Rating: 
Summary: Loved it sort of a Upstairs Downstairs with a twist.
Review: I had to turn on the sub-titles the second time to catch all of the dialog, but I thought it was great. It was an interesting plot that seemed to move along well. I esp. liked the extras on the CD it was very interesting how it was filmed. Well worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: A walk in the Park
Review: I like period pieces, however I found this one confusing, slow, and tedious. If it were not for the find performances of Maggie Smith, Kelley MacDonald, and Helen Mirran, this film would've wasted my time. A British game of Clue gets caught up in its own dialogue. As the movie explains difference between the classes. I must be missing something.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining & historically accurate
Review: I'm generally not crazy about movies by Robert Altman. The ad-libbing just seems to get too out of hand. Granted, I loved the opening long shot of "The Player," but I was all ready to love "Pret a Porter" and it just didn't seem to work. In "Gosford Park" I think he has _had_ to keep things under control or, as a complex murder mystery, the plot wouldn't work. I think the historical accuracy of the clothes, the props, the house, is all amazing (This film could never have been done in the US). I think there are a couple annoyances about the plot however: How does the protagonist (the young ladies' maid) figure out who (she thinks) done it (the scene after her pal says "Carpe Diem)? Plus, a plot point that hinges on an American actor playing an American actor doing a bad Scottish accent - Very tricky. There are too many American actors doing full-on bad UK accents, that this is too much to ask of an audience. But overall, as a fan of who-done-its and period films, and a huge fan of TONS of the actors in this movie - Maggie Smith, Stephen Fry, etc etc! - I give it a big YES!
Rating: 
Summary: Elegant and subtle
Review: I hear Mr. Altman enjoyed working in England so much he is seriously considering spending the rest of his days there; only making English movies.
From watching the film, it is obvious that enjoyment was had, for this is an impeccably crafted tale by a master director, and fully deserving of it's Academy awards.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant ensemble cast
Review: Robert Altman's film is set in a country estate in England during the 1930's. A group of wealthy people is assembled for a hunting weekend, accompanied by their various servants. The contrast between the life-style of the people who are upstairs and those who are downstairs serving them is made very clear. However, within the two groups there is also a hierarchy and a very definite line of authority. There is sexual dalliance within and between the two groups. When a murder occurs, the atmosphere suddenly changes to one of suspicion and mutual finger-pointing. The sets and costumes are lavish and lovely and this movie is a real treat to the eye and the ear. There are many talented and well-known actors in the film, many of them playing small parts brilliantly.
Rating:
Summary: Long on style, short on substance
Review: Inside "Gosford Park", which is a good movie, is a great movie that never quite gets out. It can be taken as a standard parlor murder mystery or as a study in class warfare, but it comes up a tad short on each count. The movie opens on an appropriately dank and gloomy twilight in the English countryside, at a manor house which is the scene of a weekend party during which milord will turn up most foully murdered. Sound familiar? It's been done before, a dozen and more times; and of course we learn during the subsequent unraveling of the mystery that the old coot richly deserved what he got. There is some delicious interacting between upstairs and downstairs; it's hard to tell who are more snobbish, the upper-class guests or their servants belowstairs (the servants have their own hierarchy which is as rigid, if not more so, than they entire British class system), and at the film's end, we finally find out whodunit. But despite some really marvelous performances by Maggie Smith as the snooty countess (she's priceless lounging in her boudoir with those cucumber slices over her eyes), Helen Mirren as the head servant with a skeleton in her closet, Alan Bates as the butler (no, he didn't do it), and Kristen Scott-Thomas as the rich man's wife, we're somehow left with a feeling that this film is lacking something. The ending seems curiously flat. One comes away from watching the movie with a feeling of "Is this all?" There is a serious problem with the DVD which bears mentioning. The sound quality is terrible. At first I assumed it was me, since I am hearing-impaired; but even with the volume on my TV jacked to the max, it sounded poor. After checking the sound on a few other DVDs, I realized it wasn't me or my TV; the problem was the sound engineering on this DVD. However, the closed captions are excellent and let me follow the script with no trouble. Overall, "Gosford Park" is an enjoyable film. There's just this realization that great sets, great costumes, and great performances don't add up to a great movie. It's a good movie, but one that could have been better.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful look at class structure
Review: This film is a bitter pill examining class and wealth, wrapped in an entertaining, tasty movie that makes it easier to swallow. The disparity between the very wealthy and the poor is evident in every frame, especially when the two classes must relate to one another. Observe how deferential are those who actually work for a living, toward their capitalist master who can choose to give or withhold "his" money according to his whim. The way John Hammond just waltzes into Dr. Grant's and Dr. Ellie Satler's trailer and opens their champagne never fails to infuriate me. I weep when the two paleontologists, after a show of defiance, wilt into obsequious obedience when Hammond dangles money in front of them. Not to say that this movie is dull or preachy about its anti-capitalist values. The dinosaurs are pretty cool. Plus they obviously represent the lowest levels of society, who will one day throw off their manipulating masters, rise in rebellion, and eat lawyers right off their outhouse seats. I don't know which I enjoy more, the fight between the classes or the fight between the velociraptors and the T-rex. I do know that seeing Maggie Smith (starring as Dr. Ellie Satler) in tight shorts and t-shirt is a treat worth waiting 50 million years for!
Rating:
Summary: Maggie is in Fine Form!
Review: This is a new look at an old subject. English Society as seen from the view point of the household staff. The period dress, accents and furnishings are very close to authentic. Great movie watching if you are interested in background as well as the actors. Maggie Smith is in rare form and brings her wonderful timing to scenes that would not be funny without her.
If you have trouble with accents, watch it twice. Each viewing brings fresh insight and better understanding. I recommend this movie highly.
Rating:
Summary: See this one once, twice, and a third time
Review: The first time I saw Gosford Park, I must admit I was disappointed. I love old period dramas for the costumes, the sets, the dialogue. I was not disappointed with the setting of the film, an opulent English country house, but rather with what on first blush seemed to me to be a lack of cohesive plot. Not to be impatient with this film, because the plot comes together at the very end of the story, like all good who-done-its do. And not to be impatient with the rest of it, either. Appreciate the character development, the perfect casting, the tension created in weaving the sub-plots together, the 1930's style soundtrack. Once I let the film jell and gave the true complexity of it a chance to make sense, it seemed only right to watch it again. Again, and again. Better with each watching, noticing nuances missed before. Don't sell this film short, because it has much more than first meets the eye, and it is worth sticking around a few times to savor the Altman magic.
Rating:
Summary: Great Character-Driven Masterpiece
Review: This movie is not for those with short attention spans or those who are held by a great plot. Not to say that just because you aren't captivated by this movie you're automatically stupid... but a great many people won't have the same capacity for enjoying this movie that I had. Some people thought that the huge number of substantial characters prevented them from being developed well, but one of Altman's great strengths as a director is to give a character no more than 10 minutes of significant screen time but still tell you their whole life story and make them incredibly moving. The best examples of this in the film are the characters of the thoughtful, plaintive Ivor Novello, the neglected, looked-down-upon Mabel, and the weasely but sympathetic Commander Meredith, three characters that I'll admit had little impact on me upon first viewing but grew on me greatly as I watched more and more. Which brings me to an important point... this movie MUST be watched more than once to be appreciated. Don't expect to get everything the first time, and don't make the mistake of watching the movie as a murder mystery, waiting for the crime to be committed. This is not the point of the film, and the crime is not committed until more than halfway through the film. The show is stolen though, by those performances who really do make a big impact on first viewing: namely, those of Maggie Smith as the delightfully snobbish Countess of Trentham, Kristin Scott Thomas as the husband-loathing, cold-but-sexy Lady Sylvia, Kelly McDonald the understatedly charming lady's maid Mary, and especially Helen Mirren as the head housekeeper with a sordid past, Mrs. Wilson (a performance that deserved the Oscar it was nominated for... though a smaller role, Mirren's performance towers over the generic Jennifer Connelly, who robbed her of the Oscar). In short, if you're looking for fun, wit, humor, intrigue, mystery, tragedy, and a wealth of great characters, then Gosford Park is a cinematic experience that will not be forgotten!
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