Altman films I love:

M*A*S*H
Short Cuts
The Player
3 Women

Altman films that were so-so to me:

Nashville (i will definitely have to watch this for a 3rd time )
The Gingerbread Man
California Split
The Long Goodbye

Altman films that I could not stand:

Cookie's Fortune
Dr. T and the Women
Popeye
McCabe and Mrs. Miller

I have not seen any other films from Altman.


1.) This seems like a film that is either loved or hated. What Altman films are similar to Gosford Park (not in plot, but "setup")

2.) It can be had for 6.99 at Blockbuster. That isn't a lot of money, would you get it as a blind buy at that price?

3.) Do you recommend this film?

1- I think the film is structured more like MASH, Short Cuts, and Nashville. There are many characters in it, and the plot doesn't matter as much as the study of the contrast between the different classes.

2- Hmm... I don't recommend a blind buy.

3- I don't recommend Gosford Park at all. It just wasn't my type of movie. There were so many characters that I couldn't tell apart, I didn't 'get' the humor, it was unengaging, and I found it boring. It's definately a love or hate kind of film.

Well, if it helps....

My favorite Altman movies are also Mash, Short Cuts and the Player. I like Nashville a little less. I like the Gingerbread man a lot less than that.

Since we are is some agreement on that, I think it is fair to say that you probably would also not like Gosford Park. I kept confusing the characters, and fell asleep in the middle (around 8:30 P.M. if that tells you anything). Stay away. IMHO, it is boring and a long long waste of time.

I haven't seen MASH in a while, but Gosford Park had a similar feel to me.

I like both films. Gosford Park does have a lot of characters, and combined with the accents and all the dialogue it's very easy to get lost.

It's also a period English piece, similar to the flashbacks in Remains of the Day, though much more directed and populated. Funnier too. The last third sort of turns into a detective spoof as well.

Unless you like period films, or have no problems with British accents and lots of dialogue, I'd recommend renting it first.

Gosford Park is another of Altman's exercises in playing around with genre filmmaking (in this case, the classic "English murder mystery".) As such, it has some similarities with M*A*S*H (war movies), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (westerns), The Long Goodbye (private eye movies), and Nashville (musicals). It's probably his best film in years, but whether you will like it or not is hard to say.

And, yes, you really should watch Nashville again. After seeing it approximately 30 times over the last 27 years, I still find new riches with every viewing.

For another perspective, I am not an Altman fan at all and I loved Gosford Park. Nashville is probably the only other film of his that I remember especially enjoying.

I totally agree. Nashville would be on a very short list of my favorite films of all time (at least in the top five). I've probably seen it about eight times which is as many times as I have ever watched any movie all the way through.

I did not much care for Gosford Park when I saw it in the theater but it played in one of the crappier thaters in town and it was hard to understand a lot of the dialog and that made it very hard to follow. I did buy the DVD and will watch it again sooner or later.

It's like Nashville in that there's an awful lot to digest. Both films are much better on the second viewing.

I highly recommend it. I think it's hilarious and thoroughly entertaining.