Gosford Park (2001)

The lives of upstairs guests and downstairs servants at a party in 1932 in a country house in England as they investigate a murder involving one of them.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Julian Fellowes, Robert Altman (based upon an idea by)

Stars:

Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon

Won 1 Oscar. Another 31 wins & 73 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maggie Smith	...	Constance Trentham
Michael Gambon	...	William McCordle
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Sylvia McCordle
Camilla Rutherford	...	Isobel McCordle
Charles Dance	...	Raymond Stockbridge
Geraldine Somerville	...	Louisa Stockbridge
Tom Hollander	...	Anthony Meredith
Natasha Wightman	...	Lavinia Meredith
Jeremy Northam	...	Ivor Novello
Bob Balaban	...	Morris Weissman
James Wilby	...	Freddie Nesbitt
Claudie Blakley	...	Mabel Nesbitt
Laurence Fox	...	Rupert Standish
Trent Ford	...	Jeremy Blond
Ryan Phillippe	...	Henry Denton

Storyline

Set in the 1930s, the story takes place in an old-fashioned English country house where a weekend shooting party is underway. The story centers on the McCordle family, particularly the man of the house, William McCordle. Getting on in years, William has become benefactor to many of his relatives and friends. As the weekend goes on, secrets are revealed, and it seems everyone, above stairs and below, wants a piece of William and his money, but how far will they go to get it?

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Plot Keywords:

england | murder | servant | shooting party | country house | 

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Taglines:

Tea At Four. Dinner At Eight. Murder At Midnight.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

UK USA Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Assassinato em Gosford Park

Filming Locations:

Ston Easton Park, Somerset, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$19,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$395,162, 30 December 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$41,308,615, 6 June 2002

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,754,044, 6 June 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

USA Films, Capitol Films, Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Jeremy Northam's character plays the piano, it is actually his brother Christopher who is playing. Christopher Northam is a classically trained pianist.

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Goofs

Lady Trenthem contends that Ivor Novello's film, The Lodger, was a flop. Although Novello humors her by agreeing, the film wasn't a flop. This was done to convey that Trenthem and the other aristocrats are not movie-goers (seeing as how she initially mispronounced it as, "The Dodger").

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Quotes

Constance: Tell me, how much longer are you going to go on making films?
Ivor Novello: I suppose that rather depends on how much longer the public want to see me in them.
Constance: It must be hard to know when it's time to throw in the towel... What a pity about that last one of yours... what was it called? "The Dodger"?
Ivor Novello: The Lodger.
Constance: The Lodger. It must be so disappointing when something just *flops* like that.

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Crazy Credits

The cast credits at the end are separated between upstairs and downstairs.

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Connections

Featured in Anatomy of a Scene: Gosford Park (2002)

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Soundtracks

What a Duke Should Be
(1916)
Sung by Jeremy Northam
Music by Ivor Novello
Lyrics by Clifford Grey
© Ascherberg Hopwood & Crew Limited
By kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Whodunit Ain't the Focus

The reason why many viewers strongly dislike or even hate the movie "Gosford Park" is because they misunderstand the point trying to be made. Gosford Park wasn't made to focus on whodunit (if it was, why would they tell you who did). If viewers think that Gosford Park is "boring" or "confusing" or even "the worst movie ever", it may be that you're not willing to see what really is portrayed: the authenticity and its story. The authenticity of Gosford Park is as close as it can get to real life as it was back then as it can get. Experts who were maids, butlers, or cooks themselves were constantly at the scene criticizing the actors behavior and moves. Another main focus is the story behind it. The brilliant story as well as excellent character development are like no other: only Robert Altman could do a film such as this. So, next time you see it (which I highly recommend that you do), be PATIENT and actually be WILLING the enjoy the differences in film-making, not just the kind of films you like.