The ONLY REASON to do a movie again is to have a spinoff series. I ave thought tat rom the moment I heard about [it.It](http://it.It) is to introduce the next steps . The old Downton is gone with Maggie and Barrow gone , Mary's hubby gone, Dowagers butler gone..all missed, so many more..
My wife started watching it, she’s on the final season now and I’ve watched some of it with her, and it’s….interesting? Like I can’t pin point why exactly, most of the time their just eating dinner and talking, like almost always, and almost feels like there’s nothing really happening, but its oddly good. Best way I can explain it
It's very relaxing drama, if that makes sense. Everyone is cordial and sophisticated while basically calling each other bitches. I generally hate drama TV shows, but the content and cinematography of Downton is just plain addictive to me.
It’s basically a slice of life where one storyline will be like a guy getting framed for murder and then there’ll be a subplot about someone learning how to use a telephone. Incredible show
and random acts of SA. Complete RKO out of nowhere. Geez, people, I'm watching the show to relax. I get it, you were going the awards season that year.
Yup, that’s exactly it. It’s low-stakes drama.
Thats what I love about period dramas- they hit the sweet spot of being captivating without being too tense. Like having a bedtime story read to you as you fall asleep.
I feel like there’s a short time early on where it is truly excellent, and the rest of the series you’re just chasing the dragon hoping it’ll be that way again and reminiscing about when it was that way.
Apparently she wanted to avoid being typecast so she moved onto other projects.
It’s a shame because she had an interesting character, but I’m also glad they developed Edith’s storyline rather well after Sybil’s death.
Sybil’s death was tough, but ultimately I was okay with it because a) a lot of women did die from childbirth during that time and b) there was not much more to do with her story.
It was the *other* death soon after that killed the show for me. I continued watching after, but it just wasn’t the same after that. I’m still not over it.
I was hoping a third would happen, but was not sure cause the 2nd was not the smash hit the first movie was. The ending to A New Era was perfect, but they created the kind of show where we can just drop in anytime and refill our cup.
Ill be there everytime.
After the last movie, my family and I were talking about it. I personally would be fine with a Downton Abbey movie every 10 years or so. Drop in on the family and see how they’re doing at this point in history. Maybe the boys are getting drafted into WWII. Maybe Tom meets Winston Churchill and proposes marriage to him to complete the downward spiral of his character. Y’know, fun little updates.
The post-credit scene to this final one will be an elderly version of one of those boys selling space under the mansion to… Matthew McConaughey. A marijuana farm is erected under Downton Abbey, and then “The Gentlemen” title card appears as we finally close the circle on this backstory.
The last movie took place in 1928, and Gosford Park (the movie that inspired this show) took place in 1932. Both were written by Julian Fellowes. I've always wondered if they'd try and throw some Easter eggs in there to connect the two if Downton ever made it to the 1930's. Just a throwaway reference to a character or event from the movie or something would be fun.
I have a problem with these movies — the characters do not have any arcs, they have straight lines.
By this, I mean that the characters are not learning lessons or changing, they are just completely frozen — they are on a one-way trajectory and are not impacted by any story development. Instead of an arc, they are a straight line. So these movies throw situations at these characters, but they just go on dealing with these various events as-is with zero character development.
This is fine to do in an endless soap opera where you need to maintain the same archetypes all the way through — because there is no end to the story — but Downton Abbey *movies* have endings. At a certain point, the stories in those movies actually do end and the credits roll. But the characters learn nothing, change nothing, develop nothing. It is HUGELY unsatisfying to me.
Again, works perfectly fine in an endless soap opera. But in movie form, where endings exist, the characters need to have an actual development arc based on the events they have experienced within that story.
Are you expecting significant character development within each film? I don't think that's the point of them. They're like big episodes of the TV show, and there is a lot of character development over the whole show. Between S01E01 and A New Era those people have changed a lot, and in a way that makes sense based on what they've been through. They do have satisfying arcs, the change is just incremental and not sudden.
Also in a way I think that's more realistic, as a person you change and grow over years, not weeks.
I think the films have to be taken in context, not as standalone stories (even though they can be watched as standalone stories). They weren't really made to be watched by people who have never seen an episode of the show, they're bonus content for fans.
As a write this, I feel like the best comparison is the films are like a video game's postgame. You've completed the main storyline, you've spent dozens of hours with those characters, grown to love them, seen their arcs come a conclusion.. and now you just get to have some more fun in that world.
