'Merchant Ivory' Trailer Presents the Merchant Ivory Take on The Famous Duo

Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman, better known as Ismail Merchant, moved from India to New York in 1958 at the age of 22 to study at NYU. A year later, he met 30-year-old American director James Ivory at a screening in New York of Ivory's documentary The Sword and the Flute. The two fell in love, and two years later started Merchant Ivory Productions, eventually becoming one of the biggest names in British filmmaking, with their conjoined monikers coming to stand for a certain kind of period piece romance that dominated Hollywood in the late 20th century. Now a documentary about them, Merchant Ivory, will hit theaters, bringing things full circle.

Even if you've never actually knowingly sat down and watched a Merchant Ivory film, you'll recognize the major ones: A Room with a View, Howards End, and The Remains of the Day were the big Academy Award players, but they were also the team behind Heat and Dust, The Golden Bowl, Maurice, and Le Divorce, just to name a few. Merchant passed away in 2005, but Ivory has since continued, and was heavily involved in the recent Oscar favorite Call Me by Your Name, which launched the career of Timothée Chalamet.

Check out the trailer for the documentary, which has its world premiere in November 2023, and features interviews with many of those who worked with the team over the decades.