kapoor	....	still photographer
Bob Magro	....	electrician
Charlie Marroquin	....	electrician
Brian O'Connell	....	electrician
Herb Rook	....	generator operator
William M. Weberg	....	grip
Costas Charitou	....	titles: Camera Effects Ltd (uncredited)

Casting Department
Riccardo Bertoni	....	extras casting
Joy Todd	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nancy Lawson	....	wardrobe assistant
William Pierce	....	costume coordinator
Sally Turner	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Joseph Gutowski	....	second assistant editor
Lori Kornspun	....	assistant editor
Dilip Roy	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Simon Heyworth	....	music producer
Graham Prescott	....	musician: fiddle
Harry Rabinowitz	....	conductor
Alan Snelling	....	music mixer
Franz von Suppé	....	composer: theme "Overture" from operetta "Poet and Peasant"

Other crew
Dorothy Berman	....	production assistant
Brian Brockwell	....	production accountant
Anthony Chase	....	assistant to director
Randy Craig	....	production assistant
Alexandra Decker	....	location manager (as Alex Decker)
Stephen Dembitzer	....	production assistant
Tom Ehrenfeld	....	production assistant
Michael Fields	....	assistant to director
Neil Gillis	....	teamster captain
Lorraine Goodman	....	production coordinator
Paris Jamal	....	digital transfers
Sunil Kirparam	....	production accountant
Linsey Lee	....	assistant to director
Bill O'Connell	....	assistant to producer
Zakiya Powell	....	unit publicist
Nicola Robinson	....	production assistant
Caroline Sax	....	continuity
Pat Stamler	....	accounting assistant
Lisa W. Strout	....	location coordinator (as Lisa Strout)
Hadi Zarbafi	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Merchant Ivory Productions
• WGBH (in association with)
• Rediffusion (in association with)
• Almi Entertainment Finance Corporation (in association with)

Distributors

• Almi Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Vestron Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• TV3 (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1991) (Finland) (TV)
• Rhino Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Odyssey Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Les Acacias (1985) (France) (theatrical) (as Les Acacias-Ciné-Audience)
• Cinematográfica F.J. (Brazil) (video)

Other Companies

• Camera Effects  titles and opticals
• Casting Company, The  casting
• Magno Sound  location sound services

Runtime:

USA:122 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-3 | Australia:G | West Germany:12 (f) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

During filming, actress Madeleine Potter noticed that one of her costumes had the name "Nastassja Kinski" sewn into it. As it turned out, the dress had originally been made to be used in the movie Tess (1979).

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Wandering Company (1984) (TV)

Abysmal on all counts

With an uncompromising dedication to character, and a flair for graceful, richly-textured storytelling, Merchant-Ivory seemed incapable of mediocrity. And with the recent passing of Ismail Merchant, I've been thumbing through the company's stellar filmography with renewed appreciation. Adoring the costume drama, I donned my comfy slippers and International Coffee and settled into 120 minutes of Merchant-Ivory bliss.

What I got instead was The Bostonians, the MI treatment of Henry James' witty and satirical novel about the earliest days of the feminist movement. This production took a fun and biting social commentary and turned it into gooey melodrama. It failed to show the irony of a headstrong young feminist (daughter of a "mesmeric healer" and a chronic hypochondriac) allowing herself to be manipulated on all sides while falling for a dull, misogynistic Southern lawyer. It turned the classic Plutonic relationship with her feminist mentor into the clawing desperation of an aging lesbian. Script appeal seesawed between eating a mouthful of alum, and blowing butterscotch pudding out one's nose. Editing was at once jagged and lumpy, spending copious amounts of film on innocuous bits of business, only to slam the guillotine so close to some dialog that it made me wonder about my DVD player. And that's only the half of it.

Stiff and lumbering is all I ever expect of the now canonized Christopher Reeve, so this performance shouldn't have surprised me. But it did. Reeve was channeling some kind of Confederate Heathcliff with a little Mary Shelley thrown in for good measure. Reading his lines from crib notes apparently taped to the bottom of the camera lens, he never blinked nor gave the slightest indication of understanding his dialog. He seemed to be forever walking downhill, and was patently incapable of moving his head. On seeing this performance, one could almost believe that the future riding accident might actually improve his flexibility. The heroin, as played by a mush-mouthed Madeleine Potter, showed all the plucky conviction of a plate of cold baked beans (yes, with the little puddles of congealed pork fat floating on top). As for the usually magnificent Vanessa Redgrave (in the desperate aging lesbian role), I say 'let's just forget this ever happened.' The only redeeming performances were two tiny bits sent in by Linda Hunt and Jessica Tandy. I'd be surprised if their scripts totaled more than 150 words. It would seem the director didn't bother to load their bloomers with the 100 lbs of wet oatmeal like he did with everyone else.

In a way, it's a shame I only rented The Bostonians. I'll miss out on the gratification I'd have felt in putting it in the microwave. What a tragic waste of good couch time.