Xixax Film Forum

Film Discussion => Digital Streams & Criterion Dreams => Topic started by: altmanish on October 08, 2003, 04:24:00 PM

Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: altmanish on October 08, 2003, 04:24:00 PM
I'm sick and tired that Altman shit isn't released.... where's Short Cuts..... this is a load of crap.  Shame on the corp. crap.  Add on Brewster, Quintet, Wedding, Health, Theives etc...
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Ernie on October 08, 2003, 04:45:44 PM
Yea, I've bitched about Short Cuts not being out on DVD yet at least a couple times on this board...there should at least be a petition or something. I'd like to see 3 Women too...and Thieves Like Us. I'm not going to blind buy a used VHS to see them though, they need DVD's. I know what you mean too, about his recent stuff sucking. Dr T and Gosford Park sucked really bad...couldn't believe he made them.

Have you ever seen O.C. and Stiggs by the way? That's one weird Altman movie. There's some great parts but it's just bizarre and messy overall. It's on Flix every once in awhile.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Weak2ndAct on October 08, 2003, 04:52:52 PM
Rumor has it that 3 Women is going to be released by Criterion one of these days (part of their fox deal).
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: cine on October 08, 2003, 05:20:15 PM
Thankfully Images will be released soon :-D
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Alethia on October 08, 2003, 05:31:19 PM
Quote from: ebeamanDr T and Gosford Park sucked really bad...couldn't believe he made them.

oh no you did not....
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Holden Pike on October 08, 2003, 11:28:16 PM
Images was already released on R1 DVD, last month.

The Criterion LD of Short Cuts is a great set, I just rewatched it recently for the umpteenth time. The impossible to find California Split and 3 Women are the two I'm most anxious to see (I have cruddy, washed-out old dubs from cable TV for both), especially to finally have them letterboxed. Oh, what a dream that would be! Selfishly I'm in no real rush for Brewster McCloud, Secret Honor, "Tanner '88" or Thieves Like Us since the LDs are swell (especially the Thieves disc, which has a nice audio commentary track).

But while definitely too slow in coming, I have been fairly impressed with what Altman HAS finally been making it to DVD the last couple years. The McCabe, Buffalo Bill, Images and Long Goodbye discs are terrific. I was most excited about Images of that crop, because it's the first widescreen transfer I'm aware of for home video, and it's looks amazing. I love that movie more every time I watch it.


*and while Dr. T is surely one of Altman's worst (which is saying a lot, since when he misses he most usually does so in spectacular fashion), anyone who thinks Gosford Park is a dud should have their movie-watching priveleges taken away. For at least a month. No popcorn or sweets either. :-D
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Pedro on October 09, 2003, 12:33:17 AM
I was pretty bored with Gosford Park...I'm gonna try it again...
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: soixante on October 09, 2003, 02:02:58 AM
I must be the only person who enjoyed Dr. T and the Women.  Gere gave a wonderful performance, probably the best of his career.  Kate Hudson was great, too.  For the past 10 or so years, only Gingerbread Man and Ready to Wear were duds.  Kansas City is another under-rated film.  

Brewster McCloud is another underrated Altman film.  It's MGM, so they should put it out on DVD, as they are putting out zillions of films on DVD.

It would be wonderful to have California Split on DVD, but that one never even made it to video.

Even some of Altman's "lesser" films, such as A Wedding, A Perfect Couple, and Fool for Love, deserve to be on DVD.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: bonanzataz on October 09, 2003, 06:26:12 PM
it always takes me a while to get into an altman movie. when i first saw nahsville, i didn't like it. the next day i just really wanted to watch it again, and when i did, i loved it. just watched mccabe and mrs. miller, and thought it was alright, but i really want to watch it again. watching the trailer for it after seeing the movie just does that for me. i loved short cuts when i first saw it, but i guess i was hot off of nashville and knew what i was getting into. gosford park i never really liked, but a free copy of it landed into my hands (i have no idea how, it was just in my house one day and nobody knew where it came from. weird, huh?) and i'm going to watch it soon. i didn't think pret a porter was THAT bad. it's good to watch for an hour when it's on tv, b/c altman movies, you can watch from any point in the movie and know exactly what's going on. that's what's so great about him.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: soixante on October 10, 2003, 11:38:56 AM
Altman's movies get better with repeated viewings.  They are usually so rich in detail that one viewing doesn't suffice.  I enjoyed Gosford Park the first time, but there were so many characters and plot threads that I needed a second viewing to sort them all out.

I liked Ready to Wear the first time, but on second viewing it seemed rather empty.  But I haven't seen it since it came out, so maybe it's time to see it again.  Gingerbread Man seemed intriguing on first viewing, but the second time around it seemed like a typical Grisham potboiler that even Altman's couldn't make interesting.

I have always seen his films at least twice, even if I don't like them on first viewing.  Which brings up the much-maligned Dr. T and the Women.  I think there was a sense of magic realism to this film that was disconcerting to most viewers (including me).  However, I think this film is worth a second look.  Keep in mind, when McCabe first came out, few critics (except for Pauline Kael) liked it.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: SoNowThen on October 10, 2003, 11:46:44 AM
I either love Altman films instantly, or hate them, with the exception of MASH, which I'm lukewarm about.

