Stars: Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Camilla Rutherford, Maggie Smith, Charles Dance, Geraldine Somerville, Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Stephen Fry, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, James Wilby, Clive Owen, Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Sophie Thompson, Kelly MacDonald, Emily Watson, Helen Mirren, Ryan Phillippe, Tom Hollander, Richard E. Grant, Helen Mirren

Director: Robert Altman

Summary: The action takes place in an old country house in England in the 1930s where friends have been invited for a shooting weekend by the man of the house - William McCordle. He is benefactor to many of his friends and relatives but it seems now that everyone wants a piece of William and his money...

In GOSFORD PARK, Robert Altman explores the English class system and master-servant relations via his preferred modus operandi of multiple characters and intertwining storylines, which he achieved so brilliantly in NASHVILLE. Featuring 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, naive 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.

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Gosford Parkfinds director Robert Altman in sumptuously fine form. From the opening shots, as the camera peers through the trees at an opulent English country estate, Altman exploits the 1930s period setting and whodunit formula of the film expertly. Aristocrats gather together for a weekend shooting party with their dutiful servants in tow, and the upstairs/downstairs division of the classes is perfectly tailored to Altman's method (Nashville, Short Cuts) of overlapping bits of dialogue and numerous subplots in order to betray underlying motives and the sins that propel them. Greed, vengeance, snobbery and lust stir comic unrest as the near dizzying effects of the plot twists are allayed by perhaps Altman's strongest ensemble to date.

Maggie Smith is marvellous as Constance, a dependent Countess with a quip for every occasion; Michael Gambon, as the ill-fated host, Sir William McCordle, is one of the most palpably salacious characters ever on screen; Kristin Scott Thomas is perfectly cold, yet sexy, as Lady Sylvia, Sir William's wife; and Helen Mirren, Emily Watson and Clive Owen are equally memorable as key characters from the bustling servants' quarters below. Gosford Parkmanages to be fabulously entertaining while exposing human shortcomings, compromises and endless need for confession. --Fionn Meade

On the DVD:Gosford Park, presented 2.35:1--Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, is awash with the muted colours and sepia tones which permeate the film, the sound is excellent as the actors were individually miked, so you don't loose any of the dialogue giving away subtle plot developments. Extras are chunky, with deleted scenes, trailers a couple of documentaries. Most notable are the two commentaries which go a long way to unravelling some of the twistier plot devices and a Q&A session with the Altman and his crew filmed in New York. --Kristen Bowditch

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Feature Length Director Commentary, Deleted Scenes With Optional Director Commentary, The Making Of Gosford Park Documentary, The Authenticity Of Gosford Park Documentary
Year:	2001
Release Date:	September 23, 2002
Runtime:	137 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E D V 9173
Keywords:	Park, General, Drama, Gosford
Genre:	Drama