Gosford Park

Gosford Park
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Altman
Produced by Robert Altman
Bob Balaban
David Levy
Written by Julian Fellowes
Starring Eileen Atkins
Bob Balaban
Alan Bates
Charles Dance
Stephen Fry
Michael Gambon
Richard E. Grant
Derek Jacobi
Kelly Macdonald
Helen Mirren
Jeremy Northam
Clive Owen
Ryan Phillippe
Maggie Smith
Kristin Scott Thomas
Emily Watson
Music by Patrick Doyle
Cinematography Andrew Dunn
Edited by Tim Squyres
Production
company
USA Films
Capitol Films
The Film Council
Sandcastle 5 Productions
Chicagofilms
Medusa Film
Distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors
Release date
  • 7 November 2001 (2001-11-07) (London)
  • 1 February 2002 (2002-02-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 137 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $19.8 million[1]
Box office $87.8 million[1][2]

Gosford Park is a 2001 British mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson. The story follows a party of wealthy Britons and an American actor, and their servants, who gather for a shooting weekend at Gosford Park, an English country house. A murder occurs after a dinner party, and the film goes on to present the subsequent investigation from the servants' and guests' perspectives.

Development on Gosford Park began in 1999, when Bob Balaban asked Altman if they could develop a film together. Balaban suggested an Agatha Christie-style whodunit and introduced Altman to Julian Fellowes, with whom Balaban had been working on a different project. The film went into production in March 2001, and began filming at Shepperton Studios with a production budget of $19.8 million. Gosford Park premiered on 7 November 2001 at the London Film Festival. It received a limited release across cinemas in the United States in December 2001, before being widely released in January 2002 by USA Films. It was released in February 2002 in the United Kingdom.

The film was successful at the box office, grossing over $87 million in cinemas worldwide, making it Altman's second most successful film after MASH. Widely acclaimed by critics, it received multiple awards and nominations, including seven Academy Award nominations and nine British Academy Film Awards nominations.

The TV series Downton Abbey – written and created by Fellowes – was originally planned as a spin-off of Gosford Park, but instead was developed as a stand-alone property inspired by the film, set decades earlier.[3]

Plot

In November 1932, the wealthy industrialist Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), his wife, Lady Sylvia McCordle (Kristin Scott Thomas), and their daughter, Isobel (Camilla Rutherford), are to have a weekend shooting party at their country estate, Gosford Park. The guests are predominantly their relations. When they arrive they enter through the front door and make small talk at tea, while their help are directed by the head housekeeper, Mrs Wilson (Helen Mirren), to their room assignments. Mrs Wilson notices the valet Robert Parks (Clive Owen), who was raised in an orphanage. Parks takes an interest in lady's maid Mary MacEachran (Kelly Macdonald). The head housemaid, Elsie (Emily Watson), guides Mary through the gathering.

After supper, a silver carving knife is found to have gone missing. Lady Sylvia has an assignation with valet Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe).

The next morning, the men go on a pheasant shoot, and a stray shot hits Sir William's ear. The ladies join the men for a shooting lunch where Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander) pleads with Sir William not to back out of a business scheme.

While dressing for dinner, Constance, Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), is told by Lady Sylvia that Sir William may stop her allowance. At dinner, Lady Sylvia states that Sir William was a First World War profiteer. Elsie blurts out her support for Sir William, referring to him as 'Bill'; the room goes silent and Elsie rushes from the room. Sir William abruptly leaves the dining room for the library where Mrs Wilson brings him coffee. He is annoyed; he knocks the coffee cup out of her hand and demands whiskey.

In the drawing room, actor Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam) plays the piano to lighten the atmosphere. Sir William sits in the library slumped in his chair and someone wearing the trousers of a valet or butler stabs him. Louisa, Lady Stockbridge (Geraldine Somerville) goes to the library; her screams alarm the house.

Bumbling Inspector Thompson (Stephen Fry) and competent Constable Dexter (Ron Webster) arrive to investigate the murder. No-one is permitted to leave the house. Dexter calls attention to the lack of blood from the stab wound. Denton, the valet of American film producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), confesses that he is in fact an actor researching a role for an upcoming film. Later, he again visits Lady Sylvia.

