The Shooting Party

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

May 24 1985 APPROVED 1h 38m
Drama, Romance

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.

Plot

Autumn, 1913: on the eve of the Great War, a small party of lords and ladies gather at the Hertfordshire estate of Sir Randolph Nettleby. A code of propriety governs all: dress, breakfast, relations with the estate's peasants, courtship, shooting, adultery. Lionel Stephens, who is courting Sir Randolph's daughter, gets into a shooting competition with Lord Gilbert Hartlip; Lord Gilbert's wife carries on discreet affairs; a pamphleteer circles the estate calling for no more killing, and Sir Robert's grandson hopes to protect a wild duck he's befriended. A way of life is ending: Lord Gilbert's violation of the gentlemen's code suggests internal rot as the real world presses in.

Written by

Isabel Colegate, Julian Bond

Directed by

Alan Bridges

Cast

James Mason, Edward Fox, Dorothy Tutin

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United Kingdom

Production Companies

Castle Hill Productions, Edenflow, Geoff Reeve Films & Television Ltd.

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award4 wins & 3 nominations total

Trailers
1985 The Shooting Party Official Trailer 1 Geoff Reeve Films & Television Ltd
Scores
# of Votes
1,622
Average Rating
6.8 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA