Photo courtesy of American Public Television
Many of James Ivory’s films unfold in homes where I’d like to live or bars where I’d love to drink. In an episode of PBS’ series “Design in Mind” dedicated to him, “On Location with James Ivory,” the filmmaker holds forth on the value of locations. Unlike the raft of mediocre photoshopped historical drama on Netflix or Amazon Prime, Ivory’s films were shot on location, even when he had to assemble an imaginary country estate from footage at five real locations.
Ivory was one third of the creative team behind A Room with a View (1986), Maurice (1987) and Jefferson in Paris (1995). Their stories were written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala; Ivory chose the settings and producer Ismail Merchant secured the locations—often against opposition through the force of his persuasive charm. The partnership began in the late 1950s when Merchant, an Indian national, introduced himself at a New York screening of an Ivory documentary on India. The collaboration continued through Merchant’s death in 2005.
Director Jon Hart packed a lot of material into his swift-moving 27-minute documentary. Much of “On Location” is drawn from an interview conducted in Ivory’s 1805 Hudson Valley home. Merchant, Ivory and Prawer Jhabvala conceived many of their films there, editing the results in an outbuilding.
The home reflects Ivory’s many interests. He studied architecture before going to film school and has always taken an active hand in the built-environments surrounding—sometimes shaping— Prawer Jhabvala’s characters.
“On Location with James Ivory” is available on PBS Passport.
