Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

justincward No spoilers, even if it had a plot, because I turned it off before the end.Two things in The Shooting Party work extremely well: and both are castings against type. John Gielgud, the ultimate actor-luvvie, as an early hunt saboteur, and Gordon Jackson as a lairy professional poacher, when he usually did cap-doffing yeoman or butlers. I will say he suffers a bit of accent drift. The casting of James Mason, in his last film, as an aristocrat of the old school doesn't work because James, god bless him, does a sort of bank CEO turn (see Anthony Hopkins in Meet Joe Black), which is not the same thing at all. But that doesn't matter because this is the National Trust version of Brideshead Revisited.For the rest of them, it's the usual suspects playing at toffs, and they have a lot of fun with old cars, guns and billiard tables. Edward Fox, who was to stuck-up black-tie wearing waxworks what Burt Kwouk was to Japanese POW camp commandants, does it on autopilot and it shows. A special mention however for two of the absolutely worst child actors I've seen in a long time. Producer's kids, probably. Sorry kids, I hope you found gainful employment in accountancy later on.It's good that they have plenty to do at this country house, because as far as the audience is concerned, there's NOTHING GOING ON. Some will say that the film lyrically shows the imminent collapse of the English aristocracy on the eve of World War I; I say this film will tell you more about the collapse of the English film industry under the weight of poorly scripted son-et-lumière nostalgia masquerading as historical drama - the sort of thing Stephen Poliakoff does on TV, or used to before budgets got really tight.This, of course, is the point of The Shooting Party - it was trying to show upstart TV that UK cinema could do costume drama so much better in the 1980's. Unfortunately it was wrong. The 1981 TV version of Brideshead Revisited will tell you all you need to know about the decline of the English ruling class, as well as being a rattling good yarn. The Shooting Party isn't so much a yarn as a bit of tinsel.

nomorefog 'The Shooting Party' is certainly rare but gained a respectable following when it was released on video many years ago. It's an English film, comfortably paced on repeated viewings and yes, I can understand how it may be less than riveting for people who aren't attuned to its wavelength. It's beautiful to look at, the characters are graceful and civilised, and they talk about interesting and thought provoking things. I happen to like 'The Shooting Party'. It is what it is, and you can take it or leave it – I prefer to do the former.The story concerns the decline of the Edwardian class in England a year before the outbreak of WW1, as exemplified by a group of people gathered at a great mansion to partake of the 'shooting party' of the title. There is a lot of rumination on the part of the characters concerning the passing of time, and how their class, with all its privileges may not have much longer to last. They are being legislated out of existence by the Liberals, and pushed to one side by the rise of the labour movement. The death of the King Edward VII a traditionalist and ally, is also a harbinger of harder times ahead and all of these changes will make England a very different place to what it previously was.James Mason stars as the owner of the mansion and the head of the party. A particularly welcome member of the cast is John Gielgud who gives a wonderful performance as a servant who exhibits an intense aversion to animal hunting for sport and does everything he can to put a spanner in the works of the shooting party. Gielgud represents the naysayer of the declining era, indicating that the new democratic post-war middle class are more concerned with commerce, rights and liberty rather than ownership. It's a treat for the audience to discover the metaphors that exist in the revelation of plot and the characters which drive 'The Shooting Party' along to its conclusion. The film's execution is traditional, there is nothing new to in its technique to wonder about. The story itself is what will capture the audience's attention, that is if they find the subject interesting, despite the film's plot being admittedly, a little on the slim side.I am not normally a big fan of this genre of Merchant/Ivory type films and others like them that are for example, gorgeous to look at, but perhaps a tad boring. Films like this take a chance in not trying to be everything to everyone. They tackle a specific subject and stick to it, and it may not even be of particular interest to mainstream audiences. 'The Shooting Party' continues to find an audience by the quality of its writing, the performances and the execution, and discerning members of the public if they persevere, will discover the fruits of a quality endeavour.

Melvin M. Carter If you remember Upstairs/Downstairs on PBS about the two different worlds in one house in London before the Titantic sailed and barbed wire and mass slaughter decorated the landscape of Europe,then this is a perfect accomplishment. Gordon Jackson who played the butler in the series is cast here as a poacher who gets hired to become a beater, someone who rouses the targeted wildlife in this case grouse I believe into the gunsights of the "swells". The English have a love- hate relationship with that time of determined inequality; James Mason in his last role, plays the lord of the manor,an intelligent patriarch of his ancestral holdings,several steps above the stereotype of a haughty inbred weasel satirized memorably by the Monty Python crew in their "Upperclass Twit of the Year" sketch. Mason is an aristocrat with a capital A who feels it is his DUTY to be the best not an entitlement. The others in this film range from starcrossed lovers he doomed to be a casualty of 20th Century warfare,the others representing snobs,fools, frivolous yet empty souled individuals who actually believed a little bloodletting would revitalize their spirits during the hunt and the subsequent war. While they may resent the foreigners for calling the ir English lackeys peasants it is how they treat them. Except for James Mason they are his yeomen the family's men at arms who probably followed his ancestors into battle when they raised a regiment of horse or foot for whatever struggle be it against the rival Europeans,killing rebel Scots or Irish ,or tangling with those American Cousins. Watch this film and see the difference between being a star and being an actor

Bucs1960 If you like Merchant/Ivory films, then you will also enjoy this one. It moves slowly but surely as we witness the sun setting on the aristocracy and on the British Empire, set in the microcosm of an English country estate. These people are doomed, in various ways, but, more than that, a way of life that flourished for centuries is about to be extinguished by the slaughter of WWI. James Mason is the lord of the manor and plays the part as if he were born to it. This was his last film and it makes you realize how much he is missed. Edward Fox has a field day playing the weak, tradition bound guest who can't abide being bested and Cheryl Campbell is terrific as his wayward wife. There are many good supporting roles but Gordon Jackson, as one of the "beaters" is a stand-out; his final scenes are brilliantly done. Sir John Gielgud walks through as a protester against the hunt and sparkles in that small role. It is sometimes difficult to figure out who is related to whom since there are a lot of characters, all of whom have some interrelationship. This is a beautiful film, rich in scenary and it captures a time and life that died in the trenches of the Great War. Highly recommended.