Rating: Summary: THIS IS WHY A VOID STAMP WOULD BE USEFUL. Review: IT'S EASY FOR SOMEONE TO LOOK AT THIS FILM AND SAY IT'S WELL MADE. BUT HOW CAN SUCH A BORING FILM BE CONSIDERED 'WELL MADE' WHEN IT DOESN'T EVEN DO IT'S JOB. YES A MOVIE HAS A JOB, AND THAT JOB IS TO ENTERTAIN. I WAS NOT ENTERTAINED. I'M OF THE OPINION THAT ANYONE THAT WAS ENTERTAINED BY THIS MOVIE, COULD ALSO BE ENTERTAINED BY WATCHING PAINT DRY. AFTER I WATCHED GOSFORD PARK I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT MUST OF BEEN A BAD YEAR FOR MOVIES. BECAUSE IF THIS WAS AMONG THE BEST FIVE FILMS (OSCARS) OF 2001, I SERIOUSLY NEED TO LISTEN TO MORE MUSIC.
Rating: Summary: Intertwining tales Review: This British movie is set in the nineteen thirties and surronds a shooting party where one of the party is killed it then turns out that everyone had a motive for killing him even the servants. It gives a good impreshion of what it would have been like for the people back then living both upstairs and downstairs . If you only want this movie for the murder mystery you will be disapointed it does not feature in the movie as much as you would expect . It is amazing when you realize that all the charachters are dependant on one man , the man who is murdered. The acting is terrific and the casting is superb . The plot is very cleverly imagined however it can be confusing at times because it is hard to remember who all the charachters are and what they're backround is . This is a brilliant film but I would have to watch it at least twice to enjoy it properly .
Rating: Summary: DVD is the only way to see Gosford Park Review: The only way to appreciate this movie is to see it several times. When I first saw Gosford Park, I liked it in a general way but I left the theatre confused. Apart from the magnificent performances by Maggie Smith (who is a national treasure)and Helen Mirren (who just gets better and better) I had a hard time following all that was going on. Look, there's the once beautiful Alan Bates. Oh, there's Derek Jacobi; why is his part so small? Wait a minute, isn't that Charles Dance from "A Jewel in the Crown?" Clive Owens? Didn't he play the ape child of Charles Dance in some Masterpiece Theatre years ago? My oh my isn't that Jeremy Northam charming? It was one dizzying moment of recognition after another and not much more. Thanks to Julian Fellowes narration in the DVD, now I get it. It's a rich tapestry of a way of life to which all of us might aspire except it's gone for good and good riddance!
Rating: Summary: Tough for the hard of hearing, but What a Movie! Review: I have a relatively common hearing condition which causes me difficulty in discriminating a single voice over other voices. This explains why Gosford Park is hard to hear for me, and some other reviewers: the audio consists of many layers of conversation going on simultaneously. In the pivotal after-dinner drawing room scene, there are at least 6 concurrent British-accented conversations layered on top of a paino singer!Never fear. I strapped on a pair of headphones and listened real hard. I discovered this is a GREAT MOVIE!
Rating: Summary: Terrible Review: When I watch a movie, I expect to be entertained. Gosford Park did not give me any bit of entertainment whatsoever. The scenery and setting was quite beautiful, and I would say that the acting was good, except that there was no story to act to. This so called "whodunit" mystery was hardly a whodunit mystery at all. The extremly thin plot doesn't suggest much motive for any of the characters to commit the murder. And when the mystery is solved, the ending is hardly suprising at all. I will not spoil the ending for anybody who has not yet seen the movie, but I will say one thing - I would've expected the murderer to be someone who had at least a decent amount of screentime. To me, they basically introduced the characters that were involved in the murder for the first time when they reveal the mystery. To make things even worse, the main character seems indifferent when she discovers the whodunit mystery. I truly do not understand how this movie got nominated for Best Picture by the Academy. I guess it got nominated for the artistic qualities of the movie. If you want to watch a truly artistic movie, watch either The Lord of the Rings or A Beautiful Mind. Gosford Park is one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
Rating: Summary: without a doubt...the Worst Movie Ever ! Review: This movie, without a doubt, is the worst movie I have ever seen. Anyone who enjoys movies, even terrible ones, will NOT want to see this movie. This is a complete waste of time & I was mad at myself that I sat through this movie for nearly 2 1/2 hours. All this movie was about was Englishmen & women sitting around talking, eating...Servants sitting around, working, talking and eating...the rich talking down to the servants...by the time the murder happened you will not care & even more so this is the most boring murder mystery ever...again all the detective did was talk to people who wouldnt talk to him. Trust me people, this movie ...
