See also: And the loser is: The seven worst movies of 2013
Gosford Park
Robert Altman's chatty, ensemble style of filmmaking, replete with wildly long shots, suits Gosford Park, an upstairs-downstairs Agatha Christie-style murder mystery. Set in an English country manor during an aristocratic family's hunting party, servants and the ruling class alike scheme over a wealthy landowner's inheritance. Downton Abbey fans will recognize just how much their favorite show borrowed from Gosford Park, including actress Maggie Smith, who portrays a devilishly witty dowager countess in both productions.
The English Patient
Ralph Fiennes stars as a hospitalized soldier suffering from burn wounds and amnesia in Anthony Minghella's Academy Award-winning drama, The English Patient. This film has all the themes of a successful historical tearjerker: memory, jealousy, mistaken identity, broken hearts and an inferno of desire and agony.
Continue on for more high tea, period dramas.