Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1984
The Bostonians (film)
Buy The Bostonians (film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
|name = The Bostonians
|image = The Bostonians.jpg
|caption = United States theatrical poster
|director = James Ivory
|producer = Ismail Merchant
|screenplay = Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
|based_on =
|starring =
|music = Richard Robbins
|cinematography = Walter Lassally
|editing = Katherine Wenning
|studio = Merchant Ivory Productions
|distributor = Almi Pictures (USA)
|released =
|runtime = 122 minutes
|country =
|language = English
|budget =
|gross = $1,009,700
}}
'The Bostonians' is a 1984 romantic drama period film directed by James Ivory. The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is based on the 1886 American novel 'The Bostonians' by Henry James. The film stars Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Reeve, Madeleine Potter, and Jessica Tandy.
'The Bostonians' was released in the United States on 2 August 1984. The film received respectable reviews and nominations by the Golden Globe Awards, Academy Awards, and British Academy Film Awards.
Plot
Olive Chancellor, a Back Bay Boston spinster and leader of the women's suffrage movement, becomes enamored of Verena Tarrant, an inspirational young speaker, and adopts Verena as her protege, her friend, and her companion. When Olive's distant relation, the chauvinist Southern lawyer Basil Ransom falls in love with Verena and wishes to marry herto relegate the young woman to the kitchen and the nurseryOlive and Ransom find themselves competing for Verena's affections. The charismatic Miss Tarrant must then choose whether to get herself to the nunnery of Olive's social cause or submit to the sensual but subservient life promised by Ransom.
Cast
*Christopher Reeve as Basil Ransom
*Vanessa Redgrave as Olive Chancellor
*Madeleine Potter as Verena Tarrant
*Jessica Tandy as Miss Birdseye
*Nancy Marchand as Mrs. Burrage
*Wesley Addy as Dr. Tarrant
*Barbara Bryne as Mrs. Tarrant
*Linda Hunt as Dr. Prance
*Charles McCaughan as Music Hall Police Officer
*Nancy New as Adeline
*John Van Ness Philip as Henry Burrage
*Wallace Shawn as Mr. Pardon
Production
Filming
Locations where the film was shot include:*The Library of the Boston Athenaeum
*Gibson House Museum
*Beacon Hill, Boston
*Harvard University
*Chateau-sur-Mer, Newport, Rhode Island
*Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
*Central Park (including Belvedere Castle), New York City
*Martha's Vineyard
Critical reception
Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it 3 out of 4 stars and observing:
...intelligent and subtle and open to the underlying tragedy of a woman who does not know what she wants, a man who does not care what he wants, and a girl who does not need what she wants.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 86% approval rating based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. On Metacritic, 'The Bostonians' has a score of 59 out of a 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Accolades
National Society of Film Critics Awards
*Won: Best Actress Vanessa RedgraveGolden Globe Awards
*Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama Vanessa RedgraveAcademy Awards
*Nominated: Best Actress Vanessa Redgrave*Nominated: Best Costume Design Jenny Beavan, John Bright
BAFTA Awards
*Nominated: Best Costume Design Jenny Beavan, John BrightReferences
Buy The Bostonians (film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1984