Rating: Summary: A Top-Notch Cast in the Hands of a Top-Notch Director Review: 'Gosford Park' will, unfortunately, not appeal to everyone. Some will think it moves too slow, some will think there's not enough action, and some will not want to keep up with all the characters. That's too bad, but for those who stick with it, 'Gosford Park' will be a wonderful movie experience. The plot is simple. In November, 1932, Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) has invited friends and family to his country estate for a hunting weekend. Everyone arrives with his or her baggage, physical and emotional. Director Altman expertly allows the viewer to eavesdrop on bits and pieces of seemingly random conversations that serve not so much to give us plot information, but to give us an insight into the characters and their lives. And to pave the way for murder. The first half of the film is a brilliant look at the rich and their servants. The attendants are often treated as part of the furniture. Often the wealthy guests carry on intimate conversations among themselves with the servants clearly in earshot. But they are servants, their job is to serve, not to report conversations. But when the rich are alone with their servants, they confide in them and share information they would never share with anyone else. Altman does a masterful job of showing us that even though this is an English estate from 70 years past, things really haven't changed much. Many excellent characters are present in the film. Sir William seems bored with the charade of hosting this event and seems to want to spend time only with his dog and his mistress. The feelings are mostly mutual. His dog seems to be the only one present who really loves him. Bob Balaban is wonderful as American movie director Morris Weissman, who is more concerned about filming his next Charlie Chan movie than the real-life murder right under his nose. While all these character revelations are important and fascinating, they do go on perhaps a bit longer than they should. After all, the film is past the halfway point before the murder is even committed. But as the film moves closer towards the conclusion, viewers will begin to piece together all the information presented during the first hour to find a solution. I would almost say that the solution is not as important as the journey getting there, but it is important because of its power. In watching the film, I almost thought that the movie did not deserve the R rating. The rating was put there for some language and some very brief [love] situations, but probably to help define the audience. Kids would probably not enjoy the film at all. The same could probably be said for action-crazed teenagers. However, if you enjoy interesting characters portrayed by a stellar cast in the hands of a masterful director, 'Gosford Park' is for you. Enjoy. Running time: 2 hours 16 minutes
Rating: Summary: Great Screenplay... Review: and performances. This film isn't for everyone though...you either love it or hate it.
Rating: Summary: Deceit, greed, love, and murder--What else can one ask for? Review: A number of people are invited for a weekend shooting party at the Gosford Park. Throughout the party there are numerous secrets conveyed both by the aristocrats and the servants. These are secrets of infidelity, greed, and deception, which display the thin line between the aristocrats and the servants. It is known that secrets do not make friends, but how dangerous these secrets can be? An excellent cast (Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Stephen Fry, Clive Owen and many many more) passes an intriguing tale in the light of social-economical differences and in the shades of deceit, greed, love, and murder.
Rating: Summary: old drama with new twists Review: The term "Altman-esque" has been misused and abused to the point where it becomes meaningless. Everyone claims to have made an Altman-eque film. Gosford Park is a very timely film by the auteur extraordinaire to remind the world what a genuine Altman film is all about. Gosford Park pokes fun at the British class system and its associated snobbery, nods to the dying mystery theatre genre, but most importantly, displays his unique cinematic visions and styles. The film opens its curtains with an outsized ensemble of strong actors, who are introduced in a rapid-fire, round-robin fashion. The stage is set in a traditional Agatha Christie-style English mansion with a class-divided up-stair/down-stair. The fast paced, interleaved introduction gives all the talented actors enough room to showcase their dazzling acting prowess and establish their respective characters; as well, the busy beginning builds up great dramatic tension and pushes the storyline forward. Like in Short Cuts and Nashville, Altman pays close attentions to create a smooth homophonic texture: each character stretches in his own direction, creates dramatic frictions, pushes the plot to a culmination, and eventually comes back to the tonic note. Gosford Park lacks the earth-moving climax of Short Cuts, but makes up with plenty of well-polished period piece details. The only technical flaw is that many key dialogues are lost to North American audience because of the accent. Let's face it, if a film is in heavy British English, we need to subtitle it.
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