The following morning, staff gossip that Sir William was not only stabbed but also poisoned. The head cook, Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins), shares with the kitchen staff that Sir William was known for seducing the female workers in his factories. If a woman became pregnant, Sir William offered two choices: keep the baby and lose your job, or give the baby up and keep your job. Those who gave up their babies were told that the adoptions were being arranged with good families. In reality, Sir William paid orphanages to take the babies.

Later that night, Inspector Thompson releases the guests. He never interviews most of the staff.

Parks tells Mary that Sir William was his father, that a son can hate his father, and that he did not poison Sir William. Mary tells Parks that he did not kill Sir William because he was already dead and anyone should know if they stab a dead body. Parks says that he does not know and does not care if he killed Sir William.

The following morning, Lady Trentham and Lady Sylvia, in the presence of Mary, are talking about Mrs Croft and Mrs Wilson. Lady Sylvia says that Mrs Wilson was earlier known by the name Parks, Parker or Parkinson, which leads Mary to confront Mrs Wilson about her relationship to Parks. Mrs Wilson reveals to Mary that she and Mrs Croft are in fact sisters. She will never tell Parks that they are related: the mark of a good servant is anticipation, that it is not a crime to stab a dead man, and the important thing is that authorities can never touch Parks.

In private, Mrs Wilson grieves the loss of never knowing her son, and Mrs Croft tells her that he is alive and that is what matters.

The last guests, Lady Trentham and the Stockbridges, depart.

Cast

Above stairs:

Below stairs:

Others:

Themes

The film is a study of the British class system during the 1930s; Stephen Fry, Inspector Thompson in the film, says that it shows the upper class's dependency on a servant class.[4] A number of secondary themes are also explored. For example, the film takes a subtle look at sexual mores during the 1930s. As it is set in 1932, between the world wars, the impact of the First World War is explored in the film's screenplay.[5] It mentions the decline of the British Empire and the peerage system. Writing for PopMatters, Cynthia Fuchs described surface appearances, rather than complex interpersonal relationships, as a theme of the film.[6]

Salon.com critic Steven Johnson notes a revival of the manor house mystery style, popularised by the writings of Agatha Christie, in the screenplay for Gosford Park. He called it a blend between this literary style and that of the 19th century novel.[7] Bob Balaban, an actor and producer for Gosford Park, says that the idea of creating a murder mystery told by the servants in the manor was an interesting one for him and Altman.[4]

Themes from the film were picked up and integrated into the series Downton Abbey by Julian Fellowes. Maggie Smith starred again in her role as a dowager countess, this time her title not being Trentham but Grantham; the family are related to the Marquess (rather than the Earl) of Flintshire.

Production

Development and writing

In 1999, Bob Balaban asked Robert Altman if there were something they could develop together, and Altman suggested a whodunit.[8] Altman wanted to create an Agatha Christie-like country house murder mystery that explored that way of life; he called the film a "classic situation: all suspects under one roof".[8][9] Altman was also inspired by the 1930s films, The Rules of the Game and Charlie Chan in London.[8] Altman chose British actor and writer Julian Fellowes to write the screenplay, because Fellowes knew how country houses operated.[9] Fellowes, who had never written a feature film before, received a telephone call from Altman, who asked him to come up with some characters and stories.[9][10] Fellowes was given a brief outline of the film: it was to be "set in a country house in the '30s and to have a murder in there somewhere, but for it to really be an examination of class."[10] Altman also wanted the film to explore the three groups of people: the family, the guests, and the servants.[10] Of the call, Fellowes said, "All the way through I thought this can't be happening—a 50 year old fat balding actor is phoned up by an American movie director—but I did work as if it was going to happen."[9]

The original title of the film was The Other Side of the Tapestry, but Altman thought it was awkward. Fellowes began looking through some books and came up with Gosford Park.[8] Altman said: "Nobody liked it, everyone fought me on it. But when you make a picture using a name, that's its name. It's not a gripping title. But then MASH wasn't either."[8]

