Rating: Summary: A pleasure to watch again and again Review: I have seen this 3 times and plan to watch yet again. I also love the soundtrack - the Ivor Novello songs are worth it alone.
Rating: Summary: BOORING Review: Couldn't follow the story since everyone muttered so much and called each other by their formal names... I turned it off before anyone was murdered... couldn't waste two hours of my life.
Rating: Summary: Oops, not a thriller!?! Review: I'm not going to say that people who gave this film one star are stupid and have no idea what art is because if some of them are like that, then it would seem to be the fault of American newspapers. What I mean is that most people had been led to believe that this was thriller. It's not. Obviously a trailer or review which tells it how it is wouldn't sell enough theatre tickets. The slim thriller aspect of the film is secondary to the reasons behind the murder and social climate which could cause it. I saw Gosford Park on a rainy, hungover, Sunday afternoon in the centre of Glasgow. As my headache subsided and I actually got into the film I grew to love some characters and loathe others. I felt I was sitting somewhere between the servants and the elite, other than this I honestly didn't notice the direction (which some would say is a directors job). As the film ended I hoped they might have lined up the projectors incorrectly and there would be another two hours. On the subject of sound I can't really say anything as I'm an englishman who has lived in Scotland for 13yrs and I have some fairly posh (and pretentious) friends. To me the soundscaping was excellent and the overlapping added to my enjoyment of the film.
Rating: Summary: Altman fumbles. Review: Altman is, of course, the maker of M.A.S.H., Nashville, Short Cuts, The Long Goodbye, Brewster McCloud and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, some of the best films of their time. This is not work of that caliber. The story can't attain a sense of momentum. We never get to know the people very well. There seems to be no main event, but lots of small, fussy side proceedings. In fact, we 'hang out' for far too long, right at a bunch of strangers' elbows, soaking up rich atmosphere and opaque jollity as though it will all begin to matter soon. There is a bit of fire right at the end. Emotions flash, and we glimpse a new facet of one character for the first time. Then the film ends. We have sat through over 2 hours of what feels like a setting of the stage, a laying of the groundwork for a story. Then the closing credits roll. If you are at all like me, you will be asking what on EARTH was that all about. A major disappointment from a director who has done amazing things. Cannot recommend.
Rating: Summary: The worst ever Review: I have seen many movies over my lifetime. Yet this movie takes the cake as being one if not the worst movie I have ever bothered to see. I give it credit for being historically accurate, but then again so is the history channel. So if you want historically accurate watch that and if you want a plot that you can understand do not watch Gosford Park.
Rating: Summary: They sood up and applauded Review: Gosford park has been the only time I have ever seen a Movie audience not only stand up and applaud but then settle back into there seats and watch all of the credits. When the lights came on people stood around and kept saying wasn't it great. Have not seen a movie of this quality in a very long time. A must see.
Rating: Summary: Tea at Four...Dinner at Eight...Murder at Midnight !!! Review: This is a Brilliant film....It's a who done it...a great murder mystery... Taking advantage of a splendid cast, a sharply focused script and the fresh English setting, GOSFORD park emerges as one of the most satisfying of Robert Altman's numerous ensemble pictures, What makes the achievement of GOSFORD PARK all the more remarkable is that Mr. Altman is 76....The energy that crackles from the screen suggests the clear-sighted joie de vivre of an artist still deeply engaged in the world,an all-star British ensemble cast, the film recalls both THE RULES OF THE GAME and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, with a midpoint shift to an Agatha Christie whodunit. In November 1932, a phalanx of moneyed guests arrives for a weekend shooting party at the estate of Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas). Mary (Kelly Macdonald), a fresh-faced, naïve new maid accompanies the sniping Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), and is shown the ropes by the house's worldly head housemaid, Elsie (Emily Watson). While the masters engage in various financial and sexual intrigues upstairs, the world downstairs has its own curiosities--namely, the predatory valet to a Hollywood producer, Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe), and the mysterious, cagey servant, Robert Parks (Clive Owen). Mary soon discovers that the image of servants living vicariously through their masters is a false one, and that the upstairs-downstairs worlds are often shockingly interwoven. With GOSFORD PARK, Altman delivers a fascinating, blackly comic look at the treacherous yet poignant gamesmanship between the classes. This is fresh and original movie...very subtle funny...with, scandal, mystery, murder this is a must see. Synopsis...from Gosford parks Offical Website: Robert Altman, one of Americas most distinctive filmmakers, journeys to England for the first time to create a unique film mosaic with an outstanding ensemble cast.It is November, 1932. Gosford Park is the magnificent country estate to which Sir William McCordle and his wife, Lady Sylvia, gather relations and friends for a shooting party. They have invited an eclectic group including a countess, a World War I hero, the British matinee idol Ivor Novello and an American film producer who makes Charlie Chan movies. As the guests assemble in the gilded drawing rooms above, their personal maids and valets swell the ranks of the house servants in the teeming kitchens and corridors below-stairs.But all is not as it seems: neither amongst the bejewelled guests lunching and dining at their considerable leisure, nor in the attic bedrooms and stark work stations where the servants labor for the comfort of their employers. Part comedy of manners and part mystery, the film is finally a moving portrait of events that bridge generations, class, sex, tragic personal history and culminate in a murder. (Or is it two murders?)Ultimately revealing the intricate relations of the above and below-stairs worlds with great clarity, Gosford Park illuminates a society and way of life quickly coming to an end.
Rating: Summary: Well Done but Prefer More Offbeat Altman Review: This is an early 20th century English country house murder mystery. It is probably the last vehicle I would have ever imagined Altman interested in making as a film. I prefer his edgier work, such as the bitingly black comedy, "The Player." However, Altman doesn't make bad movies and that is true here. It is an ensemble piece, which is true of most of his work. Everyone in it does a fine job and some of my favorite actors are here. Scott-Thomas as the wife-aristocrat who loves the life but can barely stand her older, titled husband is just this side of total acid scorn laced with civility. Maggie Smith does another droll turn as the poor relative who is a worse snob and more difficult than anyone else present. The wonderful Clive Owen is a pivotal character who increasingly piques our curiousity. Helen Mirren seems totally unsympathetic at first but we do come to understand her character. She renders a well nuanced performance of a complex character. Most astonishing, Jeremy Northam is an excellent singer and does a marvelous turn entertaining the house guests. All in all, well done and entertaining, but not among my legion of absolute favorite Altman films.
Rating: Summary: "SMOOTH LIKE FINE WINE" Review: I have read the many reviews, good and not-so-good, and found myself laughing at the not-so-good ones. It appears that many viewers "just didn't get it". Altman did not make a "real whodonit" mystery movie. He made a movie reflecting the everyday life of society in 1930's England--the upperclass or upstairs group, and the servant or downstairs group. The murder is just another subplot in the many subplots of the film. I found the direction seamless--the flow between showing life upstairs to that of life downstairs was invisible. The actors portrayed their character's part to perfection. Just look at Helen Mirren's performance and tell me you couldn't differentiate between the actor and the character. For my money, I would have given Mirren the Oscar. I love these types of movies that delve into character acting. I find too few of them on today's market which produce more movies about special effects and explosions and less on character study. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Jeremy Northam sing and play. I understand a couple of the songs were done "live"; that is, he did not record them first in a sound studio but rather was filmed as he sang and played. I saw the film twice at the theatre and several more times when I bought the DVD recently. I encourage readers to check out the commentary track done by the writer, Julian Fellowes. His description of the movie is very revealing and interesting. Many of the scenes were taken from 'real life' experiences, such as the opening scene. He describes how his aunt would never let her driver attach the roof over his head on the car, even if it was raining. He said she always wanted to preserve the rank of distinction. Altman's commentary is a bit dry and he does not go into too much detail in many areas. I would have given this movie 5 stars except I found the sound quality not very good on the DVD. I had to turn up the volume quite a bit on my entertainment centre to properly hear the dialogue. Other than poor sound quality, I recommend readers to review this film, especially with the commentary track by Julian Fellowes.
Rating: Summary: altman does it again.... Review: if one looks to this movie to solve/watch some mystery then one will most probably be disappointed. however, chances are that one is looking to see how altman pulls another one out of his magic hat case in which one will be yet again handsomely rewarded. to be appreciated about this movie would be the tension between people belonging to different worlds in a veritable exercise of sharing. casting, costumes, location and all the tricks of the trade are impeccably taken care of to the delight of the viewer. and, in case one still wonders about the mystery of this movie, it fizzles out at the end, time by which altman had laid his (postmodern) spell on the viewer.
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