Review of Gosford Park

Introduction

It`s 1932 and William McCordle the owner of a very expensive English country house, hosts a party to which the entire family has been invited. On the surface, the social gathering is for a spot of hunting, but the true motives of the visitors soon reveals itself, as they all want a piece of the man`s riches. At the same time, the servants have intentions of their own, and persistently gossip and deal with the whims of their employers downstairs. So as soon as William turns up dead, it`s apparent that everyone in the house has a motive, and everyone is a suspect.

The first thing that caught my eye when gearing up to indulge in this critically acclaimed masterpiece was the obvious great casting of the movie. There`s an amazing array of talent throughout, all with varying styles, some of them had been hugely successful in TV-sitcoms, British comedies alike, and others had even been leading stars in Hollywood blockbusters. In-fact I`d wager that no other movie released this year could boast a cast so blessed with accolades. And in addition to all this, Robert Altman, one of the most respected filmmakers in the industry, helmed the whole project.

For a simple-mind like mine, it`s hard to truly understand and grasp Altman`s work. So excuse my ignorance on certain matters!

Video

This film was most acclaimed for its beautiful photography, and its certainly been done justice here. The most of the film takes place within the country house, and the colours are well defined with very little sign of dirt or blemishes in the print. The level of black can be a tad over-used, but it`s just a niggling problem that surfaces once or twice in the film.

Audio

I had problems with the dialogue in Gosford Park. It`s well written, very well written, but there are so many scenes where multiple conversations are occurring, you have to revert to subtitles to pick out the more relevant lines of dialogue. The mix isn`t overwhelming in its quality, but the surrounds provide a little in atmosphere, which can be demonstrated in the arrival scene where thunder & rain is present. For the majority, the mix is good, and descends from the front mostly.

Features

The extra features are a little on the lightweight side, however that`s not to say there aren`t some interesting additions. What caught the eye especially was a very well conducted question & answers session, where aspiring filmmakers got to quiz the director, producer and cast of the movie. The director`s and producer`s commentary is also a riveting learning experience, which lovers of film will no doubt appreciate. There`s also an alternative track provided by screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who is very lively and informative for the most part.

The 20 minutes of deleted scenes, deal with mostly that of sub-plots and character development, with the option of a narration by Altman. Not overly entertaining, but they do help tie-up a few loose ends that tend to beg a few questions. There are of course, as with any high-profile release, a number of featurettes. One of which is the usual `making of`, which runs around the 20-minute mark, and provides plenty of behind the scenes footage, and a host of cast & crew interviews. For those who truly love the realism conveyed in Gosford Park, there`s an insightful featurette entitled `The Authenticity of Gosford park`.

As always, there are also the usual trailer and cast/filmmaker filmographies

Conclusion

Wasn`t at all what I`d expected. The film was prominently labelled a murder mystery, and the trailers did give out a Cluedo-esqe vibe. However the murder mystery proves to be only a sub-plot, but a nice distraction from the squabbling of the money grabbers. It`s a nice subtle film with great visuals and a well-scored soundtrack, which both are finely transferred to DVD. Some of the extras were a bit painful to go through, seeing as I wasn`t all that interested in the subject matter, but you`d do allot worse, at least if only for a learning experience.

Just don`t go into this thinking this is a `who done it` movie, it`s working at a much higher level than that. It may take two or three viewings for you to fully appreciate what a great achievement Gosford Park is, but I`ve no argument with the showering of praise this film received from those in the film industry.

A good film with admirable presentation, and extras that real fans of the movie will enjoy. Well worth the purchase.