Rating: 
Summary: Charming little mystery movie
Review: Wow! What a rare find! A "traditional" mystery movie released in this day and age! And a contender in several awards shows. Best of all, an Oscar nominee for Best Picture to boot! Has the world gone mad?
Perhaps they at last recognize quality when they see it, although "Gosford Park"'s box office may not show too much interest. That's to be expected, I suppose. SADLY, period films, unless hideously garish (like "Moulin Rouge") fail to captivate interest, it seems.
The movie itself provided a charming look at the English aristocracy and their servants in the early 1930s. It has frequently been compared to the popular television series "Upstairs, Downstairs", and with good reason. There is equal emphasis on both the upstairs and the downstairs. Unfortunately, I was not familiar with all of the actors/actresses who appeared in this film, but I thought they were all quite good and worked well together.
The only REAL disappointment was the addition of several (though brief) sex scenes and some sexual suggestiveness, which seemed to me out of place. It was as though they added them in there just for the heck of it; as though the director or producers wanted it released in the US, so they thought they had better throw that in there.
Otherwise, a truly notable film. I wish it the best of luck against the over-hyped "A Beautiful Mind".
Rating: 
Summary: Gosford Park a Winner
Review: Coupled with a beautiful sound track (ala Sense and Sensibilities), this is one of the most interesting murder mysteries I have seen in years. If you care for Jane Austen, you will love this story of class and deception. Robert Altman captures the essence of class in a remarkable way, and in my opinion, deserves an Oscar because of this movie. He definitely gets my vote. This is a 'see it twice' movie. I can hardly wait until it comes out in DVD format.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow paced, and a bit boring...
Review: I'm told this movie is very British. I'm still not sure what this means. If by British, they meant how gloomy, slow-paced, and accentually difficult this film was to understand; then I got it. I actually thought the plot was quite interesting. I also liked the twist in the end. This is, after all, a whodunnit murder/mystery story. The film reminded me a lot of the boardgame Clue. For the most part, however, the film was boring. Some scenes could've been just a static picture played for 20 minutes. Maybe English high society really looks that tedious. These phony husband and wives pretending to care about what one another's business is, but all the while thinking of the great sex they were having on the side with the servants. I agree with a lot of critics when they said this movie had an ensemble cast of great talent. Each actor/actress considered alone gave a great performance (snottish, pompous, English jackasses - very believable). Brought together, however, each thespian was in themselves a distracting sideshow.
Rating:
Summary: A Symphony to enjoy Over and Over
Review: What a wonderful movie. I look forward to seeing it again...and again. I knew when I was only a few minutes into the movie that I would purchase the DVD as soon as it becomes available. This was certainly a classic. Helen Merrin was wonderful. I think this is the best thing she's ever done.
To say that the plot and characters were hard to keep up with is like listening to a symphony one time and saying, "This was too hard for me to follow!" I believe that sort of reaction to be most shallow.
If the DVD "Austin Powers" is worth[the money] "Gosford Park" will certainly be worth [the money]
Rating:
Summary: I don't know what all the praise is about!
Review: I can't believe that this film is nominated for so many awards. Through the entire film, the dialogue was extremely hard to catch since it was fast and clippy British. Characters seem to be running through their lines with marbles in their mouths. Therefore, I could not understand what was going on nor could I see the relationships between the characters. Who ever thought of creating so much noise while important dialogue was delivered. Several characters speaking at the same time, music background drowning the speech. all this was annoying and made it difficult to catch the lines. Why were the characters always speaking under their breath? It is beyond me how anyone can say they enjoyed this film. I'm sure the story had some merit, but I did not appreciate it at all.
Rating:
Summary: dog eat dog
Review: I enjoyed the movie very much but contemplation of why has left me puzzled. The plot was clever but rather standard and shallow as were most of the players. In each actors struggle to be the center of attention for the moment the entire movie seemed to be composed of a series of skits. I did feel entertained though and then dropped and on to the next skit. The disjointed menagerie ended in valid but rather tooclearly defined results and everyone fled to their fields of dissapointment. Life does go on in spite of our treatment of it. How wonderful!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Upstairs - Downstairs
Review: This was a really good movie - not great but really good. It was great to see all that went into running a house so that the fabulously wealthy could lounge and how little they think of those that work for them and just how disposable they trully feel they are. Not to mention the amazing cast.
