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Ismail Merchant

Ismail Merchant

Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman; 25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian-born film producer and director. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included director (and Merchant's longtime professional and domestic partner) James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Their films won six Academy Awards.

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Movies Made By Ismail Merchant (47)

The White Countess (2005)

In 1930s Shanghai, 'The White Countess' is both Sofia, a fallen member of the exiled Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat who asks Sofia to be the centerpiece of the world he wants to create. ...

Heights (2005)

Spanning twenty-four hours, HEIGHTS follows five New Yorkers challenged to choose their destiny before the sun comes up the next day. ...

Thank You, Doctor Rey (2003)

A gay young man is recruited into an illicit love triangle to watch a much older man's sexual liaison, but ends up witnessing what turns out to be his murder. The next day the young man's opera diva mother informs him that his estranged father has been in ...

Le Divorce (2003)

While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer. ...

The Mystic Masseur (2001)

Circa 1940 in Trinidad, still a British Colony, lives Ganesh Ramseyor, of East Indian origin, along with his wife, Leela. He longs to reach out to people, especially to Hindus, in order to promote the Hindu Faith, and be known as a writer. He does get cons ...

The Golden Bowl (2000)

Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an af ...

Cotton Mary (1999)

A British family is trapped between culture, tradition, and the colonial sins of the past. ...

A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)

This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotional slice-of-life story. Jones is portrayed here as Bill Willis, a former war hero turned author who combats alcoholism and is starting to experience health problems. Liv ...

Mrs. Dalloway (1997)

Clarissa Dalloway looks back on her youth as she readies for a gathering at her house. The wife of a legislator and a doyenne of London's upper-crust party scene, Clarissa finds that the plight of ailing war veteran Septimus Warren Smith reminds her of a p ...

The Proprietor (1996)

An expatriated French novelist returns to Paris when she learns that her childhood home is being placed on the auction block. ...

Surviving Picasso (1996)

The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life. ...

Lumière & Company (1995)

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) ...

Feast of July (1995)

After an abandoned young woman in late 19th Century England is taken in by a rural couple with three handsome sons, tragic consequences result. ...

Jefferson in Paris (1995)

His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Pa ...

Street Musicians of Bombay (1994)

Off-camera, a Western traveler tells us of hearing singing from his hotel window in Bombay. He searches for the source, and discovers a caste of street performers, eking out a modest living. We see individuals and groups, old and young, snake charmers and ...

In Custody (1994)

Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant 's treat ...

The Remains of the Day (1993)

A rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a housekeeper who falls in love with him in post-WWI Britain. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi ca ...

Howards End (1992)

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wi ...

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991)

A small-town eccentric opens a café in her decaying home. ...

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)

Set during World War II, an upper-class family begins to fall apart due to the conservative nature of the patriarch and the progressive values of his children. ...

Slaves of New York (1989)

Meet the denizens of New York City: artists, prostitutes, saints, and seers. All are aspiring toward either fame or oblivion while hoping for love and acceptance. Instead they find high rent, faithless partners, and dead-end careers. ...

The Deceivers (1988)

India, 1825: the country lives in mortal fear of cult members known as the "Deceivers." They commit robbery and ritualistic murder. Appalled by their activities, an English military man, Captain William Savage, conceives a hazardous plot to stop them. In d ...

The Perfect Murder (1988)

Police Inspector Ghote lives a middle-class life in Bombay along with his wife, Pratima. He has been employed with the Bombay Police for many years. He is assigned to investigate the deadly assault on a Parsi man named Perfect, who is the Secretary of Lala ...

Maurice (1987)

After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society. ...

My Little Girl (1986)

A young girl agrees to work in a center for girls who can't stay with their parents. She gets wrapped up in the plights of several of the girls, and tries to help them, but only gets herself into trouble with her parents and supervisor. ...

A Room with a View (1986)

When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperon Charlotte Bartlett find themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but, once back in Eng ...

Noon Wine (1985)

The drama, adapted from a story by Katherine Anne Porter, tells of a Swedish immigrant who arrives on a small Texas farm at the turn of the century for work, is hired, and subsequently, and inadvertently, causes the downfall of his employer when a suspicio ...

The Bostonians (1984)

A bored lawyer and a suffragette vie for the attention of a faith healer's charismatic daughter. ...

Heat and Dust (1983)

Anne is investigating the life of her grand-aunt Olivia, whose destiny has always been shrouded with scandal. As Anne delves into the history of her grand-aunt, she is led to reconsider her own life. ...

The Courtesans of Bombay (1983)

In the Mumbai, India, tenement community of Pavanpul, young female courtesans sing, dance and perform sexual favors for male clientele. Directors James Ivory and Ismail Merchant blend documentary footage and dramatic reenactments in their exploration of th ...

Quartet (1981)

When her husband's arrest leaves her penniless, a woman accepts an invitation to move in with a strange couple. ...

Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)

Two teachers vie for the right to stage a play written by Jane Austen when she was twelve years old. ...

The Europeans (1979)

An adaptation of Henry James' novel about the Countess Eugenia Münster and her brother Robert, expatriate Americans who have grown up in Europe. Returning to prosperous relatives in New England, Eugenia hopes to make an advantageous marriage with a wealth ...

Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)

A legendary collection of miniature paintings have been locked up in the storeroom of an Indian palace for years; the collection's fame attracts a group of art lovers and fortune seekers who converge simultaneously on the palace. ...

Roseland (1977)

"Roseland" is made up of three stories, sometimes connecting, all set in the famed New York City dance palace, and all having the same theme: finding the right dance partner. ...

Sweet Sounds (1976)

This short documentary, shot in July 1976 at the Mannes College of Music on Manhattan's Upper East Side, marks the first collaboration between Merchant Ivory Films and composer Richard Robbins, who would go on to provide the musical scores for nearly all M ...

Autobiography of a Princess (1975)

On the birthday of her late father, a deposed Maharaja, a displaced Indian princess living in London and his former private secretary watch home movies and reminisce about royal India. ...

The Wild Party (1975)

An aging silent movie comic star throws a lavish party to try and save his failing career. ...

Mahatma and the Mad Boy (1974)

In the time frame of a single day (from dawn to dust), the film records the wanderings of an Indian youth who sleeps on the beach, holds conversations with a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, and scavenges for food with his monkey. By afternoon, a little ceremony ...

Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls (1973)

Looks at the musical extravaganzas which constitute the main bulk of commercial cinema in India; in particular at the career of Helen, the undisputed Queen of such sagas, having appeared in some five hundred since 1957. Excerpts from some of her films are ...

Savages (1972)

A tribe of primitive "mudpeople" encounter a croquet ball, rolling through their forest. Following it, they find themselves on a vast, deserted Long Island estate. Entering, they begin to become civilized and assume the stereotypical roles and dress of peo ...

Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization (1972)

Nirad C. Chaudhuri expounds his views on culture, history, religion and society from a comparative perspective. ...

Bombay Talkie (1970)

An English novelist travels to Bombay to watch one of her novels translated to film. She chases after the movie's leading man while the screenwriter chases after her. ...

The Guru (1969)

Britain's top pop artiste, Tom Pickle, travels to Bombay, India, circa 1960s to learn to play the sitar from renowned maestro Ustad Zafar Khan. ...

Shakespeare-Wallah (1965)

The story of a family troupe of English actors who travel around the towns and villages in India giving performances of Shakespearean plays. Through their travels we see the changing face of India as the old is replaced by the new, Maharajas become hotel o ...

The Householder (1963)

Prem, a young school teacher, is arranged married and begins the journey of learning the roles and responsibilities required of him. ...

The Creation of Woman (1961)

This 14-minute film talks about the Hindu god Brahma's creation of life, the world and of course the first woman. Saeed Jaffrey narrates the story as dancers Bhaskar, Dinu and Anjali Devi "act" out the story. ...

Movies Starring Ismail Merchant (14)

Merchant Ivory (2024)

The first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer R ...

A Cooler Climate (2022)

In 1960, acclaimed filmmaker James Ivory traveled to Afghanistan to shoot scenes for a documentary that was never completed. In 2022, he decided to revisit this unique footage, which takes him back to his adventurous youth. ...

A Tribute To Ismail Merchant (2005)

Ismail Merchant (1936 - 2005) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Director his longtime professional and domestic partner director James Ivory as w ...

The Song of the Little Road (2003)

Satyajit Ray's masterpiece the Apu Trilogy is widely considered one of the most important works in cinema history. In 1992, Ray was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Oscar. But when film-preservationist David Sheppard volunteered to go to Bengal, he found t ...

Love & Loyalty: The Making of 'The Remains of the Day' (2001)

The filmmakers and lead actors of The Remains of the Day (1993) discuss how they came to make the film, and the subtle power of its execution. ...

Blind Loyalty, Hollow Honor: England's Fatal Flaw (2001)

Historical context for The Remains of the Day. ...

The Remains of the Day: The Filmmaker's Journey (2001)

A documentary about making The Remains of the Day. ...

Jefferson in Paris (1995)

His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Pa ...

Slaves of New York (1989)

Meet the denizens of New York City: artists, prostitutes, saints, and seers. All are aspiring toward either fame or oblivion while hoping for love and acceptance. Instead they find high rent, faithless partners, and dead-end careers. ...

The Wandering Company (1984)

Documentary about Merchant Ivory Productions, including interviews with the principals of the film production company and actors which have appeared in their films. ...

Heat and Dust (1983)

Anne is investigating the life of her grand-aunt Olivia, whose destiny has always been shrouded with scandal. As Anne delves into the history of her grand-aunt, she is led to reconsider her own life. ...

Bombay Talkie (1970)

An English novelist travels to Bombay to watch one of her novels translated to film. She chases after the movie's leading man while the screenwriter chases after her. ...

Shakespeare-Wallah (1965)

The story of a family troupe of English actors who travel around the towns and villages in India giving performances of Shakespearean plays. Through their travels we see the changing face of India as the old is replaced by the new, Maharajas become hotel o ...

The Householder (1963)

Prem, a young school teacher, is arranged married and begins the journey of learning the roles and responsibilities required of him. ...

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