The Europeans is a 1979 British Merchant Ivory film, directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant, and with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, based on Henry James's novel The Europeans (1878). It stars Lee Remick, Robin Ellis, Tim Woodward and Lisa Eichhorn. It was the first of Merchant Ivory's triptych of Henry James adaptations. It was followed by The Bostonians in 1984 and The Golden Bowl in 2001.

Plot

The Wentworths are a prosperous family living in an estate in a suburb of Boston in the 1850s. The family consists of the dour father, Mr. Wentworth, and his three adult children: Gertrude, Charlotte, and Clifford. Their quiet existence is shaken by the unexpected arrival of almost forgotten relatives from Europe. The Europeans are Felix Young and his older sister Eugenia Münster who are cultured, witty and broke. Felix is interested in painting while Eugenia, sophisticated and alluring, is a baroness as the morganatic wife of a minor German prince.

Awards