The film has a pretty decent rating, but I didn't enjoy it at all. It lasts two hours, and half of the screen time we observe how aristocrats amuse themselves. Too many unneeded plot twists and characters lead to nowhere. And when the murder finally happens, the atmosphere does not change at all. There is no investigation, no thoughts, only the main heroine somehow finding out who did it in the end. Would call "Godsford Park" a detective at all.

A huge waste of time. It's not worth watching. It's a good film for sleeping, because it takes 1h20 for something to happen... And that's all, because then the rhythm of the film returns to what it was before (another 50 minutes of lots of sleep and gossip in the mansion). Decoration is cool, beautiful images and historical representation of the 30s, but that's it, the story of the film is...boring, no story really, it doesn't hold you, the characters are interesting, but it doesn't go into any depth - always superficial, it's even difficult to memorize all the characters, as the clothing, haircut and people are similar, it's difficult to keep up with and always hitting the same key with some characters, without development. But that's it, a film basically portraying the class difference that exists, near the end of the British empire, where gossip runs rampant in a mansion full of nobles and their servants. The film manages to maintain such a tedious and slow pace (painful to watch, especially at night - unless your mission is to sleep, then I would recommend it), that it even the murder scene won't wake up. I've watched a lot of movies, but this one is among the worst I've ever watched. Not even low-budget films, like teenager comedy or horror clichés are as bad as this film, which promised a lot, has a good cast and delivered nothing...nothing at all, two hours of conversation and gossip.

A wonderful cast does its best but the script is flabby and the characters unsympathetic. Looks good!

I was really looking forward to this with such a high RT rating, but I found it very disappointing. I concluded that most of the reviews were so good because they were written by Americans, who appear to like this sort of twee nonsense stuffed with (that dread term) “national treasures” like Maggie Smith, Stephen Fry and so on. The biggest problem I found with it is that I just didn’t care about any of the characters, so had no real interest in trying to follow what was by any standards a confusing and hugely overpopulated plot. There were a lot of very talented actors, but they were wasted on what was ultimately just a rainy afternoon, instantly forgettable pot boiler.

Just excellent, very funny, excellent actors, brilliant writing & of course one of the best directors ever. Just maybe the best ever.....& can be re-watched numerous times Just for pure pleasure.

What makes this movie work so well for me is how the characters have their own personality. Their actions ring true to their motives and the drama is entirely human even with the various contrivances. The actions felt appropriate for the period and I believed this to be a story that could actually have happened. It is sincere and bitter sweet.

I wanted to like it but I was just bored.

3.5 stars; Although billed as a combination of Agatha Christie and "Upstairs, Downstairs", I found it more like a new chapter of the latter. I would have liked to rate this movie higher. The issue was with me and not so much with Mr. Altman, who did an excellent job of delving into the great distinctions in and between the classes of 1930s England. I unfortunately had bought into the mystery aspect as advertised. It turned out the real mystery didn't insert itself until the movie was 80% over. However, that remaining 20% was as clever as a Christie novel. I really enjoyed (spoiler alert!!!) where the protagonist decides not to involve the police with the solution to the murder. As she put it, "what purpose would it serve?". Ms. Christie used this moral on rare occasions in the Poirot and Marple series'. A big plus was the serious acting performances given by an all star cast that measured up to and exceeded the bar.

I could watch and enjoy these type dramas when I was younger. Now it's often a slog for me. All well made with a stellar cast showing why it's a stellar cast. Emily Watson, Kelly MacDonald, Scott-Thomas, Owen, Smith- all eggsalad. But there's pacing and content that just seems so redundant. Editor? Hello? Cut this by 23%, plz. Esp. Ivor on the piano. Goes on for days. 3 sloggy stars

Altman takes a murder among the wealthy elite and turns it into a fun thrill-ride! As the wealthy guests and the staff mingle among themselves, a murderer hides in the midst. As its multitude of talented actors try to cope with the killing, we're left guessing after the credits begin to roll!

If you're a fan of "Downton Abbey", or just casually enjoy it, then this is your definite cup of tea. While yet to be fully discovered aside from conceptualizing "MASH", director Robert Altman may have invited us into a story with potential serial, structural narrative exploiting on associated theming like before. He repeated that in "Gosford Park", inspired by Jean Rinor's "The Rules of the Game", but it was later carried by writer Julian Fellowes pre-dating the experience as setup for the aforementioned show. The 1939 French classic been criticized, re-evaluated and praised as a fine masterpiece, till Altman and Fellowes satirically puts in a murder mystery twist from Agatha Christie's veins. As a result, it more or less deserves its accolade considering its competition. Set in 1930s England, a group of the pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort, until one of them got murdered. Usually tensions are high at this point whereas everyone becomes a suspect, but the event only lingers as their conversations carries on from gossip to wonder with non-threatening secrecy that would weigh their surrounding interest. The main worry is someone among their party willing to put blood on its hands, but confident arrogance says otherwise till one finally connects the dots and another provides an unfolding twist. Sounds inconsequential, especially comparing the overall characterization akin to "Murder on the Orient Express" as unlawful justice gets served, and these characters gets dissected by each other rather than the investigator who seemingly drives the awaited satire. But while the "whodunnit" mystery signifies this narrative as a generic twist, providing an opportune lead in creatively establishing fresh characterized backgrounds with arguable motives and noted timing, it only proves secondary as attracting leverage. It's more thematically driven in perceptively depicting class conflict with a hint of satirical degree by the financial oppressor's reliance on the lower class's more functioning, knowledgeable skills since money deprives true worth. Even with a complex range of opined characters with subtle investigation weaving conversationally, the film exceeds its grasp that turned loose, evoking unsympathetic connections to them, therefore not identifying the cast with appreciation. Exquisitely prompted, elegantly communicated that overdid towards mostly indistinction, it houses an ensemble cast with defining merits to their calibers, adjacent to the classy music provided by Patrick Doyle. The entertainment value behind "Gosford Park" only maximizes to the minimum whilst its form excelled with acclaim upon being released, it's the murder mystery aspect that kept the film from being a remake of Renoir's sophisticated classic as it seems to repeat the initial reception. The seamless conversations kept it decently interesting as its main defining engagement, not the thrills over the spiked occurrence to amplify the party with lesser impacts. Back then, it's an opened invitation held by word-of-mouth, now "Downton Abbey", which originally was a spin-off, labels this as an unofficial pilot for the converted soap opera fanatics, and a one-stop for those who haven't been allured to the whole series but should probably grasp the simplified gist. (B)