Rating:
Summary: A Social Statement about a Pivotal Historical Period
Review: Robert Altman feels so comfortable across the Atlantic that he has been recently talking about moving to the French Riviera. He is familiar with British life and its history as well, and "Gosford Park" represents his cinematic effort to convey attitudes and manners in a pivotal period of British history, focusing on one weekend in 1932, less than a decade before the "Battle of Britain" when England stiffened itself against the onslaught of Hitler's formidable Luftwaffe and a generation before the Suez War, the event which was said to have rung down the final curtain of the British Empire with Prime Minister Harold MacMillan's symbolic communique to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Over to you." Altman's perspective is that of "upstairs, downstairs" as he reveals the large expanse between the drawing room activity of the largely bored upper class alongside of the lives of the servant class entrusted with servicing their every command and whim. What emerges is an attitude of divorcement from what middle class British subjects would call the "real world." Early in the film Maggie Smith speaks forlornly about the one really crucial decision to be made in life, that of seeing that one's servants are properly functioning. The Smith comment conjures up a humorous episode of this social divorcement as evidenced in Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" at the film's close. Charters and Caldicott were so hilarious as a pair of ultra-nationalist blockheads that Carol Reed reprised their characters, played skillfully by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, in "Night Train to Munich." As the two former Oxford graduates disembark their train at Victoria Station they observe ominous headlines about a world plunging into war. Radford comments ruefully that the last time Britain was plunged into war the Lord's Cricket Field, the popular venue in North London, was closed during the entire conflict. Throughout the film, whenever Radford and Wayne surface, their concern was singular, getting results from test matches and making it back to London for the next cricket contest. The intrigues of international conflict eluded them, even when they were in their intimate midst. Michael Gambon's character of the boorish aristocrat Sir William, who hosts a weekend gathering at his country estate, is reminiscent of Radford and Wayne. His concern is that the weekend's hunt will be successful. It soon becomes obvious that the next hunt is about all that concerns him as far as the day's activities are concerned. In the evening the drawing room concern would be the year of the port being served. When his beautiful wife, played by the aristocratically haunting Kirstin Scott-Thomas, whose cheekbones and bearing resemble Marlene Dietrich in her prime, is asked by a servant making his rounds if she wants "company," after which she turns around and lets him undo her dress. The enthusiasm is comparable to what one would muster in brushing one's teeth in the morning. Once more, aristocratic ennui is the order of the day. The servants, on the other hand, are forced to live in the real world, unable to insulate themselves in the frothy world of those they wait upon. The death in the film relates not to an Agatha Christie "Mousetrap" mystery adventure to solve a murder, but a pursuit of understanding as it relates to a young man who grew up in an orphanage and ultimately learns that Sir William is his father. Once that police detective Stephen Fry concludes his business and the group breaks up, Maggie Smith's comment is appropos of aristocratic thinking. She bemoans the fact that she might actually be put through the embarrassing prospect of testifying at a murder trial. The tragedy of the event and the circumstances relating to it are not mentioned, or presumably not even recognized. Altman inserts a Hollywood element of the film as British stage matinee idol Ivor Novello brings along a B-film producer from across the Atlantic who produces Charlie Chan films. The fact that Novello, a friend of Winston Churchill, Noel Coward and leading aristocratic British figures, is courting a professional relationship with a crude talking American producer reveals the pervasive reality of a talented British stage performer attempting to break into the ranks of American films. In reality, Novello's career was etched on London's West End and his cinematic impact minimal, which was the fault of Hollywood and not the charismatic British performer.
Rating:
Summary: A four fork movie
Review: Ultimately Gosford Park is okay. It starts with a lot of dialog that is not understandable and a lot of characters who are introduced without much exposition as to who they are. (That will kill the movie for a lot of people.) In fact much of this never is clarified. This movie probably can be watched several times just to clear up what is going on during the opening scenes. The subtitle sound track should prove popular on the DVD version. As the story unfolds it becomes an interesting disquisition into life in an English country house (upstairs and downstairs) in the early 1930's. There are a lot of details of that style of life that are quite foreign to 2002 Americans. (It is hard to imagine appreciating /picking up in a single viewing of this movie on all the details that there are to be seen which constitutes another reason for seeing it again.) There is a murder mystery thrown in to keep the pot boiling. The murder mystery has an interesting plot. Those who find the movie enjoyable will find the table setting worthy of note. (4 forks on the left, plus 1 fork on the right as well as 4 glasses of various types.) If details like this are not interesting to the viewer, the movie also won't be.
Rating:
Summary: SO BRITISH AND SO BEAUTIFULLY DONE
Review: I decided months ago to see this movie. I am a big fan of period pieces and this one goes beyond expectations.
For the first half of the film (and most of it at dusk to well into late night)we get to meet all of the characters. From the saucy Maggie Smith (one of her best performances ever) to the cold and calculating Helen Mirren (excellent) to the too "American" heartthrob Jeremy Northam. We learn about the intricacies of the relationships between the servents and the masters. Kristen Scott Thomas creates a wonderful image of a wife who feels betrayed yet stays behind her man.
Most of the action takes place the next day when the master of the house is "accidently" (missed) shot in the ear. Dame Maggie Smith is at top form as the high browed aristocrat who obviously likes to snub Americans (as she did in Tea With Mussolini). Her servant (forgive me her name escapes me as I write this) is loyal and trusting but never oversteps her bounds. Then there is the foreign stranger who has a deep secret with "house manager" Helen Mirren.
It's funny how this movie is termed a murder mystery. I would call it a drama, period piece, comedy murder mystery. The murder does not take place until the end of the film. And the murderer(s) will surprise everyone; it surprised me.
Overall the direction was top notch and the writing and art design were beatifully done. It was a little slow but Maggie's dry wit and "stop on a dime" comic timing helped keep everyone in the theater.
I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys period movies with an interesting twist.
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