What a treat this project was! Another DVD booklet for Arrow Films in the UK (my first was an essay on the under-talked-about masterpiece Another Woman included in a Woody Allen boxset):
I wrote the booklet essay for their DVD release of Gosford Park, a movie I have always loved but never written about. This was another really fun project, which gave me the chance to re-watch as much Altman as I could. I feel so fortunate that I was actually alive while Altman was still working. A new Altman was always an EVENT, like a new Scorsese. Gosford Park deepens with each re-watch. I am always seeing something new in it.
I have just ordered a copy, essentially for your booklet, because, not only do I not have a Blu-ray player, but this disc is coded Region B, so even if I ever got a player, I still would not be able to see it. Still the first pressing of this collector’s edition is worth it! I’m so excited! This seems personally apt, as Gosford Park was the first DVD I ever bought, and I also bought it before I ever had a DVD player. Once I finally had one, it was the first DVD I ever watched, and the whole experience was a treat. Chapters!! Watching Kristen Scott Thomas walk-run across the lawn over and over again! The extras and commentaries! That soundtrack!! To die for.
If I had a top-10 list of my favourite films, I’m sure Gosford Park would be on it. The first time I saw it, in a packed theatre, I was absolutely mesmerized, and practically frozen to my chair. There was so much to absorb, and to piece together, I could barely breathe with the excitement.
And after I had the DVD, I of course watched it over and over and over again. Like you said, there is always something new to see in it. The attention to the minutest of details is unbelievable. And it’s not until at least a second viewing, when all the overlapping dialogue starts to make sense. The first time you see it, you only have a rough idea of what’s going on, but you understand the central plot. On multiple viewings, every character’s motivations begin to make sense. Every single person has a story, and there are SO many stories.
Julian Fellowes did a fantastic job with the script, and his commentary on the DVD is excellent. One of the best. And no wonder he knew this world so accurately, since he grew up in it. Downton Abbey, notwithstanding that it’s a TV series and not a two-hour film does not have nearly the same power, but that’s also because it does not have Altman at the helm. This is a director’s masterpiece. Although Altman’s commentary track is not nearly as interesting. I read somewhere, maybe it was from you, that Altman never liked to talk about his craft, or reveal how he makes his films, which is evident in his commentary!
Finally, don’t get me started on the actors: Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Alan Bates all in one film! Kristen Scott Thomas, Emily Watson, Clive Owen, Jeremy Northam, who else can we squeeze in there?! There are more, and each and every one of them so compelling in their individual roles. They all feel like stars (which they are) even if they have relatively few scenes. They make every word, every facial expression count. I was also super impressed with Kelly MacDonald. I had never seen her before and thought she inhabited her role flawlessly.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to reading what you wrote. I’m sure to learn even more about one of my favourite films!
HelenaG – this is all so awesome!
// Gosford Park was the first DVD I ever bought, and I also bought it before I ever had a DVD player. //
I absolutely love this so much.
// The first time I saw it, in a packed theatre, I was absolutely mesmerized, and practically frozen to my chair. There was so much to absorb, and to piece together, I could barely breathe with the excitement. //
I had the same experience. I’m so glad I saw it in the theatre. and people actually went to the movies back then – so the place was packed. It played like a bat out of hell – and yes, it was overwhelming – there’s so much going on it really takes repeat viewings to pick up on stuff.
For example – in my recent re-watch to write this essay – I noticed that one of the footmen – who barely has any lines – has this whole psychosexual drama going on – he wants to be assigned to dress/undress the Jeremy Northam movie-star. And he keeps not getting the assignment, and he sulks, and pouts … and it’s all so rich, and he barely has any dialogue to do it! If you weren’t paying attention, he’d seem like an extra. This is why Altman is so so good and why he is one of my favorite directors. NO ONE is an “extra.”
// I was also super impressed with Kelly MacDonald. I had never seen her before and thought she inhabited her role flawlessly. //
I know! I had seen her in Trainspotting – which I’d have to check but I think it came out before this one – and I didn’t even know it was the same actress.
I love how the plot eventually becomes her being a “girl-sleuth” – the only one who’s putting the pieces together – forget about Stephen Fry with his pipe and his incompetence (so funny). It’s SHE who figures it all out.
and Helen Mirren’s explosive outburst at the end gets me every single time.
