The Shooting Party

The Shooting Party (1985)

It is 1913 and Edwardian England is about to vanish into history...

1913, shortly before the outbreak of WWI. A group of aristocrats gathers at the estate of Sir Randolph Nettleby for a weekend shoot. As the terminal decrepitude of a dying class is reflected in the social interactions and hypocrisy of its members, only world weary Sir Randolph seems to realise that the sun is setting.

Date of release
1985-02-01
TMDB
6.6 / 10 (27)
Runtime
1h 38m
Genres
Drama, Romance, History
Director
Alan Bridges

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

The Shooting Party is a 1984 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913, less than a year before the beginning of the First World War, and shows a vanishing way of life among English aristocrats, focusing on a shooting party gathered for pheasant shooting. Their situation is contrasted with the life of the local rural poor, who work on the estate and during the shoot serve as beaters, driving the game. It was entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.

Production

According to the DVD extras documentary, Paul Scofield was cast as Sir Randolph Nettleby, but he was seriously injured during the first shot on the first day of shooting. Because the film takes place in October, during partridge-shooting season, the filmmakers had to make a choice, either to delay filming for a year or re-cast the role.

The film was shot at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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