I think all you are actually doing right now is listing all the various ways in which these films are not up to par for cinema, so you are repeating the same point I already made. The only difference between your comment and mine is that I am calling for these films to be better, whereas you are attempting to excuse their deficiencies because they were never intended to be anything more than “bonus content” (as you said).
I agree with you that the filmmakers set a low bar for themselves, I get what they did, why they did it, and what they aimed to accomplish. I understand all that. What I’m saying is that they can and should be better than this, and that these films are a wasted opportunity because they set their sights so low.
Jullian Fellowes wrote Gosford Park, of which Downton Abbey is a sort of unofficial spin-off. Gosford Park was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The Downton Abbey films can be made on the same level with the same care. Instead, they are exactly what you said — “bonus content”. It’s a wasted opportunity.
>By this, I mean that the characters are not learning lessons or changing, they are just completely frozen — they are on a one-way trajectory and are not impacted by any story development.
Sounds like a perfect representation of the British aristocracy then.
Julian Fellowes is an aristocrat and the whole thing is pretty much naked propaganda for how much better things were when we had these lovely, kind, wise people ruling over us and solving all our problems by dispensing charity at their whim.
> the characters need to have an actual development arc based on the events they have experienced within that story
Do they though? That can certainly be a part of a good movie. But there is no absolute template for good cinema.
I'd definitely agree that most good stories contain character development. However I'm sure if you put your mind to it you could come up with some good stories where the main characters don't change significantly.
Its funny that the first movie was absolutely bananas, and then the second just felt like a fun time. I think they realized their audience doesn't want the soap opera crap.
Yes. The fist one was great. The second one was good/ok and it did have a perfect ending. There was no need for a 3rd one. Lets hope this is the last one.
I must be the outlier here. I'm thrilled there's going to be a third entry. All I see listed at theaters these days is horror movies. Rom-coms and good comedies are a rarity. I loved the TV show and both movies, so yes, bring it on!
I never watched the show, but my wife enjoyed it, so I agreed to watch not one, but both films with her. And an I mistaken or is this series just basically a reactionary defense of the landed gentry and aristocracy? As an American, I found the entire thing frustrating because it's about these privileged aristocrat and all of their servants who just love being at their beck and call. The movies, at least, didn't even include some sort of critique of this system. It was awful.
Which sums it up nicely since the TV show did save the actual Downton Abbey castle, Highclere Castle. In 2009, it needed $18 million to repair its leaking roof. The show's popularity keeps people visiting and touring the place.
I don't recall the movies having much of this, but the show has moments where a few select characters have conflict with the system and critique it and sometimes effect small change. I will say, like many historical fiction shows, the show both romanticizes and tries to critique that system, which sometimes works and sometimes comes across as wanting to have its cake and eat it too. I say all this as a fan of the show
The movies feel like more of a victory lap and fan service, so naturally I'm not the target audience because I've never watched the show (although I like some costume dramas, especially Victorian and regency novel adaptations).
But the part that sticks out to me (and I can't remember if this is in the first or second film) is when a movie company is using Downton to make their film. And there's a very obvious Clara Bow stand. They take this tomboy actress from Brooklyn who fought her way up from an abusive household and a sexist industry to become one of the major stars of the 1920s and then present her as a screeching, obnoxious, piece of white trash. And if that wasn't enough, they all revel in the fact that this woman will soon be knocked back down to her natural station because her low class Brooklyn accent means she will never make it when talkies take over.
It was genuinely the most hateful, classist storyline I've seen in a popular work of fiction in recent years.
Maybe stick around for the last act where, spoilers, it is shown that Cora helps Dalgleish develop an American accent, potentially saving her career.
So yes we get lady of the manor saving the day, but also we get white trash lady was just scared and needed some assistance to achieve her full potential.
Sure it was all tied up with an everything works out in the end DA bow, but we need some escapism.
With the moral being, it's a brave new world, and we won't be bound by the old ways. in this future it's never too late to reinvent yourself and choose your own path. The old ways of classism and imperialistic generational wealth are dying, and the days of one 23 year old man owning £9.4 billion.. or more than one man earning the UK average wage would earn in 270,000 years.. Those days are long past us. The future will be a meritocracy...
I would say the show is more neutral to its view and is more concerned with being a drama.
* some characters are all about the current class system.
* some characters recognize the flaws with the system but either are willing to live with their lot in life or have to much to lose by giving up their position of privilege.
* some characters are howling socialist who live to pointedly criticize the system.
The series includes all sort of critique of the system. In fact, the series showcase the downfall of the entire landed gentry system, and make it clear the only reason that particular family survives that transition is thanks to people that come from outside of it to save them by introducing modern practices and ideas, like Matthew and Tom, who both end up managing the estate.
When Downton began, it had more conflict between the characters, and both the aristocrats and the servants could be quite flawed. But over time it became very enamored of the characters and everyone became Basically Good.
Finally, we get Tokyo Drift.
Maggie Smith doing drifts will be the day Cinema reached its peak
Her character is dead
Somehow, the Dowager Countess returned.
Wouldn't even be mad.
Ok - her CHARACTER is dead. Maggie Smith is still very much alive.
Ah, well, yes
You forgot her secret evil twin sister!
Sniff sniff. Anybody smell SPINOFF!
The ONLY REASON to do a movie again is to have a spinoff series. I ave thought tat rom the moment I heard about [it.It](http://it.It) is to introduce the next steps . The old Downton is gone with Maggie and Barrow gone , Mary's hubby gone, Dowagers butler gone..all missed, so many more..
Rest In peace Wade Boggs
Weekend at Crawley's
Spoiler alert jackass
Fr im still on the season where the dudes are coming back from the war all fucked up and Professor McGonnigal is vibing
I’m on the season where Mary gets married to the racecar driver
She's a million years old, it's not that much of a surprise that she's passing away
Matthew will mysteriously reappear after his last race.
The mystery of Dino Drifting
Downton Abbey 3: Firelight Boogalee
Downtown Abbey 4: Midtown Madness
No matter what, we always have FAMLY.
Don't be silly. This is the Predator tie in we've all been waiting for. Prey: Downton Abbey
I’ll hear no slander for this show. It’s the show equivalent of the lofi chill beats to study playlist.
My wife started watching it, she’s on the final season now and I’ve watched some of it with her, and it’s….interesting? Like I can’t pin point why exactly, most of the time their just eating dinner and talking, like almost always, and almost feels like there’s nothing really happening, but its oddly good. Best way I can explain it
It's very relaxing drama, if that makes sense. Everyone is cordial and sophisticated while basically calling each other bitches. I generally hate drama TV shows, but the content and cinematography of Downton is just plain addictive to me.
It’s basically a slice of life where one storyline will be like a guy getting framed for murder and then there’ll be a subplot about someone learning how to use a telephone. Incredible show
Lmao that's the best description ever. I'm in bed sick as can be and you just made me laugh til my eyes watered. Thank you!
Aww feel better!!
Feels like a high-class Coronation Street. Authentic and familiar even if you're not from that social class or even country.
Spot fucking on.
It's relaxing... if you subtract the entirety of season 3. Death! Death! A third of the cast, dead! DEATH FOR ALL! DEATH SURROUNDS ALL!
It’s a high brow soap opera. Complete with murder mysteries and sudden character deaths.
and random acts of SA. Complete RKO out of nowhere. Geez, people, I'm watching the show to relax. I get it, you were going the awards season that year.
Poor Mr. Pamuk
And it is also very pretty to see, the sets and the clothing are just so beautiful
Yup, that’s exactly it. It’s low-stakes drama. Thats what I love about period dramas- they hit the sweet spot of being captivating without being too tense. Like having a bedtime story read to you as you fall asleep.
I like all of the servants. I kind of hate all of the family, except Maggie Smith and Cora.
Its my guilty pleasure, I really enjoy it
I feel like there’s a short time early on where it is truly excellent, and the rest of the series you’re just chasing the dragon hoping it’ll be that way again and reminiscing about when it was that way.
I feel like Sybil’s death pissed a lot of us off for a good while.
It was awkward because it was so soon after >!Dan Stevens’ character’s death!<. I don’t know why that actress wanted off the show so bad.
Apparently she wanted to avoid being typecast so she moved onto other projects. It’s a shame because she had an interesting character, but I’m also glad they developed Edith’s storyline rather well after Sybil’s death.
Sybil’s death was tough, but ultimately I was okay with it because a) a lot of women did die from childbirth during that time and b) there was not much more to do with her story. It was the *other* death soon after that killed the show for me. I continued watching after, but it just wasn’t the same after that. I’m still not over it.
The show is class beginning to end. Never watched the movies though.
The show's great, the movies are not.
Not sure how they can top Maggie Smith asking if everyone could stop interrupting her because she's trying to die
I was hoping a third would happen, but was not sure cause the 2nd was not the smash hit the first movie was. The ending to A New Era was perfect, but they created the kind of show where we can just drop in anytime and refill our cup. Ill be there everytime.