This was a really fun assignment – I relied heavily on the oral biography of Robert Altman (which I really recommend).
Yes, I remember that although I was excited to finally get a DVD player, the most exciting thing about it was finally being able to watch Gosford Park again! Like Lisa, I also having been pricing region-free BluRay players now. See what you’ve done to us! Gosford Park is so worth it though.
I DID note the footman’s desire to act as valet for Jeremy Northram, since not being part of the aristocracy, Northram was the only male guest travelling without one. I also remember (it’s been over 10 years since I last saw this film so I’m sure to have memory gaps) that one of the other footmen enjoyed tormenting him about this. The butler seemed oblivious to the situation, or was he? I can’t exactly remember if he was deliberately keeping this footman away from the star or not, although Alan Bates had other concerns, once the murder occurred.
Speaking of the murder, I loved how so many people hated Michael Gambon’s character so much or had enough motive to murder him, that finding the murderer was no easy task, and not at all helped by Stephen Fry — so hilarious in that role! He and the police inspector made a very funny team. The only person who was visibly sad was his sister-in-law, (a juicy situation there). Emily Watson’s character also cared, but she couldn’t afford to be visibly sad about anything. Everybody was so delighted that he was dead!
And speaking of Jeremy Northram, I thought his character was one of the most interesting, because he’s the one person who’s truly out of place. He doesn’t belong to the servant class, yet he doesn’t belong to the aristocracy and the guests have no idea how to treat him. He is beneath them. He works. And his work is shameful. He stars in films, of all things! So when he gets to the dinner party, he also has to work, singing and playing for his supper, and enduring as many disparaging comments as Maggie Smith can hurl at him. I adore her, by the way. She steals every scene she’s in. Her comic timing is unmatched. And I loved that whole plot line with the silk blouse, and how oblivious she is about servant’s work. That line, “Yummy!” when she inspects her breakfast tray, is so delightful.
Back to Jeremy Northram. First of all, I like how he’s not just some made-up film star, but he’s a real actor, Ivor Novello of all people! I remember Julian Fellowes in his commentary talking about how while he is singing and playing, and the guests are treating him like part of the furniture, the servants are all standing outside the door, enraptured. Some of them are dancing. They are all clearly transported by his talent. Fellowes noted that that scene shows how the aristocracy are already part of the past. They are dying out and the whole class system will be turned inside out and upside down within a generation. They are a dying breed. The servants are the ones who get it. They understand what’s important and are changing with a changing world. They are the future.
I looked it up and Kelly MacDonald was in Trainspotting first, but I had not seen that film, so was unaware of her. And I just found out that she was also the voice of Merida in Brave! Of course. She’s so talented.
And can I just spend a few moments talking about Clive Owen?! Oh. My. God. I don’t recall having seen him before, and although I have seen him in several films since, I think nothing I have seen matches the power of his role in Gosford Park. First of all, it seems like he just stepped out of the 30s. He truly looks, at least in that film, that he belongs to that era. And he exudes so much coiled sexuality, intelligence, strength, and integrity, that it’s no wonder that Kelly MacDonald falls for him. He’s not at all like that slimy horndog played by Ryan Phillippe. And I really enjoyed how Kelly MacDonald is desperate to clear his name, and is so aghast that he might be the murderer, and then thinks she has saved him by telling him (I’m paraphrasing): “But if he was already dead when you stabbed him, then you didn’t murder him!”. A very funny line. He then flummoxes her with his response. “I don’t care”. A great moment. And a great line reading.
And yes, Helen Mirren’s big scene at the end is so heartbreaking and soul-destroying. She kills me each and every time. She is amazing. Her storyline really demonstrates how valueless a servant’s life is. Their hopes and dreams, their very personhood count for nothing. Clive Owen and Kelly MacDonald also have no hope (attempted murder notwithstanding) of ever getting together. They will go back to their respective houses and will likely never see each other again, although the war may change all that.
You and Lisa have both got me super-excited about seeing this film again. I’m going to pop the DVD in again in the next few days. I’m definitely due for a rewatch. Oh and I have put the Altman oral biography on my wish list. Thank you for the recommendation!
// Everybody was so delighted that he was dead! //
Ha! I know! and from the little we got to see of him, we can see why. Probably the only one who would miss him would be the dog.
