Robert Altman

Started by classical gas, November 17, 2003, 05:31:25 AM

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soixante

It would be nice if 20th Century Fox put A Wedding, Quintet, A Perfect Couple and Health on DVD.  A Wedding and Quintet used to be on video, but are out of print.  They showed A Wedding on the Fox Movie Channel a few months back.

It would be cool if MGM put out Brewster McCloud, Thieves Like Us and O.C. and Stiggs on DVD.
Music is your best entertainment value.

soixante

Saturday, February 20th is Robert Altman's 80th birthday.  I hope his best work is still ahead of him...
Music is your best entertainment value.

kotte


modage

Quote from: themodernage02happy birthday rob.  heres to 80 more years being a drunken arsehole, and making movies that nobody wants to see!  :wink:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

soixante

Today is Robert Altman's 80th birthday.  Whether you like his work or not, everyone has to admit that Altman goes his own way, screw the consequences.  When Scorsese and Coppola were making lightweight movies in the 80's with Tom Cruise, Altman was tackling David Rabe and Sam Shepard plays and putting them on film.  There is something heroic about making a film version of Streamers at the height of Top Gun era, going completely against the grain of the culture.

And then he did Tanner 88, working on HBO before other feature filmmakers headed down that route.  

Altman is the only "Easy Riders Raging Bull" director who didn't become either a whore or a washout in the 80's.  He simply loves to direct, and will tolerate no interference from the suits and marketing jerks.  If that means making a film for 100K, so be it.  

This guy fought in WWII, his first feature credit was as a screenwriter in the late 40's.  He was part of the "golden age" of TV in the 50's and 60's, a big part of the countercultural film movement of the 70's, a pioneer in the indie film movement of the 80's and 90's.  He continues to make high quality work today.  He has seen and done it all.  In the words of the late Arthur Miller, "Attention must be paid."

For my money, Altman is the greatest American director of all time.
Music is your best entertainment value.

ono

A-men.  80 and he's still going strong, and from the looks of the features on The Company DVD (check it out if you haven't, it's a quite beautiful, unique film), he's not slowing down any time soon.  Can't wait for Paint (Ultraviolet :().  There are very few directors I respect and admire as much as him.

Ghostboy

To celebrate his birthday yesterday, I watched Three Women, which I hadn't seen before. It's brilliant. I think Shaftr said that it would make a great triple feature with Persona and Mulholland Drive, and that's exactly what I was thinking when I watched it. It's also seriously frightening - those last fifteen minutes in particular.

After McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Nashville, I think it might be my favorite film of his. I've got The Long Goodbye and Secret Honor lined up on my Netflix Queue at the moment...

soixante

Kansas City is out on DVD on Tuesday, February 22.  This is one of Altman's underrated films, a bleak slice of Depression-era crime drama in the vein of Thieves Like Us.  The jazz performances are as good as Bird.
Music is your best entertainment value.

Ghostboy

I'd also like to mention that Altman's commentaries are the best EVER.

He's incredibly informative, and then you also get lines like "Sissy Spacek was just the greatest thing since...since hash."

soixante

Quote from: GhostboyI'd also like to mention that Altman's commentaries are the best EVER.

He's incredibly informative, and then you also get lines like "Sissy Spacek was just the greatest thing since...since hash."

Altman is perhaps the only major filmmaker who does commentaries for most of his films, which is impressive considering he's done more than 30 films.

Watched the Kansas City DVD last night, after purchasing it at Tower for a mere $10.  It looks gorgeous.  There's one really cool shot that features 10 characters composed in 5 groups of 2 -- Altman has such a great eye for composition and blocking.

Also finished watching Tanner on Tanner -- it is worth seeing if you've watched the original Tanner 88.

I think Altman is the only major flmmaker who admits to (still) smoking reefer.
Music is your best entertainment value.

SiliasRuby

I just finished The Long Goodbye. Great film. Classic Altman. Next is Kansas City.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection

Ghostboy

Just watched Secret Honor. Very impressive, and I think it's pretty clear exactly how it influenced PTA, not just in casting PBH, but in how he writes dialogue. All the stuttering, the unfinished sentences and such.

The commentary is (as usual with Altman films) terrific. Among other interesting factoids: the film was crewed almost entirely by students at the University Of Michigan, where the film was shot; and there was no script, really, or at least any that Altman ever looked at - he based the film entirely on Hall's performance, which was shot in sequence, improvising the camera moves along the way. The moitor motif was also something they came up with the first morning of the shoot.

SiliasRuby

Secret Honor is a wonderful film with a balls to the wall proformance by PBH. I waven't watched the commentary on the DVD yet, but I soon will.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection

Ghostboy

We're dissing Lohan in one thread and then Altman goes and casts her:

Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan and Woody Harrelson are set to star in Robert Altman's next movie, a spin-off from Garrison Keillor's legendary U.S. radio variety show "A Prairie Home Companion." Keillor has written the script and will appear as himself in the movie, which will shoot this summer in Minneapolis. John C. Reilly, Lily Tomlin and Maya Rudolph are also confirmed to star, with Kevin Kline in talks to join the cast reports Variety.

The film is based on the fictionalized premise that Keillor's multi-award-winning show, which is carried on 500 radio stations across the States, is being shut down after 30 years. As the ensemble of performers, musicians and back-stage crew prepare for the final live broadcast, long-simmering passions boil to the surface while an imperious stage manager struggles to hold everyone together. Streep and Tomlin play sisters, while Lohan is a sexy ingenue. A menacing stranger, who might just be the angel of death, stalks in the wings, but the show must go on.

"A Prairie Home Companion" has been on air since 1974. Keillor tells homespun tales of the fictional Midwestern town Lake Wobegon, which are interspersed with musical interludes.


John C., Tomlin and the invaluable Maya Rudolph are great additions, but whither Tom and Lyle? I hope they're still in it.

pete

wow, john c. reily and lily tomlin...they sho are typecasted as ensemble actors.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton