Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often based upon novels or short stories, particularly the work of Henry James, E. M. Forster, and two novels by Jhabvala herself.
The initial goal of the company was "to make English-language films in India aimed at the international market," but the company ended up making many films set in England and America.
Some Bollywood and Hollywood actors and producers associated with the tightly-knitted Merchant Ivory film family include Leela Naidu, Madhur Jaffrey, Aparna Sen, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendal, Hugh Grant, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Simon Callow, Anthony Hopkins, Glenn Close, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, and Helena Bonham Carter.
Of this collaboration, Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory... I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!"[1]
The expression "Merchant-Ivory film" has made its way into common parlance, to denote a particular genre of film rather than the actual production company. The heyday of this genre was the 1980s and 1990s with such films as A Room with a View and Howards End. A typical "Merchant-Ivory film" would be a period piece set in the early 20th century, usually in Edwardian England, featuring lavish sets and top British actors portraying genteel characters who suffer from disillusionment and tragic entanglements.[2][3]
| Year | Title | Screenwriter | Other notes |
| 1963 | The Householder | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | screenplay, adapted from the novel by Jhabvala |
| 1965 | Shakespeare Wallah | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | screenplay |
| 1969 | The Guru | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | screenplay |
| 1970 | Bombay Talkie | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | screenplay |
| 1972 | Savages | George Swift Trow and Michael O'Donoghue | written by |
| 1975 | The Wild Party | Walter Marks | based on a poem by Joseph Moncure March |
| Autobiography of a Princess | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | written by | |
| 1977 | Roseland | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | story and screenplay |
| 1978 | Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | TV (story) |
| 1979 | The Five Forty-Eight | Terrance McNally | based on the story by John Cheever |
| The Europeans | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Henry James | |
| 1980 | Jane Austen in Manhattan | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | written by |
| 1981 | Quartet | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Jean Rhys |
| 1983 | The Courtesans of Bombay | Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | TV feature; directed by Ismail Merchant |
| Heat and Dust | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Jhabvala | |
| 1984 | The Bostonians | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Henry James |
| 1985 | A Room with a View | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by E. M. Forster |
| 1986 | My Little Girl | Connie Kaiserman | original; directed by Kaiserman |
| 1987 | Maurice | James Ivory & Kit Hesketh-Harvey | based on the novel by E. M. Forster |
| 1988 | The Deceivers | Michael Hirst | based on novel by John Masters |
| The Perfect Murder | H.R.F. Keating and Zafar Hai | based on the novel by Keating | |
| 1989 | Slaves of New York | Tama Janowitz | based on collection of stories by Janowitz |
| 1990 | Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on novels by Evan S. Connell |
| 1991 | The Ballad of the Sad Cafe | Michael Hirst | play by Edward Albee (based on novel by Carson McCullers) directed by Simon Callow |
| Street Musicians of Bombay | directed by Richard Robbins | ||
| 1992 | Howards End | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by E. M. Forster |
| 1993 | The Remains of the Day | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro |
| 1994 | In Custody | Shahrukh Husain and Anita Desai | based on the novel by Desai directed by Ismail Merchant |
| 1995 | Feast of July | Christopher Neame | based on a novel by H.E. Bates |
| Jefferson in Paris | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | written by J. T. Hyndman | |
| 1996 | The Proprietor | Jean-Marie Besset and George Swift Trow | directed by Ismail Merchant |
| Surviving Picasso | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | screenplay (based on the book by Arianna Huffington) | |
| 1998 | Side Streets | Tony Gerber, Lynn Nottage | directed by Tony Gerber |
| A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Kaylie Jones | |
| 1999 | Cotton Mary | Alexandra Viets | directed by Ismail Merchant |
| 2001 | The Golden Bowl | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | based on the novel by Henry James |
| 2002 | The Mystic Masseur | Caryl Phillips | based on a novel by V. S. Naipaul |
| Merci Docteur Rey | Andrew Litvack | directed by Andrew Litvack | |
| 2003 | Le Divorce | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala & James Ivory | based on the novel by Diane Johnson |
| 2004 | Heights | Amy Fox | directed by Chris Terrio |
| 2005 | The White Countess | Kazuo Ishiguro | screenplay |
| 2007 | The City of Your Final Destination | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | screenplay (based on book by Peter Cameron) |
| 2008 | Before the Rains | Cathy Rabin | directed by Santosh Sivan |