// Fellowes noted that that scene shows how the aristocracy are already part of the past. They are dying out and the whole class system will be turned inside out and upside down within a generation. They are a dying breed. The servants are the ones who get it. //
I have goosebumps just thinking about that scene. and I loved Fellowes’ comments – I think I referenced them in my essay (it’s been so long since I wrote it!) But he really clarified for me what I felt in that scene – and it wasn’t condescendingly played like “oh look at the simple people having a bit of pleasure.” Their joy in the music was profound. They were not embarrassed. They allow themselves to be transported. They are the future. amazing. without ever having a word of dialogue to really support this, you totally get it.
// And I really enjoyed how Kelly MacDonald is desperate to clear his name, and is so aghast that he might be the murderer, and then thinks she has saved him by telling him (I’m paraphrasing): “But if he was already dead when you stabbed him, then you didn’t murder him!”. A very funny line. He then flummoxes her with his response. “I don’t care”. A great moment. And a great line reading. //
Another goosebump worthy scene. and so sexy. when they kiss? I saw it in a full movie theatre and you could hear people gasp. now when does THAT ever happen?
He was phenomenal and I agree – his best.
// Clive Owen and Kelly MacDonald also have no hope (attempted murder notwithstanding) of ever getting together. They will go back to their respective houses and will likely never see each other again, although the war may change all that. //
I know, right?
But in a way … people like Clive Owen and Kelly McDonald will do much better than those like Maggie Smith’s character and the other aristocrats – who have no idea that the writing is on the wall for their entire way of life. I think I said this as well in the piece – with the coming of the World War, Gosford Park would more likely than not be turned into a field hospital, or a refugee center for orphans – that was what happened with those big houses. Meanwhile – well, Clive Owen probably would have been gone to war. But Kelly McDonald: nurse? Red Cross? sky’s the limit.
It’s all so deep and textured and rich.
You will absolutely love the oral biography. so many great stories.
I also ran right over to buy a BluRay I probably won’t be able to watch just so I can read your essay, Sheila. Can’t wait! I’m with you and HelenaG, this is an amazing piece of work and I find something new in every single viewing even after so many viewings. I used to travel for business and I would take a tiny DVD player with this disc because no matter how many times I watched it in random hotel rooms all over it was never boring and never the same movie twice. I stand amazed at Jeremy Northam every single time; I read somewhere that he performed his live songs multiple times and had to match himself over and over for continuity? I marvel at Altman’s ability to have so many cameras moving about but from every angle our view is immaculate and and the movement and positioning of the characters is so natural. I could go on and on for hours. I love this movie and recommend it to everyone who hasn’t seen it, provided they are fans of delayed gratification, subtlety, and indirect reveals. (N.b., Sheila, I loved our Twtr SPN convo on girlfriends’ illumination of the boys’ psyches and hope we can sneak a few more this season. Praying it’s not a train wreck and the Js can winkle a few profound moments of acting with their eyebrows. ;-)
Lisa – yes, I really enjoyed our Twitter SPN conversation too – I always do! Season 14 approaches. I feel … the same way you feel. Lots of lost trust but dammit I’ll be tuning in!
now onto Gosford Park: wow, I love your comments! I love how much you love this movie! You would travel with a copy of it! Amazing!! I agree with you – it’s a movie I can revisit again and again (and actually I think it’s one of those rare movies that gets better each time you watch.) It was really amazing having to watch it repeatedly to write this essay – I was noticing things I had never seen before! I am sure you have picked up on everything at this point! But it’s still so rich and textured – and sooo funny but also so damn sad! How on earth did Altman do it? That huge drawing room with all those floating bored voices – Jeremy Northam – yes! Singing live!! Playing a real guy! Just magical.
Okay so here’s one thing I noticed that I had never noticed before: the one guy who kept hoping he would be allowed to dress/undress the movie star. He barely has any lines – he’s an ensemble member – but he just keeps trying to wangle his way into THAT job, and sulking when he doesn’t get it. It’s this whole subtext thing going on and it’s JUST as urgent as anything else going on onscreen.
I loved it at my first viewing – saw it in the theatre – and have seen it many times since. and you’re right – it never ever gets old.
Favorite parts? Would love to hear more.