Short Cuts, Player, Nashville, Long Goodbye = fucking love

Gosford Park, McCabe = no like

and I own McCabe, and watch it every now and again hoping I will like it, but I just can't...
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Pwaybloe on October 10, 2003, 02:55:08 PM
Quote from: SoNowThenand I own McCabe, and watch it every now and again hoping I will like it, but I just can't...

You wanna sell it?
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: SoNowThen on October 10, 2003, 03:06:28 PM
naw, one day it's gonna break through


plus I wanna own every Vilmos Zsigmond DP'd movie (minus 'Bergs, of course)
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: MacGuffin on October 10, 2003, 03:21:59 PM
Quote from: SoNowThenplus I wanna own every Vilmos Zsigmond DP'd movie (minus 'Bergs, of course)

Theaters used to play a commercial for the Los Angeles Times Calendar section before the movies that started with a father videotaping his little girl's birthday party. Crew members would show up and take over the party as if it were a movie (pyro tech guys for the candles on the cake, a craft service table, etc.). There was a knock at the door and the father opens it and guess who's standing there. Father says, "Who are you?" to which the mother replies, "That's Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond. He's here to shoot the party."

But, c'mon, you have to own "Close Encounters..." That's one of his best and the film he got the Oscar for.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: SoNowThen on October 10, 2003, 03:26:06 PM
That commercial sounds great!! I have this dream film project planned, that I hope to do as my second feature, and he would be the perfect one to shoot it. Especially watching his work in Deer Hunter and Long Goodbye...

Yeah, that's on my list to see, believe it or not. CE3K is the one 'Berg movie where the synopsis sounds really interesting to me. I will one day see this. Plus, Dreyfus is always good...
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: ono on October 10, 2003, 10:24:37 PM
There definitely isn't an Altman movie I love, but I do appreciate what he's done for movies.  After all, if it weren't for him, there may not have been a Magnolia.  Or, there might still have been, but PTA would've been given even more credit for the style of film he's made.

Nashville was horrid, Gosford Park was just boring, but The Player was really witty.  Short Cuts was an interesting exercise, a film I've wanted to have on DVD for the longest time as well, with all the extras that could come with it:  Altman commentary, Luck, Trust, and Ketchup documentary, etc.

Oh yes, and I can't wait for The Company and Ultraviolet.  But that goes without saying.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Alexandro on October 11, 2003, 12:21:13 PM
Quote from: soixanteI must be the only person who enjoyed Dr. T and the Women.  .


i loved that movie....laughed a lot with it
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Ernie on October 12, 2003, 12:11:57 PM
Quote from: OnomatopoeiaThere definitely isn't an Altman movie I love, but I do appreciate what he's done for movies.  After all, if it weren't for him, there may not have been a Magnolia.  Or, there might still have been, but PTA would've been given even more credit for the style of film he's made.

Nashville was horrid, Gosford Park was just boring, but The Player was really witty.  Short Cuts was an interesting exercise, a film I've wanted to have on DVD for the longest time as well, with all the extras that could come with it:  Altman commentary, Luck, Trust, and Ketchup documentary, etc.

I think I can see why "The Critic" is your favorite show. Don't take offense to that...it's just you just don't ever really seem to love a movie. Lately I was thinking you'd probably make a good critic. Have you ever thought about doing that? Seriously, you have that lack of passion that a lot of them have, your hard to please...and it seems that you'll see any film, no matter how bad it might be. Even if you hate the director or actor, you seem to give everything the same chance, disregarding hype and all that. I respect that although I'm very different. That's good.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: ono on October 12, 2003, 01:09:25 PM
"Lack of passion."  Hehe, that's one phrase I never thought I'd hear myself described with.  If you knew me and real life and you got me to talk about movies, you'd never hear me shut up about it.  And don't even get me started on anything by P.T.A. or any other film that's emotionally compelling in any way (Amelie, Contact, Waking Life, American Beauty, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, Punch-Drunk Love, Annie Hall, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, Donnie Darko, or more recently Lost in Translation ... I could go on, but yeah, this ain't real life, so I'll shut up).  But yeah, that kind of passion is hard to convey when you're specifically making an effort to be judicious in your comments and such.

And as for your comment about me never really seeming to love a movie, check out my posts on Lost in Translation (http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=75859#75859) (a little sparse because I really didn't know what to say) and 25th Hour (http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?t=1707&start=15) (8th post down).
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: Ernie on October 12, 2003, 07:20:42 PM
Well, I guess I misread you then...it must just have been the movies I looked at, they must have been ones you either didn't like or only liked (didn't love). I was thinking mainly about what you thought of Kill Bill really.
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: ono on December 07, 2003, 12:43:26 AM
I posted this in another thread with no real response.  I'm wondering if people will be able to take more interest in this here, and maybe confirm or deny.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?PID=1286705&frm=sh_google
Title: Need an Altman fix.
Post by: FeloniousFunk on December 07, 2003, 05:09:02 AM
I checked DVD planet, DVD empire, and Amazon....nothing.

The 31st of December is on a Wednesday.

Nothing on DVDJournal's release calendar.

I don't think it's going down.