Gosford Park (2001)
We all know why Downton Abbey was so popular: it was great! And it brought Upstairs Downstairs to a whole new generation. But the reason it was so timely was because of Gosford Park, written by Julian Fellowes and with an incredibly similar plot. During the early 1930s, a wealthy English family host a hunting party over the weekend, and with all the upstairs-downstairs action, there’s hardly any time to notice that a carving knife has gone missing.
It’s entertaining, and visually beautiful to see the estate and the costumes, but now that there’s Downton Abbey for us to sink our teeth into, there’s really no point to watch it anymore. There’s a butler, footmen, Countesses and Ladies, valets who get up to no good, and Maggie Smith playing nearly exactly the same character. Upstairs, Michael Gambon and Kristin Scott Thomas are the hosts. Camilla Rutherford, Jeremy Northam, Charles Dance, Geraldine Somerville, James Wilby, Bob Balaban, and Ryan Phillippe make up the hunting party. Downstairs, Helen Mirren, Alan Bates, Eileen Atkins, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Emily Watson, Sophie Thompson, Jeremy Swift, and Richard E. Grant will keep you endlessly entertained. A box office hit at the time, and garnering seven Oscar nominations, this period piece really is a classic. And as hard as it is to believe, it’s twenty years old now!
More Maggie Smith movies here!
It’s entertaining, and visually beautiful to see the estate and the costumes, but now that there’s Downton Abbey for us to sink our teeth into, there’s really no point to watch it anymore. There’s a butler, footmen, Countesses and Ladies, valets who get up to no good, and Maggie Smith playing nearly exactly the same character. Upstairs, Michael Gambon and Kristin Scott Thomas are the hosts. Camilla Rutherford, Jeremy Northam, Charles Dance, Geraldine Somerville, James Wilby, Bob Balaban, and Ryan Phillippe make up the hunting party. Downstairs, Helen Mirren, Alan Bates, Eileen Atkins, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Emily Watson, Sophie Thompson, Jeremy Swift, and Richard E. Grant will keep you endlessly entertained. A box office hit at the time, and garnering seven Oscar nominations, this period piece really is a classic. And as hard as it is to believe, it’s twenty years old now!
More Maggie Smith movies here!