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From Amazon.co.uk
Gosford Park finds director Robert Altman in sumptuously fine form. From the opening shots, as the camera peers through the trees at an opulent English country estate, Altman exploits the 1930s period setting and whodunit formula of the film expertly. Aristocrats gather together for a weekend shooting party with their dutiful servants in tow, and the upstairs/downstairs division of the classes is perfectly tailored to Altman's method (Nashville, Short Cuts) of overlapping bits of dialogue and numerous subplots in order to betray underlying motives and the sins that propel them. Greed, vengeance, snobbery and lust stir comic unrest as the near dizzying effects of the plot twists are allayed by perhaps Altman's strongest ensemble to date.
Maggie Smith is marvellous as Constance, a dependent Countess with a quip for every occasion; Michael Gambon, as the ill-fated host, Sir William McCordle, is one of the most palpably salacious characters ever on screen; Kristin Scott Thomas is perfectly cold, yet sexy, as Lady Sylvia, Sir William's wife; and Helen Mirren, Emily Watson and Clive Owen are equally memorable as key characters from the bustling servants' quarters below. Gosford Park manages to be fabulously entertaining while exposing human shortcomings, compromises and endless need for confession. --Fionn Meade
On the DVD: Gosford Park, presented 2.35:1--Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, is awash with the muted colours and sepia tones which permeate the film, the sound is excellent as the actors were individually miked, so you don’t loose any of the dialogue giving away subtle plot developments. Extras are chunky, with deleted scenes, trailers a couple of documentaries. Most notable are the two commentaries which go a long way to unravelling some of the twistier plot devices and a Q&A session with the Altman and his crew filmed in New York. --Kristen Bowditch
Product Description
Gosford Park country estate, 1932. Various members of the English upper classes have arrived for a shooting party, along with film star Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), Hollywood producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban) and Weissman's valet Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). The servants are busily getting everything ready, and Elsie (Emily Watson), one of the resident staff, is helping visiting maid Mary Maceachran (Kelly MacDonald) find her way around the old house. As the weekend progresses a number of secrets and hidden relationships begin to come to light, and this situation is hastened further when Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), the owner of the estate, is discovered murdered, and various guests and staff come under suspicion.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect DVD if you like your films dialogue rich and musically evocative!
6 July 2007
Format:DVD
A perfect DVD if you like your films dialog rich and musically evocative!
It needs to be watched several times before you pick up all the clues and nuances - then I watched it several times more in short succession.
One of the really lovely parts of the movie is the music and singing of Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello! And the wonderful Maggie Smith as an impoverished Countess with some classic put down lines delivered in inimitable style!
Wonderfully evocative and everything I remember about growing up in post war Britain among the remnants of the prewar class structure is there. We all knew people who had been in service pre WWII (partly due to the depression) and there they are! There is the nouveau rich Lord hated by all and not all that far away from today's rich industrialist!
And Stephen Fry - bumbling detective seems out of place - but one suspects that is exactly how he would be in that company, in awe of the upper crust and held in ridicule by the servants for his naivety, the more you see it the more you find it not so out of place as you do at the first sitting!
If you like action thrillers, this is not it!
If you like dialog rich, subtle dilemmas this is certainly one!
10 out of 10!
It needs to be watched several times before you pick up all the clues and nuances - then I watched it several times more in short succession.
One of the really lovely parts of the movie is the music and singing of Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello! And the wonderful Maggie Smith as an impoverished Countess with some classic put down lines delivered in inimitable style!
Wonderfully evocative and everything I remember about growing up in post war Britain among the remnants of the prewar class structure is there. We all knew people who had been in service pre WWII (partly due to the depression) and there they are! There is the nouveau rich Lord hated by all and not all that far away from today's rich industrialist!
And Stephen Fry - bumbling detective seems out of place - but one suspects that is exactly how he would be in that company, in awe of the upper crust and held in ridicule by the servants for his naivety, the more you see it the more you find it not so out of place as you do at the first sitting!
If you like action thrillers, this is not it!
If you like dialog rich, subtle dilemmas this is certainly one!
10 out of 10!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Julian Fellowes won the Oscar for best original screenplay with this, deservedly. In three ways the film is almost perfect - that is one ; the sense of atmosphere and gently-mocked authenticity of the country house setting is another ; and the marvellous acting from an extraordinary cast, one of the great pleasures of this film, is the third. It is a mystery story, a genuinely intriguing one, and the mix of characters above and below stairs makes solving the mystery a hard task ; and the solution, when it comes, is unexpected. Along the way you have an entertainingly patrician, cash-strapped Maggie Smith as Lady Trentham, Michael Gambon appropriately boorish as the nouveau riche who pulls the strings of his artistocratic wife's awful family, Clive Owen very memorable as Park, a valet, Kelly Macdonald as the meek but astute little Scottish lady's maid who actually solves the whodunit (but keeps the solution largely to herself), Emily Watson as a capable servant who is the only one who regrets the death of the murdered party and has her own reasons for doing so, Albert Finney as a fantastic butler and above all Helen Mirren and Eileen Atkins as the housekeeper and cook who vie with each other for supremacy below stairs. I've seen the film several times and I always enjoy it. My one problem with it is in the casting of Stephen Fry as a suave but deeply clod-hopping - deeply unconvincing too, I think - police inspector. But, as he would say in another context, no matter. It's a most unusual and enjoyable film.
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Its raining and dark, welcome to England and the Aristocracy at its worst. What could be worse, wearing the wrong furs and satin for a shooting party, or the death of a colleague in his own stately home. Kristin Scott-Thomas depicts the air of tedium and superiority against the backdrop of activity that happens "below stairs" complete with its own surprising hierarchy and inverted snobbery. A delight to watch as if you are spying on the party, the plot thickens as those downstairs know more about the murder than maybe the upstairs would notice.... After all to them all the staff are invisible. Great performance by Dame Maggie Smith who is the poorest member of the rich set, together with a stalwart performance by Michael Gambon. Watch out for the subtlety of the rules below stairs and the double standards of the rich.
Great stuff for Sunday afternoons with a packet of hobnobs and a vat of tea.....
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Gosford Park
Gosford Park did not meet my expectations.
I did not enjoy the movie too much. Very fast camera work and confusing dialogue. Read more
I did not enjoy the movie too much. Very fast camera work and confusing dialogue. Read more
Published 4 days ago by caterina osella
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely in my top five films
Only buying it again as I keep giving them away - everyone so far loves it. Can't believe is eleven years old now.
Published 5 days ago by E. M. Hall
1.0 out of 5 stars
Appalling transfer quality
This is a review of the US imported (to UK) BluRay version of the product - not of the film. (I should make it clear I have a Good home cinema system with upgraded (£2k) Oppo... Read more
Published 1 month ago by rateourmover
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible - A Huge Dissapointment
I was really looking forward to watching Gosford Park especially with the all star cast. However it was slow to begin with and continued in this way to the end. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss Donna Jozefow
3.0 out of 5 stars
Over rated
Don't know what the fuss was about, found this very slow and nothing much happened. Downton Abbey is so much better.
Published 1 month ago by MR G P WILCOX
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Perfect Servant Has No Life
A revisit to Gosford Park was on tap. It had been awhile,and after the last Downton Abbey, I was anxious to compare. Read more
Published 1 month ago by prisrob
1.0 out of 5 stars
poor sound quality
poor sound quality,
found it hard to understand most of what was said
some awful characters in this film who delight in being unpleasant to each other.
found it hard to understand most of what was said
some awful characters in this film who delight in being unpleasant to each other.
Published 1 month ago by Gratitude is a way of ife
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice enough transfer to Blu-ray, but a poorly authored disc.
After enjoying three seasons of Downton Abbey I was happy to import (to Australia) the Blu-ray of the film which inspired that series. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John Frame
1.0 out of 5 stars
A presentation boring in the extreme .
Totally lacking in real story and substance .
The impression one gets is that the presentation was carried by the quality of the actors participating , which not... Read more
The impression one gets is that the presentation was carried by the quality of the actors participating , which not... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Don Wilkinson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Escapism!
I really liked this film and not just because I'm a big Clive Owen fan! It was very well acted with enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you interested, but not so many that... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sussexchick
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