Autobiography of Princess (The Merchant Ivory Collection) (DVD)

$30
Item Code: IZZ547
Specifications:
Madhur JaffreyExcel Productions Audio Visuals Pvt. Ltd.(2008)55 mins. Approx.
Dimensions
About the DVD

Starring :
James Mason, Madhur Jafrrey, Keith Varnier, Diane Fletcher, Timothy Bateson Johnny Stuart, Nazrul Rahman

Merchant Ivory Productions presents
Director: James Ivory
Screenplay: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Photography: Walter Lassally
Editor: Humphrey Dixon
Music: VIC Flick
Producer: Ismail Merchant

An Indian princess (Madhur Jaffrey), a long divorced and living in self-enforced exile in London, invites her Father’s ex-tutor, Cyril Sahib (James Mason), to an annual tea party, intended to celebrate a happier past, where the two watch old movie footage of royal India.

The Princess reviews her memories selectively: she sees their long-vanished, fun –filled world, dominated by his dazzling father, through a haze of nostalgia, and she tries to wheedle her guest into writing a book about it. Cyril Sahib has a different view both of their common past and of her father, the Maharaja. He recalls the ceremonial occasions, the weddings and funerals, the pig-sticking expeditions, the pranks and practical jokes with distaste, even horror at the surfeit and brutality. And he remembers the dashing Maharaja – to his adoring daughter almost a surrogate lover – as manipulative and often cruel, his later years soiled y a sordid sex scandal in London.

In this perfect, tightly written film of memory and character exploration, James Mason gives one of the finest portrayals of his career, almost a kind of valedictory performance as the articulate and self-aware Cyril Sahib. Madhur Jaffrey, a favourite Merchant Ivory actress, is no less affecting as the imperious but befuddled, and finally tragically isolated, Princess.

Special Features:
About the Film Autobiographies
Trailers
Short Film: Sweet Sounds
Colour Mode: Colour
Disc format: DVD-9
Audio content: Dolby Digital
Region Code: PAL
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Genre: Drama

Contents

1. Opening Credits
2. The Wrong Place
3. Pig Sticking
4. Through Their Eyes
5. At The Beginning
6. More Tea
7. Getting Along
8. End Credits

Add a review
Have A Question

For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy