No.031　《Gosford Park》　高斯福庄园　人与人之间深不可测的矛盾

英文导读

Gosford Park is a 2001 British mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes.

Maverick American filmmaker Robert Altman takes a witty and absorbing look at the foibles of the British class system in this intelligent murder mystery set in the early '30s. Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) are a pair of wealthy British socialites who have invited a variety of friends, relatives, and acquaintances to their mansion in the country for a weekend of hunting and relaxation. Among the honored guests are Constance (Maggie Smith), Lady Sylvia's matronly aunt; Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), William's cousin who is also a well-known actor and songwriter; and Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), an American film producer who is friendly with Ivor and researching an upcoming project. Observing the proceedings are the domestic staff of the mansion, including imperious butler Jennings (Alan Bates); footmen George (Richard E. Grant) and Arthur (Jeremy Swift); Probert (Derek Jacobi), a valet to Sir William; housekeeper Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren); Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins), who oversees the kitchen; and Elsie (Emily Watson), a maid. Also on hand are the guests' personal servants, including Mary (Kelly Macdonald), Constance's maid; Henry (Ryan Phillippe), Weissman's valet; and Parks (Clive Owens), a butler. While the servants are required to display a high level of decorum, they are expected to be passive observers who do not comment on what they see, though the gossip among them travels thick and fast once they retire to the servants' quarters downstairs. And it turns out that there's plenty worth gossiping about, especially after Sir William turns up dead, and everyone is ordered to stay at the mansion while the police investigate the killing. Gosford Park also features Charles Dance, Tom Hollander, Natasha Wightman, and Ron Webster; the screenplay was written by Julian Fellowes, based on a story by Altman and co-star Bob Balaban.

Development on Gosford Park began in 1999, when Bob Balaban came to Altman and asked if they could develop a film together. Altman suggested a whodunit and asked Fellowes to write the script. The film went into production in March 2001 and began filming at Shepperton Studios with a production budget of $19.8 million. Gosford Park premiered on 7 November 2001 at the London Film Festival. It received a limited release across cinemas in the United States in December 2001, before being widely released in January 2002 by USA Films. It was released in February 2002 in the United Kingdom.

The film was successful at the box office, grossing over $87 million in cinemas worldwide, making it Altman's second most successful film after MASH.

The film received generally positive reviews from critics; review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of 142 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.5 out of 10. Among the "Top Critics" featured on Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an overall approval rating of 100%, based on a sample of 10 reviews. According to the site's summary of the critical consensus, "A mixture of Upstairs, Downstairs, Clue, and perceptive social commentary, Gosford Park ranks among director Altman's best."

At the 74th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Altman), Best Supporting Actress (Helen Mirren), Best Art Direction (Stephen Altman and Anna Pinnock) and Best Costume Design (Jenny Beavan); winning one: Best Original Screenplay (Julian Fellowes).

获奖情况

2002年第74届奥斯卡：最佳原创剧本奖，并荣获最佳影片提名、最佳导演提名、最佳女配角提名。

影片信息

导演：罗伯特·奥特曼

编剧：朱利安·费罗斯

主演：玛吉·史密斯、迈克尔·刚本、克里斯汀·斯科特·托马斯

类型：剧情、喜剧、悬疑

制片国家（地区）：英国、美国、意大利

上映日期：2001-11-07（英国）

片长：137分钟

又名：《谜雾庄园》《戈斯福德庄园》《高斯福德庄园》《葛斯福公园》《高斯福大宅谋杀案》

剧情简介

高斯福德庄园是一个名流云集之地，威廉·麦考德爵士和他的妻子西尔维娅约请了亲朋好友进行了一个狩猎会。邀请的客人包罗万象：伯爵夫人、战斗英雄、英国音乐偶像，以及正在拍摄《陈查利》影片的美国电影制片人。

热闹的庄园里还有一群人，这是庄园以及各位来宾的仆人侍从。当客人们聚集在楼上金碧辉煌的画室时，侍候他们的贴身男女仆人们排站在硕大的住宅内，而佣人们则挤满在厨房和楼下的走道。

仔细观察聚集在这座庄园里的各色人等，其实就会发现：上流社会和仆人的世界之间并没有截然分离的界线。相反，这两个世界由于种种复杂的关系产生了千丝万缕的联系，在庄园轻松闲适的气氛下，其实埋藏着令人不安的因素。

威廉·麦考德爵士的死，把庄园带入了惊恐的气氛中：他被人谋杀在书房里。庄园里的不少人似乎都有杀人的动机，这起案件一时间扑朔迷离。

实际上，真正的凶手是女管家威尔森太太，在帕克斯来到庄园的时候，她就已经认出了自己的儿子，知道他就是当年自己与男主人威廉的私生子。她对于威廉的恨意，应该与帕克斯一样有30年了，但是她一直就在威廉身边，她又何苦等到这一刻才下手呢？这其中又有什么隐情呢？

制作花絮

在拍摄本片的时候，采用的不是一个通常的大麦克风来收音，导演奥特曼让所有的演员带着便携式的麦克风，这样是为了创造一种叠音式的效果。这种技术第一次被运用是在1978年的电影《婚礼》上，随后还采用过几次。

楼上的女士们穿戴的珠宝全部都是货真价实的，每天必须由全副武装的保安护送来。

导演奥特曼要求摄影机在拍摄影片中的每一个镜头时，都要移动，哪怕是轻微的。

影片中所有扮演仆人的角色都没有化妆。

重点学习

Also on hand are the guests' personal servants

我们都知道，on hand有“在手边”的意思，比如：Have the necessary medications on hand.（在手边准备一些必要的药品。）On hand还常引申为“附近；即将到来（或发生）；现有的，存有的；到场，出席，在场”等意思，比如：Mr. Blake's secretary is always on hand when he appears in public.（布雷先生在公开场合露面时，他的秘书总是在场。）在文中，on hand是“在场”的意思。

And it turns out that there's plenty worth gossiping about

文中的gossip有“传播流言蜚语；说长道短；散布小道消息”的意思，所以文中的gossip about是“说长道短；说…的闲话”的意思，比如：I will speak no evil of you, nor will I share any gossip about you with others.（我不会说你的坏话，也不会和其他人分享有关你的流言蜚语。）

单词时间

foible[?f?ibl] n. 弱点；小缺点；癖好

socialite[?s?u??lait] n. 社会名流

relaxation[?ri:læk?sei??n] n. 放松；缓和；消遣

matronly[?meitr?nli] adj. 主妇似的；稳重的；庄重的；威严的

songwriter[?s???rait?] n. 流行歌曲的作者；歌曲作家

imperious[im?pi?ri?s] adj. 专横的；迫切的；傲慢的

maid[meid] n. 女仆；少女

servant[?s?:v?nt] n. 仆人，佣人；公务员；雇工

decorum[di?k?:r?m] n. 礼仪；礼貌；端正；恪守礼仪

downstairs[?daun?stε?z] adv. 在楼下

perceptive[p??septiv] adj. 感知的，知觉的；有知觉力的

commentary[?k?m?nt?ri] n. 评论；注释；评注；说明