Fellowes says the screenplay was "not an homage to Agatha Christie, but a reworking of that genre." Fellowes was credited not only as the film's writer but as a technical advisor as well, meaning he wrote portions of the film as it was being produced. He notes that in certain large scenes with many characters, the actors were left room to improvise.[11]

Arthur Inch, the retired butler of Sir Richard and Lady Kleinwort, was the consultant on correct procedures and arrangements for dining on the set. Inch is credited as "Butler" immediately before Altman as Director in the final credits. Ruth Mott was the consultant for the kitchen,[12] and Violet Liddle for the parlour maids.[13]

Casting

In Gosford Park, as in many of his other films, Altman had a list of actors he intended to appear in the film before it was cast formally. The film's casting director was Mary Selway, whom producer David Levy described as knowing many British actors.[11] Very few actors who were offered parts did not end up in the film. Jude Law dropped out of the production just before the shoot began, and he was replaced by Ryan Phillippe. Kenneth Branagh and Robert Bathurst were both tied down by scheduling conflicts. Alan Rickman, Joely Richardson and Judi Dench were also considered for roles in the film. The cast is notable for featuring two knights (Michael Gambon and Derek Jacobi) and two dames (Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins). Three other members of the cast (Alan Bates, Helen Mirren and Kristin Scott Thomas) were later elevated to that status.

Filming and editing

Wrotham Park, where outdoor and the ground floor scenes for Gosford Park were shot

Filming was conducted at Wrotham Park for the exteriors, staircase, dining room and drawing room,[14] and Syon House for the upstairs bedrooms.[15] The opening sequence outside Lady Trentham's home was shot at Hall Barn, near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, whose grounds were also used as the scene for lunch after the shoot. Sound stages were built to film the scenes of the manor's downstairs area.[16] Shepperton Studios was used for off-location filming.[17]

The film was shot with two cameras, both moving perpetually in opposite directions. The cameras pointed toward no specific area, intended to cause the audience to move their eyes throughout the scene. Altman notes that most of the film's cast had experience in theatre and in film, meaning they had acted in situations where the view of the audience is not on one specific actor, and each audience member sees a slightly different image of the players on stage.[11] Andrew Dunn, the film's cinematographer, appreciated the co-operative nature of Gosford Park's filming process. He shot the film on Kodak Vision Expression 500T film stock generally with two Panavision cameras, using lighting ranging from relatively dim candles to bright hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamps.[18] Editor Tim Squyres described the editing process on Gosford Park as an unusual one, as the dual cameras used were generally located in the same areas when filming, instead of the more standard method of setting up a scene directly.[19]

Release

Gosford Park premiered on 7 November 2001 at the London Film Festival.[20] The film then received a limited release across cinemas in the United States on 26 December 2001, before being widely released in January 2002 by USA Films.[21] It was released on 1 February 2002 in the United Kingdom.[22]

Box office

In its limited release opening weekend, the film grossed a mere $241,219, hitting No. 23 in the box office that weekend.[23] In its wide release, it grossed $3,395,759;[24] by the end of its run on 6 June 2002, Gosford Park grossed $41,308,615 in the domestic box office and a worldwide total of $87,754,044.[1] With that final total, Gosford Park became Altman's second most successful film at the box office after his 1970 film, MASH.[2]

Critical reception

The film received critical acclaim; review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of 155 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[25] According to the site's critics consensus, "A mixture of Upstairs, Downstairs; Clue; and perceptive social commentary, Gosford Park ranks among director Altman's best."[26] Metacritic, which assigns a score of 1–100 to individual film reviews, gives the film an averaged rating of 90 based on 34 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[27]