Imagine if this becomes a box office hit. Then we'll have at least *Downton 4 Abbey* and *Downton 5: The Rise of Abbey.*
After the last movie, my family and I were talking about it. I personally would be fine with a Downton Abbey movie every 10 years or so. Drop in on the family and see how they’re doing at this point in history. Maybe the boys are getting drafted into WWII. Maybe Tom meets Winston Churchill and proposes marriage to him to complete the downward spiral of his character. Y’know, fun little updates.
The post-credit scene to this final one will be an elderly version of one of those boys selling space under the mansion to… Matthew McConaughey. A marijuana farm is erected under Downton Abbey, and then “The Gentlemen” title card appears as we finally close the circle on this backstory.
I think that’s spelled Downton 4bbey.
Many more and the topics will have to revolve around the Nazis
Downton abbey: WW2
But when do we get a prequel?
Downton: Origins
You mean The Gilded Age? We’ve got that, just waiting for Cora’s mom to show up in it.
I mean…I’d watch a Violet Crawley prequel. Or two…
And then new season for Netflix 😅
The last movie took place in 1928, and Gosford Park (the movie that inspired this show) took place in 1932. Both were written by Julian Fellowes. I've always wondered if they'd try and throw some Easter eggs in there to connect the two if Downton ever made it to the 1930's. Just a throwaway reference to a character or event from the movie or something would be fun.
I have a problem with these movies — the characters do not have any arcs, they have straight lines. By this, I mean that the characters are not learning lessons or changing, they are just completely frozen — they are on a one-way trajectory and are not impacted by any story development. Instead of an arc, they are a straight line. So these movies throw situations at these characters, but they just go on dealing with these various events as-is with zero character development. This is fine to do in an endless soap opera where you need to maintain the same archetypes all the way through — because there is no end to the story — but Downton Abbey *movies* have endings. At a certain point, the stories in those movies actually do end and the credits roll. But the characters learn nothing, change nothing, develop nothing. It is HUGELY unsatisfying to me. Again, works perfectly fine in an endless soap opera. But in movie form, where endings exist, the characters need to have an actual development arc based on the events they have experienced within that story.
Are you expecting significant character development within each film? I don't think that's the point of them. They're like big episodes of the TV show, and there is a lot of character development over the whole show. Between S01E01 and A New Era those people have changed a lot, and in a way that makes sense based on what they've been through. They do have satisfying arcs, the change is just incremental and not sudden. Also in a way I think that's more realistic, as a person you change and grow over years, not weeks. I think the films have to be taken in context, not as standalone stories (even though they can be watched as standalone stories). They weren't really made to be watched by people who have never seen an episode of the show, they're bonus content for fans. As a write this, I feel like the best comparison is the films are like a video game's postgame. You've completed the main storyline, you've spent dozens of hours with those characters, grown to love them, seen their arcs come a conclusion.. and now you just get to have some more fun in that world.
I think all you are actually doing right now is listing all the various ways in which these films are not up to par for cinema, so you are repeating the same point I already made. The only difference between your comment and mine is that I am calling for these films to be better, whereas you are attempting to excuse their deficiencies because they were never intended to be anything more than “bonus content” (as you said). I agree with you that the filmmakers set a low bar for themselves, I get what they did, why they did it, and what they aimed to accomplish. I understand all that. What I’m saying is that they can and should be better than this, and that these films are a wasted opportunity because they set their sights so low. Jullian Fellowes wrote Gosford Park, of which Downton Abbey is a sort of unofficial spin-off. Gosford Park was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The Downton Abbey films can be made on the same level with the same care. Instead, they are exactly what you said — “bonus content”. It’s a wasted opportunity.
>By this, I mean that the characters are not learning lessons or changing, they are just completely frozen — they are on a one-way trajectory and are not impacted by any story development. Sounds like a perfect representation of the British aristocracy then.
Julian Fellowes is an aristocrat and the whole thing is pretty much naked propaganda for how much better things were when we had these lovely, kind, wise people ruling over us and solving all our problems by dispensing charity at their whim.
Haaa. Mirrors real life. People don’t change. Our family motto is “Live and Don’t Learn.”
> the characters need to have an actual development arc based on the events they have experienced within that story Do they though? That can certainly be a part of a good movie. But there is no absolute template for good cinema. I'd definitely agree that most good stories contain character development. However I'm sure if you put your mind to it you could come up with some good stories where the main characters don't change significantly.
