E.M. Forster
Writer · Died June 7, 1970, aged 91 · Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK
Edward Morgan Forster OM CH (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author. He is best known for his novels, particularly A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910) and A Passage to India (1924). He also wrote numerous short stories, essays, speeches and broadcasts, as well as biographies and pageant plays. His short story "The Machine Stops" (1909) is often viewed as the beginning of technological dystopian fiction. He also co-authored the libretto to Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd (1951). Many of his novels examine class differences and hypocrisy. His views as a humanist are at the heart of his work. Considered one of the most successful of the Edwardian era English novelists, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 22 separate years.[1][2] He declined a knighthood in 1949, though he received the Order of Merit upon his 90th birthday.[3] Forster was made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1953, and in 1961 he was one of the first five authors named as a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature. After attending Tonbridge School, Forster studied history and classics at King's College, Cambridge, where he met fellow future writers such as Lytton Strachey and Leonard Woolf. He then travelled throughout Europe before publishing his first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread, in 1905. The last of his novels to be published, Maurice, is a tale of homosexual love in early 20th-century England. While completed in 1914, the novel was not published until 1971, the year after his death. Many of his novels were posthumously adapted for cinema, including Merchant Ivory Productions of A Room with a View (1985), Maurice (1987) and Howards End (1992), critically acclaimed period dramas which featured lavish sets and esteemed British actors, including Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Grant, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Director David Lean filmed another well-received adaptation, A Passage to India, in 1984.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1879
- June 7, 1970 (aged 91)
- Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK
- Writer
- 8 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
What are E.M. Forster's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 2 · Serious 3 · Dark 2
Grounded 1 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 0
Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch E.M. Forster's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for E.M. Forster's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
23 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Howards End(2017)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
4 Days in France(2016)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
The Machine Stops (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
A Room with a View (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
A Room with a View(2007)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all filmsDesire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Plug (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Billy Budd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Howards End(1992)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Maurice(1987)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
A Room with a View(1986)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
A Passage to India(1984)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
The Obelisk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Premiere (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Billy Budd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Machine Stops (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
A Passage to India (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
BBC Play of the Month (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Out of the Unknown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
A Diary for Timothy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)
Billy Budd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 22 titles, 21 of them dated from 1945 to 2017.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do E.M. Forster's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 58/100 and the plot and story 51/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is E.M. Forster's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does E.M. Forster work with?
People who share at least 2 of E.M. Forster's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; James Ivory shares the most, 3.
Directors
- James IvoryShared titles: Howards End (1992), Maurice (1987), A Room with a View (1986)See all 3 shared titles with James Ivory
Writers
- Ruth Prawer JhabvalaShared titles: Howards End (1992), A Room with a View (1986)See all 2 shared titles with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Actors
- Helena Bonham CarterShared titles: Howards End (1992), Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), A Room with a View (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Helena Bonham Carter
- Rupert GravesShared titles: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), Maurice (1987), A Room with a View (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Rupert Graves
- James WilbyShared titles: Howards End (1992), Maurice (1987)See all 2 shared titles with James Wilby
- Judy DavisShared titles: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), A Passage to India (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Judy Davis
Composers and cinematographers
- Richard RobbinsShared titles: Howards End (1992), Maurice (1987), A Room with a View (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Richard Robbins
- Tony Pierce-RobertsShared titles: Howards End (1992), A Room with a View (1986)See all 2 shared titles with Tony Pierce-Roberts
Producers
- Ismail MerchantShared titles: Howards End (1992), Maurice (1987), A Room with a View (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Ismail Merchant
- Paul BradleyShared titles: Howards End (1992), Maurice (1987), A Room with a View (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Paul Bradley