Gosford Park


sorabji.com: Last movie you saw: Gosford Park
THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016).

By Spider on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 01:54 pm:

    Eh. It could have been better.

    1) What the hell was up with the sound? You could barely hear what people were saying half the time!

    2) Who was everybody? I had a very hard time telling how everyone was related or who Lord Stockbridge was, for example, even though I could have been looking right at him. Furthermore, at the point when someone was introducing everyone to the detective, why did the camera cut away from the people?!

    3) I don't understand who the woman was in Robert Parks' photograph. Was that not his mother? Wasn't Mrs. Wilson (helen Mirren) his mother? Couldn't people tell that the woman in the photo was Mrs. Wilson? If it was some other woman, who was she?

    4) God, how I love Clive Owen. What presence.

    5) What happened to the investigation? Did the detective drop the case?


By patrick on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 03:38 pm:

    this movie lost me too, as you say, the was the dialogue tough to hear thereby making it difficult to keep up with who was who.

    Altman is a prick.


By Spider on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 03:50 pm:

    I've raised the sound problem to a couple of people, and those idiots made out like I was some dumb American who couldn't understand the accents. No, that was not it! It was like the microphone was too far away from the mumbling.

    On top of that, everything was just too cluttered. Too many people, too many plot strands, too many voices talking at once. Bah!

    After MASH, has Altman done *anything* good?


By Spider on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 03:52 pm:

    PS. The DVD has subtitles, I've heard. I think one day I'll rent it to see if that helps. Hopefully there will be some commentary to clear up my questions, too.


By spunky on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 04:07 pm:

    Aha! DVD.. Are you listening to the movie through a receiver?
    We own "The Others" and you cannot hear a damn word, we had the volume all the way up.
    But if you pump it through a receiver that is set up with either Surround sound or DNR 5.1 or something like that, you can hear the dialogue just fine.


By spunky on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 04:08 pm:

    oops, you did not get it on DVD. Sorry.....


By The Dinner Lady on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 05:22 pm:

    I fell asleep watching this movie. In the theatre. Oops. Am old now.


By wisper on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 02:05 pm:

    the subtitles help SO MUCH, once you get over the dirty feeling of watching an english movie with subtitles on. Even then, things are mucky. Too many people, too much happening.

    1) yep

    2)he was the guy who died. The old rich woman is his sister. The other people require a map to explain. Even the explination on the dvd is a headache. Nevermind.

    3)yes, it's his mother. She is the head of the servants. The photo is very old, so maybe no one can tell except her. Also, he's not a regular servant there, so only 3 people in the house have seen it. The cook is her sister.

    4)yes

    5)we can assume that he pretty much dropped it, since every suspect is so damn rich.

    subtitles good ;)




By Spider on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 10:16 pm:

    Wisper, I watched the DVD this weekend and I have to tell you that you're wrong about #2. :)

    Lord Stockbridge is the 60-something stuffy man (played by Charles Dance) who had been an officer in the army and is married to Lavinia. Lavinia is the red-haired woman who would have liked to marry Sir William McCordle, the rich but vulgar gentleman who owns Gosford Park, is married to Sylvia (Kristen Scott Thomas), and was murdered (twice). Lavinia, Sylvia, and Louisa (the stylish dark-haired woman) are sisters. Lavinia married for rank, Sylvia married for money, and Louisa married for love. Louisa married Anthony Meredith (played by Tom Hollander, who was Saffron's fiance in the last episode of "Absolutely Fabulous" -- I knew I recognized him), who is desperate for money.

    Then there are the Nesbitts, Freddie (played by James Wilby, who was Siegfried Sassoon in my beloved "Regeneration") and his middle-class wife, Mabel. There's also Lady Constance (Maggie Smith), the American film contingency (Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, and Ryan Phillippe), and Rupert Standish and his friend Jeremy Blond (the young blonde and dark-haired men who show up during the dinner party). Oh, and Isobel, Sylvia and William's awkward daughter. I think that's all the upstairs people.


    Everything makes sense now! I appreciate the film so much more having listened to the screenwriter's commentary. That man knew more about etiquette and how things were done than I could have imagined. With the exception of one shot of a footman walking up the front stairs, every single thing that occurs in the movie is exactly as it would have happened (in terms of etiquette) in November 1932. Down to the kind of cocktails they drank at the shooting luncheon and the color of bowties that the footmen wore.


By Spider on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 10:19 pm:

    Oh, and about the photograph. Very interesting, but Robert Altman maintains that even Parks never recognized Mrs. Wilson in his photograph. Mrs. Wilson, her sister, and Mary are the only three who ever know. Funny, because I was sure that Parks' comment to Mrs. Wilson -- "I'm sure you don't forget much, do you?" or whatever -- meant that he knew who she was, but Altman said no. Hmm.


By Spider on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 10:28 pm:

    One more thing: Lady Constance was Sir William's aunt.


By patrick on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 12:32 pm:

    for a second spider, i thought you said "...Lady Constance was Sir William's cunt."


    I thought for a brief moment your were free.



    i saw Sonic Youth this weekend. I missed Mudhoney because of my pregnant wife. Im learning to deal with this kind of disapointment.

    How are you?


By Spider on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 01:44 pm:

    Free from what? Myself? :)

    I'm doing pretty well, thanks. I may (possibly, maybe) get a promotion. I really like living alone. I had a great breakfast with two friends yesterday morning. My brother is coming to visit me this weekend. I just got a DVD player. The weather is nice today. I'm in a good mood.

    However: I have an appointment with a smarmy client today and I'm dreading it. He is so oily. Last time he tried to impress me with pictures of his new red convertible, and I could see that there was a tan line on his left ring finger, where the ring should be. He has an earring and blonde highlights, and he's at least 50 years old. I'm serious! I didn't think it was possible to embody a cliche as fully as this guy does, but it is possible! Ew!


    How are you?


By patrick on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 01:48 pm:

    Im not really sure what i meant by "free"...i wouldnt look into it any further.

    Im ok. Im having to learn to not be so selfish. I don't mean to be, but sometimes it comes over me and i can be a real dick, then feelings get hurt for really no reason at all.

    Im waiting to hear Sonic Youth on the radio. They are playing live in about 10 minutes.

    If you are bored kcrw.org will have a live feed and streaming video.

    Yeah that yutz would creep me out too. People who embody such vivid stereotypes are startling arent they?


By Spider on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 02:53 pm:

    It wasn't too bad....he left after 20 minutes, and he seemed to be in a hurry so there was no chit chat.

    The thing that makes talking to him so awkward is that he never actually says anything inappropriate...it's just his aura. You can't tell someone off for just seeming creepy.


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