Good old movie. Mystery and great acting

Decent mystery period drama set in 30s UK. Directed by Altman, I personally prefer his satiric work about American culture. Great cast, and production quality is really high. You have to wait until the murder occurred that is in the middle of full running time.

Granted, you'll probably need a notepad handy to keep track of the countless characters, their relationships to one another, and their motivation to commit murder, but Gosford Park, a late entry in the Robert Altman oeuvre, remains an interesting whodunnit. Set in the English countryside, the wealthy and privileged gather for a hunting party, doted on by their faithful servants. Other than some backstabbing, gossip, and abhorrent treatment of those ‘below stairs', all is going well until one of the aristocrats is found dead. Other than the fact that it takes almost ninety minutes before the murder occurs and the maddening complexity of the relationships, it is an exceptionally well-written, acted, and directed (all of Altman's trademark stylings are evident) satirical murder mystery and a must-see for fans of Altman.

Gosford Park, inszeniert von Robert Altman (Regie), und das Drehbuch stammte von Julian Fellowes. Der Film ist ein Moralgemälde der englischen Klassengesellschaft mit einem großem Staraufgebot. Eine unterhaltsame schwarze Krimi-Komödie die für mich ein wenig zu langatmig ist.

This film is slow paced but it has a nice, cosy feel to it, thanks to the quite soft lighting featured. There are a wide variety of characters, including both aristocratic/upper class people and a variety of working staff. We get a feel for most of the aristocratic characters views, their background etc. via conversations with others in quieter areas of the large, grand house its set in. As I say its slow paced, as while this is regarded as a part mystery film, it takes probably about an hour for that part of the plot to really come in to focus. I suppose if your not much interested in other such peoples affairs and viewpoints, then this film wouldn't be for you - it wasn't exactly a watch that kept me 'glued to my set'/screen as it were but it was a relatively easy watch and it kept me entertained for the most part regardless. I quite liked the cinematography at times - the setting of the film is quite good and I liked glancing at the various paintings, the grand furniture present and the like. I'd hazard a guess that if your keen on shows like Downton Abbey, you'd likely enjoy this. On another note, I thought it was interesting to see Clive Owen in a period film, rather than an action or thriller. He plays Robert Parks, for the record. This film won't suit all but for what it is, its a pretty decent watch, just a little bit slow but its certainly not a bad film as such. Thats all I can think to say about it really.

If there ever was one, this is the perfect rainy-day afternoon movie. Then eat dinner. Snooze off. And forget you ever watched it.

Maggie Smith says the word "yummy" six times during this movie, which is not a word I expected her to say once on screen in her entire career. It's very easy to forget that Robert Altman played an indirect role in the development of Downton Abbey through this Best Picture nominee, though while the subsequent series chose to attract an audience more through scandal and entertainment value, Gosford Park is a targeted critique of the social mores of Britain's upper crust (and by extension, all societies with highly stratified social classes that rely on the contributions of a working class). While rather circuitous and sprawling for my own tastes with a wide range of subplots that can be difficult to keep track of, the script mananges to tackle the changing economic circumstances, interpretations of gentility, and moral hypocrisy that could be found in a supposedly refined English country house. The slow pace matches the sense of urgency you would expect of a group of individuals that spend their days at managed hunts and their nights playing cards in rococo parlors (though it makes the film near impossible to enjoy as a classic whodunnit), though it may not be to all tastes; to compensate, Altman recruited a who's who of British acting talent of the period. Assuming you can keep everyone's backstory straight (which takes some doing), Gosford Park is one of the more intelligent projects to emerge from the white-gloved parlors of manor homes, a setting that the film helped to translate from Agatha Christie to Bridgerton. (3/5)

I know some describe this movie as "Clue meets Downtown Abbey", however this movie is more "Downtown Abbey meets Downtown Abbey". There's ZERO mystery and it centers around the life of the manor's servants. Great cinematography though.

A flat-out masterpiece. A murder mystery of the highest order with surprising emotional depth. Altman's signature style of accumulating plot points and clues through naturalistic dialogue makes it almost essential to watch with the subtitles on. A rich, nuanced comedy of manners which hilariously skewers the toffs, the police, and the visiting Americans who are--naturally--doing field research for a film about a murder mystery at a British country house. The ensemble cast is packed almost beyond belief. No explosions, car chases, or superheroes so not for everybody