Maurice film questions

[saint4u.livejournal.com]

I just recently purchased the 2 disk special edition of a Merchant Ivory film named Maurice, which is based on the novel by E.M Forster. Is is basically about a young english nobleman's awakening to his own homosexuality, and how eventually he finds love in the unlikeliest of places in the form of a underkeeper named Alec Scudder.
I have a few questions though regarding this film, and I hope there are some here that can help me.


1. Is it true that this film played for over a year in the french art houses? I find that awesome yet hard to believe.
2. Hugh Grant I thought was actually quite good in this, and the scene where he gets up and sits in james wilby's lap and they are just about to kiss is a great boytouching moment. I wonder why Hugh's career never really took off until Four Weddings.
3. What on earth happened to james wilby and rupert graves? They were brilliant in this and so far I have failed to find any of their other works, except for rupert graves in a supporting role in V for Vendetta and wilby I think has fallen off the radar. The moments between alec and maurice in this film are so touching, and wierdly more erotic than more recent gay themed films in my opinion.
4. IS it true that em forster wrote an alternative ending to this, one where maurice's sister actually stumbles across her brother and alec years later where they are now living the lives as woodsman?

I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves gay themed films, and ones that include a lot of slashy and boy touching themes.

Comments

[creativepseudo.livejournal.com]

1.) First time I've heard that, cool! :D
2.) Because it is a pretty much non-mainstream gay movie: not exactly the opportunity to go blockbuster and gain large amounts of support.
3.) Word to that! I feel the same way.
4.) Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's floating around the internet somewhere. I've seen it before.

[potatofiend.livejournal.com]

3. Both of them do a lot of work for BBC drama programmes, nowadays; Rupert Graves recently played Charles II in a period piece, Wilby starred in a WW2 drama, etc.

[lolabobs.livejournal.com]

Maurice is one of my favourite films. I rented it a dozen times before I got my own copy, and lost count of how many times i read the book.

In answer to your questions.., well..
1. - I don't know!
2. - Hugh Grant was sweet in this, probably the only time I've really liked him in anything - Maurice just wasn't the type of film to rocket anyone in the stratosphere I don't think..
3. - Check out http://imdb.com/name/nm0928134/ (copy and paste it) for james Wilby
and http://imdb.com/name/nm0001291/ for Rupert Graves - especially of note is Different for Girls, in which Ruperts character falls in love with an old school friend - who is now a post operative male-female transexual (played by Stephen Waddington), Also Regeneration, which starts James Wilby, Jonathon Pryce and Johnny Lee Miller, and is worth a watch (no boytouching, but a lot of subtext, based, as it was in truth)
4. - A note by the author, published in the Penguin Books edition reads:
"The chapter after their reunion, where Maurice ticks off Clive, is the only possible end to the book. I did not always think so, nor did others, and I was encouraged to write an epilogue. It took the form of Kitty encountering two woodcutters some years later, and gave universal disatisfaction. Epilogues are for Tolstoy. Mine partly failed because the novel's action-date is about 1912, and 'some years later' would plunge it into the transformed England of the First World War."

I hope this helps a little - I too recommend this movie (and the novel) to one and all!

[rinnuninnu.livejournal.com]

It's Steven Mackintosh in Different for Girls with Rupert Graves:)

Steven Waddington was in Edward II another gay movie:)

[lolabobs.livejournal.com]

oops! That's right!!!!

rupert graves

[ximxoom.livejournal.com]

rupert graves has his own website www.rupert-graves.com. i'm a fan of his, and he is more prolific than you realize. think of any merchant-ivory or period pieces that has helena bonham-carter and you are almost sure rupert is in it. room with a view is one of them.

[spike0313.livejournal.com]

kljsldkfjsldf how I love Maurice.
I've been meaning to post a picspam of it :P

[fang-rock.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything useful to add in answer to those questions, I just wanted to chime in and say that I adore Maurice, both the novel and the film. (You should most certainly read the novel if you enjoyed the film; I actually prefer it, which isn't usual for me.)

Oh, and I feel I should point out that Maurice Hall is actually the epitome of middle class - if you got the impression that he was of noble birth, you weren't paying sufficient attention! :-)

[fulhildur.livejournal.com]

Everyone's pretty much answered your questions.

I'd just like to say that Maurice is probably my favorite movie of all time. I never tire of it.

[foreignthinks.livejournal.com]

I've been dying to see the movie for ages, ever since I read the book (excellent book). Does anyone have caps?