IMDb > Gosford Park (2001)
Gosford Park
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Gosford Park (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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Gosford Park (2001) -- Multiple storylined drama set in 1932, showing the lives of upstairs guest and downstairs servants at a party in a country house in England.
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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   34,077 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Robert Altman
Writers:
Robert Altman (idea) and
Bob Balaban (idea) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Gosford Park on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 January 2002 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Mystery more
Tagline:
Tea At Four. Dinner At Eight. Murder At Midnight.
Plot:
Multiple storylined drama set in 1932, showing the lives of upstairs guest and downstairs servants at a party in a country house in England. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 27 wins & 49 nominations more
User Comments:
The mystery aspect slows the pace but the film is best during the class tension and interrelationships more (597 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Gosford Park (Italy)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for some language and brief sexuality.
Runtime:
137 min
Country:
UK | USA | Italy
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Company:
USA Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The camera is always moving (if only slightly) in every shot of the film as requested by director Robert Altman. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Lady Trentham is getting ready to leave, she doesn't have a scarf around her neck. When she goes to the vanity, she throws the scarf to Mary, but then in the next shot she is taking the scarf off. more
Quotes:
Morris Weissman: [after Jennings suggests Mr. Weissman choose his own breakfast items] Oh, like cafeteria style?
Baron Raymond Stockbridge: The Englishman is never waited on at breakfast.
Morris Weissman: Well, that's interesting, because an American is. I'll make a note of that.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Anatomy of a Scene: Gosford Park" (????) more
Soundtrack:
Waltz of My Heart more

FAQ

Who is who?
Seating arrangements at the different dinner scenes
more
23 out of 31 people found the following comment useful.
The mystery aspect slows the pace but the film is best during the class tension and interrelationships, 2 May 2005
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

In 1932, a group of socialites, landowners, Americans and their servants arrive at a country house for a shooting party over the weekend. As the relationships and tensions twist and weave upstairs, so too do the dynamics and relationships between the various house staff and valets below the stairs. Stories and characters play out but whenever a murder takes place, the police move in and everyone is a suspect.

My plot summary suggests that this is a sort of murder mystery and that this will act as the driving force behind the narrative, however this is not the case and in reality the film is much more about the characters and relationships than it is about the murder. To this end the film will annoy some people who are perhaps not used to the sort of film that Altman produces and will be looking for the mystery aspect to be the all. However, I found the rather free-wheeling ensemble approach to be very enjoyable and the first hour moved quickly by thanks to the natural interactions and relationships and it was actually the mystery aspect that didn't work as well because it required too sudden a change in pace – a change that the material seemed to resist and hamper. Despite this it does still work mainly because the Oscar winning writing brings out such convincing relationships and social politics, making it enjoyable and interesting throughout. The direction is great; the use of two cameras in group scenes means that the actors seem to flow around as naturally as their dialogue would suggest – few seem forced to act to a fixed point and seem more realistic.

Considering the talent on board, it is not surprising that nobody really upstages anyone in particular and the ensemble feel is strong. Smith, Gambon, Thomas, Dance, Northam, Balaban and others make the upstairs fizzle with snobbery and unspoken resentments. Meanwhile the downstairs staff are just as well drawn and delivered by Mirren, Owen, Jacobi, Watson, Bates, Grant, Atkins and others. Stephen Fry is fairly minor within the plot but he is delightfully comic, even if he doesn't quite fit into the film that well.

Overall this is a classy film very much in the Altman style – an ensemble piece of characters and relationships that we are left to drift within. Some viewers will find it frustrating that it takes so long to get to the point where the mystery kicks in but I actually found this to be the weaker aspect of the film and the most enjoyable parts were the well written characters and dialogue, which deservedly won Fellowes his Oscar.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Gosford Park (2001)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I just love this movie! Lilbearzmom
Jennifer Connolly vs. Helen Mirren vs. Marisa Tomei impossibledreamer
The best performance is... dusanmalenov
Stephen Fry's performance gerryroe-1
Who Dun It? maxgram
Faults,although not goofs as such. Manu01
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