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Ismail Merchant

Lumiere & Company

Born: 12/25/1936 Mumbai, India

Decades Active:
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1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010
Biography: Educated in Bombay and the U.S., Indian-born Ismail Merchant was destined for a business administration career. Rather than waste away in banking or speculating, lifelong movie buff Merchant put his skills to work in the creative arts. He found the perfect collaborators in the form of German/Indian novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and California-born director James Ivory. The Merchant/Ivory productions written by Jhabvala, among them Shakespeare Wallah (1965), Bombay Talkie (1969), Roseland (1977), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1984), and Howard's End (1992), have set an international standard for superior production values at the least possible cost. These accomplishments are all the more remarkable when one realizes that Merchant and Ivory were almost constantly at each other's throats over artistic and financial matters -- and make no effort to hide their squabbles from the public. In addition to his administrative duties, Merchant occasionally turned director as well; among his efforts was The Courtesans of Bombay (1980). Merchant also carved a niche in the culinary world with his best-selling cookbook, -Ismail Merchant's Indian Cuisine. In 2005, while working on The White Countess, Merchant was stricken with an illness and died unexpectedly a short time later. He was 68. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

DVDs that Ismail Merchant appeared in...

Green links represent a title available on SwapaDVD. Dates shown are DVD release dates.

04/06/2004 - Jefferson in Paris

DVDs that Ismail Merchant worked on "behind the scenes"...

Green links represent a title available on SwapaDVD. Dates shown are DVD release dates.

11/03/2009 - Howards End [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] - Producer
10/02/2007 - A Room with a View [HD DVD] - Producer
10/02/2007 - A Room with a View [Blu-ray] - Producer
07/03/2007 - A Room With a View [Special Edition] [Amaray] - Producer
04/03/2007 - Sweet Lorraine - Director
05/16/2006 - The White Countess - Producer
11/01/2005 - Heights - Screenwriter
08/09/2005 - Merci Docteur Rey! - Co-producer
07/26/2005 - Slaves of New York - Producer
04/19/2005 - In Custody - Producer