Roger Ebert awarded it his highest rating of four stars, describing the story as "such a joyous and audacious achievement it deserves comparison with his [Robert Altman's] very best movies."[16] Ebert specifically noted a quality of the film that many Altman films share: a focus on character rather than plot.[16] Emanuel Levy, an independent critic, gave Gosford Park an A minus rating. He described one of its themes as "illuminating a society and a way of life on the verge of extinction",[28] placing the interwar setting as an integral part of the film's class study. However, he notes that because Altman is an independent observer of the society he portrays in the film, it does not have the biting qualities of his previous social commentaries such as Short Cuts, set in the director's home country of the United States.[28] Jonathan Rosenbaum in the Chicago Reader called it a "Masterpiece."[29]

Gosford Park's cinematography was a focus of several critics. CNN's Paul Clinton praised Andrew Dunn's camera work, describing it as "lush and rich; the camera glides up and down the stairs of the grand estate, the period look is beautifully crafted."[30] Ed Gonzalez of the Internet publication Slant Magazine writes that "Altman's camera is the star of Gosford Park" and that the film's cinematography is used as an aid to its storytelling.[31] Michael Phillips placed Gosford Park at number nine on his list of Best Films of the Decade.[32] The film was placed at 82 on Slant Magazine's list of best films of the 2000s.[33]

Accolades

Gosford Park was nominated for 61 different awards following its release, winning 25 of them. There were seven nominations for Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director, both of which it lost to A Beautiful Mind); Fellowes won the Best Original Screenplay.[34] At the 55th British Academy Film Awards, the film was nominated for nine British Academy awards, winning Best British Film and Best Costume Design (Jenny Beavan).[35] Mirren, Smith and Watson were all nominated for Best European Actress at the European Film Awards.[36] The film received five nominations at the 59th Golden Globe Awards; Altman won the Award for 'Best Director'.[37]

At the 8th Screen Actors Guild Awards Mirren won 'Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role' and the ensemble cast collectively won 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture'.[38] The film won four more 'Best Cast' awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Florida Film Critics Circle, and Online Film Critics Society.[39][40][41] Fellowes received recognition for the film's screenplay from the Writers Guild of America, where he won the Best Original Screenplay award.[42] The film's score composer, Patrick Doyle, received two nominations for his work. Doyle was nominated for Composer of the Year from the American Film Institute and he won the award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year from the World Soundtrack Awards.[43][44]

Home media

The region 1 DVD of Gosford Park was released on 25 June 2002, with the region 2 release on 3 December 2002. The critic Ed Gonzalez reviewed the DVD negatively, calling the picture quality "atrocious on the small screen", going on to say that "the image quality of this video transfer is downright lousy from start to finish."[31] However, reviewer Robert Mack generally wrote favourably of the picture quality, noting excellence in the shots' detail and sharpness and the lack of compression artefacts, but describing an unfavourable darkness to scenes filmed within the manor house.[45] Both reviewers commented positively on the film's score and soundtrack. Gonzalez wrote that "Gosford Park sounds amazing for a film so dialogue-dependent"[31] and Mack that "the audio transfer is about as good as it can get on a movie of this style."[45]

