It is difficult to think of a more famous, more iconic film associated with Florence than A Room with a View (1986). In anticipation of the one-off centenary event 'Tea with a View' this Saturday, the film's official photographer, Sarah Quill, came in this Wednesday to enlighten us on the trials and tribulations of adapting E.M. Forster's classic novel (1908) to the just-as-classic period drama. We were also honoured to be joined by cast and crew of the film, including director James Ivory and lead actor Julian Sands - who played the melancholy but passionate hero figure, George Emerson.
The evening consisted of a revisiting of the film's basic plot, but told through Quill's exclusive photos and stills, many of which have never before been seen publicly. As well as this, we were told the tale of the film from the filmmaker's perspective; we heard of the budget troubles of the Merchant Ivory production company that led Merchant himself to cater for the team, as well as the problem of the film's Kentish setting being located under the Gatwick Airport flight path, and the traditional director's nightmares such as unpredictable weather (I didn't realise that most rain scenes in films are created specially!).
As the title of the talk implies, the evening really hammered home the realities of making a successful, authentic cinematic experience. Towards the start of the lecture, Quill's remark that Merchant Ivory's budget of $3 million was 'not massive' seemed rather surprising to me at first, but, after seeing the many troubles of the company striving to achieve a faithful adaptation of Forster's work of 'Edwardian manners and morals', I realised that this really was no easy feat. We saw the troubles of trying to film some of the carriage scenes involving real, trained horses, and Quill talked of the detailed research into the film's costumes which won the film an Oscar (the winners of this Academy Award, Jenny Beavan and John Bright, were also present in the audience). There were, of course, the settings themselves that demanded much work before being film-worthy. Foxwold, the real setting of the rural English house called 'Windy Corner' in the novel, had no pond to use for the famed 'sacred lake' naked bathing scene. Instead the team had to create this pond in a hollowed woodland garden surrounding the house, which shows their sheer dedication to creating a flawless work of art.
As well as capturing the very real task of creating a motion picture, Quill also talked eloquently on the timelessness and wider relevance of Forster's story. She was convincing in her assertion that we can all find Forsterian characters in our daily lives, typified by self-deception and a general hiding of one's true personality. She ended on the ultimate parallel with current issues - tying in well with last week's talk - by referring to Theresa May's Florence speech, in which the PM said that she was hoping to find 'a room with a view to the rest of the world'. Thus the influence of the work goes further than we might think! In the discussion that followed, Ivory himself told of how difficult it was to capture the iconic final shot of the couple with the Palazzo Vecchio and Duomo in the background, as the original view in Forster's novel would have looked out on to a road busy with motor traffic - something fascinating to hear from the man literally running the show!
In essence, the evening was a wonderful and timely revisiting of a classic piece of British cinema. I'd seen the film before attending this event, but it left me wanting to revisit the film, as well as pick up the book, and even perhaps explore the very same views as its protagonist Lucy Honeychurch would have done, though they might not be exactly the same nowadays.
The evening consisted of a revisiting of the film's basic plot, but told through Quill's exclusive photos and stills, many of which have never before been seen publicly. As well as this, we were told the tale of the film from the filmmaker's perspective; we heard of the budget troubles of the Merchant Ivory production company that led Merchant himself to cater for the team, as well as the problem of the film's Kentish setting being located under the Gatwick Airport flight path, and the traditional director's nightmares such as unpredictable weather (I didn't realise that most rain scenes in films are created specially!).
As the title of the talk implies, the evening really hammered home the realities of making a successful, authentic cinematic experience. Towards the start of the lecture, Quill's remark that Merchant Ivory's budget of $3 million was 'not massive' seemed rather surprising to me at first, but, after seeing the many troubles of the company striving to achieve a faithful adaptation of Forster's work of 'Edwardian manners and morals', I realised that this really was no easy feat. We saw the troubles of trying to film some of the carriage scenes involving real, trained horses, and Quill talked of the detailed research into the film's costumes which won the film an Oscar (the winners of this Academy Award, Jenny Beavan and John Bright, were also present in the audience). There were, of course, the settings themselves that demanded much work before being film-worthy. Foxwold, the real setting of the rural English house called 'Windy Corner' in the novel, had no pond to use for the famed 'sacred lake' naked bathing scene. Instead the team had to create this pond in a hollowed woodland garden surrounding the house, which shows their sheer dedication to creating a flawless work of art.
As well as capturing the very real task of creating a motion picture, Quill also talked eloquently on the timelessness and wider relevance of Forster's story. She was convincing in her assertion that we can all find Forsterian characters in our daily lives, typified by self-deception and a general hiding of one's true personality. She ended on the ultimate parallel with current issues - tying in well with last week's talk - by referring to Theresa May's Florence speech, in which the PM said that she was hoping to find 'a room with a view to the rest of the world'. Thus the influence of the work goes further than we might think! In the discussion that followed, Ivory himself told of how difficult it was to capture the iconic final shot of the couple with the Palazzo Vecchio and Duomo in the background, as the original view in Forster's novel would have looked out on to a road busy with motor traffic - something fascinating to hear from the man literally running the show!
In essence, the evening was a wonderful and timely revisiting of a classic piece of British cinema. I'd seen the film before attending this event, but it left me wanting to revisit the film, as well as pick up the book, and even perhaps explore the very same views as its protagonist Lucy Honeychurch would have done, though they might not be exactly the same nowadays.
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| Quill (third from left) was accompanied by a partial reunion of the film team, feat. James Ivory (furthest left) and Julian Sands (fourth from left) |
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