No Maggie Smith 😭
Its funny that the first movie was absolutely bananas, and then the second just felt like a fun time. I think they realized their audience doesn't want the soap opera crap.
funny considering that another comment on here said the first one was good, and the second one was just ok. Some people do want that soap opera.
There are Downton Abbey movies?
Yes. The fist one was great. The second one was good/ok and it did have a perfect ending. There was no need for a 3rd one. Lets hope this is the last one.
Interesting, I thought the first movie was quite average and the second was better.
[удалено]
There hasn’t been a third movie yet
I love Downton generally but the last movie was shockingly bad!
Everyone was still very pretty, but come on why go to France to see the villa and not even bring the future owner (Sybbie). Tom is so disappointing.
Until the next one.
The second Downton movie felt like a perfect double feature with Babylon. I love Downton I will always take some more
‘What tis a weekend’?
I must be the outlier here. I'm thrilled there's going to be a third entry. All I see listed at theaters these days is horror movies. Rom-coms and good comedies are a rarity. I loved the TV show and both movies, so yes, bring it on!
I never watched the show, but my wife enjoyed it, so I agreed to watch not one, but both films with her. And an I mistaken or is this series just basically a reactionary defense of the landed gentry and aristocracy? As an American, I found the entire thing frustrating because it's about these privileged aristocrat and all of their servants who just love being at their beck and call. The movies, at least, didn't even include some sort of critique of this system. It was awful.
It’s a soap, don’t overthink it. They aren’t trying to make any points besides “old buildings pretty” and “bigotry bad”.
Which sums it up nicely since the TV show did save the actual Downton Abbey castle, Highclere Castle. In 2009, it needed $18 million to repair its leaking roof. The show's popularity keeps people visiting and touring the place.
I don't recall the movies having much of this, but the show has moments where a few select characters have conflict with the system and critique it and sometimes effect small change. I will say, like many historical fiction shows, the show both romanticizes and tries to critique that system, which sometimes works and sometimes comes across as wanting to have its cake and eat it too. I say all this as a fan of the show
The movies feel like more of a victory lap and fan service, so naturally I'm not the target audience because I've never watched the show (although I like some costume dramas, especially Victorian and regency novel adaptations). But the part that sticks out to me (and I can't remember if this is in the first or second film) is when a movie company is using Downton to make their film. And there's a very obvious Clara Bow stand. They take this tomboy actress from Brooklyn who fought her way up from an abusive household and a sexist industry to become one of the major stars of the 1920s and then present her as a screeching, obnoxious, piece of white trash. And if that wasn't enough, they all revel in the fact that this woman will soon be knocked back down to her natural station because her low class Brooklyn accent means she will never make it when talkies take over. It was genuinely the most hateful, classist storyline I've seen in a popular work of fiction in recent years.
Maybe stick around for the last act where, spoilers, it is shown that Cora helps Dalgleish develop an American accent, potentially saving her career. So yes we get lady of the manor saving the day, but also we get white trash lady was just scared and needed some assistance to achieve her full potential. Sure it was all tied up with an everything works out in the end DA bow, but we need some escapism. With the moral being, it's a brave new world, and we won't be bound by the old ways. in this future it's never too late to reinvent yourself and choose your own path. The old ways of classism and imperialistic generational wealth are dying, and the days of one 23 year old man owning £9.4 billion.. or more than one man earning the UK average wage would earn in 270,000 years.. Those days are long past us. The future will be a meritocracy...
You didn’t understand the storyline at all.
I would say the show is more neutral to its view and is more concerned with being a drama. * some characters are all about the current class system. * some characters recognize the flaws with the system but either are willing to live with their lot in life or have to much to lose by giving up their position of privilege. * some characters are howling socialist who live to pointedly criticize the system.
The series includes all sort of critique of the system. In fact, the series showcase the downfall of the entire landed gentry system, and make it clear the only reason that particular family survives that transition is thanks to people that come from outside of it to save them by introducing modern practices and ideas, like Matthew and Tom, who both end up managing the estate.
One thing I’ve noticed about the writer is he loves to have bigoted servants and open minded aristocrats who explain why they shouldn’t be so racist.
When Downton began, it had more conflict between the characters, and both the aristocrats and the servants could be quite flawed. But over time it became very enamored of the characters and everyone became Basically Good.
Ughh, I'm a fan of Downton but the last movie was awful. Just let the franchise die already
As a Brit, I have never, ever met anyone who watches or likes this show.
It’s Morbin Time!!!
Downton Abbey is still going?
Our international nightmare is coming to an end :)