Ismail Merchant, 1936 - 2005.

Filmmaker Ismail Merchant, who with partner James Ivory became synonymous with classy costume drama in films such as A Room With A View and Howards End, died Wednesday. He was 68.

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"When we first began, Ruth [Prawer Jhabvala] told us she had never written a screenplay," Merchant told AP. "That was not a problem since I had never produced a feature film and Jim had never directed one."

- Beth Gardiner for the AP.

See, too, the full biography at the Merchant Ivory Productions site.

Updates:

I just couldn't believe it. I don't think I can take it, I'm too shattered. I just spoke to him three days ago, and he seemed fine.

Shashi Kapoor in the Indian Express.

A Merchant-Ivory film set was always something of a family affair, with Mr. Merchant a more frequent visitor than producers generally are and the same crew members returning for service over decades. Once on the scene, Mr. Merchant was just as likely to be fetching tea for a company member or making one of his celebrated curries for the cast as pitching a fit about cost overruns or schedule snafus.

Warren Hoge in the New York Times.

Friends described him as having "the cheek of the devil and the charm of an angel," and Merchant explained his success as the result of "a passion for making films, not for making money."

The Telegraph.

"There are very few people who become a brand. When you talk about a Merchant Ivory film, people know immediately what you're talking about. There is literally a handful of people in the history of cinema you can say that about."

Barnaby Thompson, head of Ealing Studios, as quoted by Dalya Alberge in the London Times.

Posted by dwhudson at May 25, 2005 11:48 AM