Merchant Ivory Productions

Merchant Ivory Productions was founded in 1961 by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory in India to produce English-language films.

After early, modest successes with films such as The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, and Bombay Talkie, Merchant and Ivory suffered a lean period during the 1970s. Films such as Jane Austen in Manhattan and The Wild Party failed to find an audience. Their fortunes revived dramatically in 1979 when they made an adaptation of Henry James' novel The Europeans. Their film Heat and Dust (1983) was an art-house hit in Europe, particularly in England. However, it was not until their work together on A Room with a View (1985) that they broke out from the art house into broader success.

In 1985, Merchant Ivory Productions was signed by film distributor Cinecom International Films in order to give Cinecom access to the 11 Merchant Ivory productions at that time as Cinecom had to increase its distribution schedule. In 1986, Merchant Ivory and Cinecom began their co-production lineup with the film The Deceivers. In 1987, after 25 years as an independent producer, Merchant Ivory Productions declined offers by Hollywood power brokers and deep-pocketed investors, mesmerized by the success of the triple-Oscar winning A Room with a View, to take the company public.

Around 1990, they moved their productions to England and the United States. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala became their frequent collaborating writer. Major film studios sought them out; Disney signed Merchant Ivory Productions to a three-year distribution deal in 1991.

In October 2015, Cohen Media Group acquired the Merchant Ivory brand and library, 21 films and nine documentaries including worldwide distribution, for restoration and rerelease as a part of the Cohen Film Collection. Ivory would be creative director on the films' restoration, re-release and promotion.