Project-Blu ‘Gosford Park’ Canadian Import Review, by Nate Boss

Gosford Park

By: Nate Boss, 6.14.2009

The Movie Itself:
 Ah, the hunting party. A time when high society can get together, with music, fine foods, luxurious living, the shooting of nature's beasts, and murder. Yes, that's the....wait, wha?

As funny as it sounds, the setting for a murder mystery (whodunit) is at it's peak with such a social gathering. You have high classed individuals with money on the mind, lower classed servants with a bone to pick, and any other randoms who may be at the scene. Anyone can have a motive if the group is fairly tight knit. And such is the setting for Robert Altman's great Gosford Park, which tells a tale of class separation, the morals and qualms of high society, and a murder most foul. How uncivilized.

It's November, 1932, on the outskirts of London, at the mansion of Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), and a variety of guests have come for a social event. Each guest has brought their respective servants, as well, creating a bustling beehive of activity, filling the mansion's every nook and cranny, creating a space where no secret can be kept, where no action goes unseen. Except, of course, for the act that kills McCordle. Who could have killed McCordle? Truth is, nearly everyone in the home at the time had a reason to want to see the man dead.

The story is told through two perspectives: the party goers, and those who must serve them, which creates a tale that has a definitive answer, to be sure, but a wide range of moods and tones. The servants sure do have an interesting life, as whenever they aren't in the glaring eye of their masters, they are lively, dancing behind the scenes, attempting to seduce each other, or screwing each other if such was a success. The high classed individuals don't afford themselves such pleasures, as they are all too caught up in what the others think of them to let loose, or be anything but proper. In private, they let their feelings be known, but at all other times, their lips are sealed, they put on the smile, and go along with the people they seem to loathe.

The funniest thing has to be the cast listing at the end of the film, as even it is separated into Upstairs (class) and Downstairs (servants). That is a perfect reflection as to how these groups interact with each other, as they are seen as two completely different types of people, who cannot mix. One man does try, though, and finds out he can't have it both ways, as soon both sides loathe him for his transgression.

The interactions with all these characters are a tangled spiderweb, where the inter-personal connections and secrets are spread out as randomly as they come. The sad part, though, is too reveal too much is to spoil the experience of this utterly methodical masterpiece. The less known going in to the film, the better, as the twists and turns in the road are sheer ecstasy the more a surprise they are when they pop up. A fantastic tale of class separation and human interaction disguised as a who-done-it of Clue like proportions, Gosford Park is directing legend Altman's last true hurrah, a film that deftly pokes fun at society and its standards.
Rating: 9/10

The Presentation:
In The Running Man, Arnold Schwarzenegger is known as the "Butcher of Bakersfield," a monicker I'm quite envious of, as it just rolls off the tongue, and is my (sucky) hometown. Alliance, out of Canada, has earned a somewhat similar reputation, as the "Butchers of Blu-ray," with their botched, "on the cheap" transfers, incorrect aspect ratios on a few releases, and a few 1080i, rather than 1080p releases. Add Gosford Park to the list of casualties.

Funnily enough, just like Rounders, this isn't the fault of an i instead of a p, or a cropped picture. Rather, this botch job is due to a lazy transfer that at times looks more standard def than high def. It's just flat ugly.

My hopes were low enough going into the viewing, and the opening shots made me thankful my love of the film didn't create too high of hopes. They were murky, dull and fuzzy, and looked like vintage '80's cinematography. The rest of the film, same goes. There were an average amount of dirt specks, a healthy grain, and a dominant noise level, with grounds and walls coming alive, and lamps overhead so noisy they were gray rather than white. Edge enhancement halos were quite obvious as well, and were slap you in the face obvious, a difficult achievement on a 65" screen. Brighter objects, be it gold ashtrays, lights, or candles, all bled. Even white tablecloths bled! There were also a considerable amount of artifacts that were quite annoying. At least there wasn't any DNR. That said, detail was so low, that it may as well have been scrubbed, just to further desecrate the film. A horrid job, all around.

The audio mix isn't all that much better. The disc defaults to a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, though a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is available as the only thing that the menu button brings up. The Master Audio may as well be the Servant Audio, here, though, as it is obviously not in charge, nor in a place of prestige, by any means.

The early goings of the film had some nice rain effects hitting all speakers, but once the film hits the mansion, there is a real lacking of utilization from the full sound stage. The bass for the film is as lively as the man who is murdered. Dialogue is clear, accents never are difficult to understand, despite the sometimes awful vocal performances behind them (Phillippe, I'm pointing at you). That's all the film is, really. Dialogue. It's a talker, pure and simple, so there really isn't much to work with, save for a few scenes, like the shooting scene, which sounded muffled and flat out boring. Oh well.
Rating: 4/10 ( 4/10- video, 5/10- audio)

The Extras:
There are no extras included on this release, which is no surprise.
Rating: 0/10

Overall:
I wish I didn't have to buy Alliance releases, I really do wish. Their butchery would be acceptable if it were free, but to pay for such poor releases, it's criminal. Perhaps the studios will start getting more aggressive, and put the need to buy these titles out of existence. With a pathetic video transfer, and an audio mix that really has no potential on a good day, this release is only for those who cannot wait for Universal to get their asses in gear and put out more catalog releases than the ones that are HD DVD catchups. Basically, the beauty of Altman's masterpiece is sullied, and only one word can sum it up: FAIL.
Rating: 4/10