Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English surprised me quite a bit. Although some of the actors´ accents taxed my understanding of the film´s dialogue, vocals are well-mixed into the track. One can always hear whoever is speaking, even if one doesn´t comprehend the dialect. Sound effects (such as thunder and rainstorms) surround the viewer from the rear speakers, and the lovely music score fills the room. The sound design actually offers quite a number of subtle directional effects. When the camera pans around an enclosed space, voices and objects move from channel to channel, matching the viewer´s audio/visual orientation. Bass response is pretty lively for a "Masterpiece Theatre"-type drama.
English and Spanish subtitles support the audio.
Extras:
Robert Altman, production designer Stephen Altman, and producer David Levy contribute the first audio commentary, while screenwriter Julian Fellowes talks by/to himself during the second one. The speakers´ comments deal with the onscreen action as well as with other anecdotes that they recall about the production, and there´s very little dead space. However, all the participants sound rather subdued, so if you´re sleepy, don´t listen to the commentaries! :-)
There are 20 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Robert Altman. For the most part, these scenes are brief snippets that don´t really add to the overall story. Still, fans of the movie will enjoy the chance to see more of their favorite characters.
A pair of related featurettes follows the deleted scenes. "The Making of ´Gosford Park´" is a fairly standard-issue promotional documentary of the movie. It features a fair amount of on-set interviews, but it´s neither the most enlightening nor most exciting of promotional items. "The Authenticity of ´Gosford Park´" focuses on Altman´s attempts to make the film as "English" as possible so that he wouldn´t be called a fraud.
There´s a "Q&A session with the cast and crew" that took place following one of the movie´s many screenings for awards-voting audiences. It´s rather refreshing seeing the actors on a stage far away from Altman´s claustrophobic shooting angles. Finally, the DVD offers cast and crew filmographies (text pages), a theatrical trailer, and "Coming Attractions" (commercials for four other Universal titles).
An insert booklet provides a few text notes about the production as well as chapter listings.
Entertainment Value:
"oh HOU HOU."
Ultimately, "Gosford Park" worked for me on only one level. The film opened my eyes to the casual cruelty of Britain´s class system and of the use of servants in general. I daresay that casual cruelty, which arises from an indifferent attitude towards fellow human beings, is worse than directed hatred. When someone hates you, at the very least, that person cares enough to pay attention to who you are in order to rain unpleasantries upon you. By taking its time meandering to its destination, "Gosford Park" inflicts its own brand of casual cruelty onto unsuspecting viewers.
"oh HOU HOU."
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English surprised me quite a bit. Although some of the actors´ accents taxed my understanding of the film´s dialogue, vocals are well-mixed into the track. One can always hear whoever is speaking, even if one doesn´t comprehend the dialect. Sound effects (such as thunder and rainstorms) surround the viewer from the rear speakers, and the lovely music score fills the room. The sound design actually offers quite a number of subtle directional effects. When the camera pans around an enclosed space, voices and objects move from channel to channel, matching the viewer´s audio/visual orientation. Bass response is pretty lively for a "Masterpiece Theatre"-type drama.
English and Spanish subtitles support the audio.
Extras:
Robert Altman, production designer Stephen Altman, and producer David Levy contribute the first audio commentary, while screenwriter Julian Fellowes talks by/to himself during the second one. The speakers´ comments deal with the onscreen action as well as with other anecdotes that they recall about the production, and there´s very little dead space. However, all the participants sound rather subdued, so if you´re sleepy, don´t listen to the commentaries! :-)
There are 20 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Robert Altman. For the most part, these scenes are brief snippets that don´t really add to the overall story. Still, fans of the movie will enjoy the chance to see more of their favorite characters.
A pair of related featurettes follows the deleted scenes. "The Making of ´Gosford Park´" is a fairly standard-issue promotional documentary of the movie. It features a fair amount of on-set interviews, but it´s neither the most enlightening nor most exciting of promotional items. "The Authenticity of ´Gosford Park´" focuses on Altman´s attempts to make the film as "English" as possible so that he wouldn´t be called a fraud.
There´s a "Q&A session with the cast and crew" that took place following one of the movie´s many screenings for awards-voting audiences. It´s rather refreshing seeing the actors on a stage far away from Altman´s claustrophobic shooting angles. Finally, the DVD offers cast and crew filmographies (text pages), a theatrical trailer, and "Coming Attractions" (commercials for four other Universal titles).
An insert booklet provides a few text notes about the production as well as chapter listings.
Entertainment Value:
"oh HOU HOU."
Ultimately, "Gosford Park" worked for me on only one level. The film opened my eyes to the casual cruelty of Britain´s class system and of the use of servants in general. I daresay that casual cruelty, which arises from an indifferent attitude towards fellow human beings, is worse than directed hatred. When someone hates you, at the very least, that person cares enough to pay attention to who you are in order to rain unpleasantries upon you. By taking its time meandering to its destination, "Gosford Park" inflicts its own brand of casual cruelty onto unsuspecting viewers.
"oh HOU HOU."
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