Soundtrack

Patrick Doyle composed the film's score.[46] Doyle said that it can take him up to six months to create a film score, but Altman asked him to write and compose the music for Gosford Park in less than five weeks.[46] Doyle recorded the soundtrack at the London Air-Edel Recording Studios in October 2001.[47][48] The soundtrack also features six original songs by composer and playwright, Ivor Novello.[49] Jeremy Northam, who plays Novello, sings all the songs and his brother, Christopher, accompanies him on the piano.[49] The soundtrack was released on 15 January 2002.[50]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gosford Park (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Robert Altman's career in films". BBC News. BBC. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  3. ↑ PBS, "Downton Abbey Revisited", TV documentary special to precede season 3
  4. 1 2 Miller, Danny (Director); Gill, Kevin (Executive Producer) (14 December 2001). The Making of Gosford Park (DVD). USA Films.
  5. ↑ Holden, Stephen (26 December 2001). "Full of Baronial Splendor and Hatefulness". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  6. ↑ Fuchs, Cynthia (27 June 2002). "Gosford Park". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Steven (24 January 2002). "The ghosts of "Gosford Park"". Salon.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Peary, Gerald (December 2001). "Robert Altman". Gerald Peary. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Profiles - Julian Fellowes". BBC Dorset. BBC. 8 August 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 Hoge, Warren (15 April 2002). "'Gosford' Writer Is Unfazed by Class but Amazed by Fame". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  11. 1 2 3 Hammond, Pete et al. (8 March 2002). Cast and Filmmaker's Q&A Session (DVD). USA Films.
  12. ↑ "Obituaries: Ruth Mott". The Daily Telegraph. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Serving the Good and the Great: The Amazing True Story of Violet Liddle". Amazon.com. 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Morrison, James (3 February 2002). "Gosford Park Syndrome: go see the movie, but please don't peek at one's stately home". The Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "Gosford Park". The Castles and Manor Houses of Cinema's Greatest Period Films. Architectural Digest. January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 Ebert, Roger (2 January 2002). "Gosford Park". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  17. ↑ Staff. "Filming locations for Gosford Park (2001)". Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  18. ↑ "Andrew Dunn BSC tracks mysterious movements at Gosford Park" (PDF). In Camera. Eastman Kodak. January 2002. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  19. ↑ Wood, Jennifer M. (3 February 2007). "Breaking Away". MovieMaker. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  20. ↑ "High Hopes For London Film Festival 2001". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 8 November 2001. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "All About Gosford Park". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  22. ↑ Smith, Neil (31 January 2002). "Gosford Park (2002)". BBC Films. BBC. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  23. ↑ Weekend Box Office Results for December 28-30, 2001 - Box Office Mojo
  24. ↑ Weekend Box Office Results for January 18-20, 2002 - Box Office Mojo
  25. ↑ "Gosford Park (2001)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "Gosford Park". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  27. ↑ "Gosford Park". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  28. 1 2 Levy, Emanuel. "Gosford Park". EmanuelLevy.com. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  29. ↑ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (18 January 2002). "A Touch of Class [GOSFORD PARK]". JonathanRosenbaum.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  30. ↑ Clinton, Paul (4 January 2002). "Review: 'Gosford Park' a winning mystery". CNN. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  31. 1 2 3 Gonzalez, Ed (26 May 2002). "DVD Review: Gosford Park". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 April 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  32. ↑ Phillips, Michael. "At the Movies". At the Movies. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  33. ↑ "Best of the Aughts: Film". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  34. ↑ "Rings Leads Oscars Race". BBC News. BBC. 12 February 2002. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  35. ↑ Gibbons, Fiachra (25 February 2002). "Lord of the Rings Is King of the Baftas". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  36. ↑ "People's Choice Awards 2002 – The Nominees". European Film Awards. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  37. ↑ "Golden Globes: 2002 Winners In Full". BBC News. BBC. 20 December 2001. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  38. ↑ "Screen Actors Guild Honors Outstanding Film & Television Performances in 13 Categories at the 8th Annual SAG Awards". Screen Actors Guild. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  39. ↑ "The 7th Critics' Choice Awards Winners And Nominees". Broadcast Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  40. ↑ "FFCC Award Winners". Florida Film Critics Circle. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  41. ↑ "Online Film Critics Society Awards for 2001". Online Film Critics Society. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  42. ↑ King, Susan (3 March 2002). "Writers Honor 'Gosford Park,' 'Beautiful Mind'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  43. ↑ "AFI Awards 2001". American Film Institute. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  44. ↑ "World Soundtrack Awards 2002". World Soundtrack Academy. Flanders International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  45. 1 2 Mack, Robert. "Gosford Park". DVD.net.au. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  46. 1 2 Cripps, Charlotte (15 October 2007). "Preview: Music from the movies, Royal Albert Hall, London". The Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  47. ↑ "Gosford Park Soundtrack CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  48. ↑ "The Brits who are making a big noise in Hollywood". The Independent. Independent News & Media. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  49. 1 2 "Master And Servant". Newsweek. Sidney Harman. 17 January 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  50. ↑ "Gosford Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Amazon.com. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
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