Robert Altman

[hearthesilence]

The first Altman films I saw were "The Player" and "Short Cuts," then later on I rented "MASH" and "Nashville." Those four still remain my favorites, as well as "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," his top 5, IMO.

Plenty of other good films, too, including "Gosford Park," but those are my top 5.

[BrightEyes23]

Thanks all, you probably saved me $60 or so. I'm gonna netflix a few of these titles suggested instead of just throwing in 2 of them in my digitaleyes shopping cart (double points week and all, im going on a splurge .

[javelin]

And this is probably a "duh" type of thing, but if you haven't seen Renoir's Rules of the Game, check it out. The ensemble style in that film is prototypical for Altman - especially his work in Gosford Park.

[iangj]

Also worth seeing, perhaps as good or better than Altman's best films, are some of those by his protege Alan Rudolph, who went even farther perhaps in establishing a distinctly American art cinema: REMEMBER MY NAME, CHOOSE ME, TROUBLE IN MIND....

Absolutely. Rudolph's early films in the Altman mode - WELCOME TO L.A. and especially REMEMBER MY NAME (which I've only ever managed to see once, back in the seventies - when will we get a DVD of that?) - are well worth chasing up. I'm less keen on the playing with artifice and genre that you get with CHOOSE ME and TROUBLE IN MIND. They're still interesting, though.

I've been an Altman fan since way back, but I draw the line at MASH - tiresome, juvenile misogyny; and that endless football game is unbearable for a non-American. My own faves: MCCABE AND MRS MILLER, THE LONG GOODBYE, NASHVILLE, THREE WOMEN, SHORT CUTS.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Also worth seeing, perhaps as good or better than Altman's best films, are some of those by his protege Alan Rudolph, who went even farther perhaps in establishing a distinctly American art cinema: REMEMBER MY NAME, CHOOSE ME, TROUBLE IN MIND....

I'd also add a later Rudolph film, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, which was produced by Altman, and features a decent cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Campbell Scott, Gwyneth Paltrow, James LeGros, Peter Gallagher, Martha Plimpton, Lili Taylor... basically, a who's who of indie cinema in the '90s. The attention to period detail and dialogue is fantastic. Very Altman-esque in some respects. Of course, this film has yet to surface on DVD (hello, Criterion?) so you'd have to track it down on VHS.

[Hrossa]

Watch any Altman you can. But save the long and/or weird ones till you become a fan. (Once you reach that level, than Nashville is better than Short Cuts. And 3 Women is leagues greater than Images.)

If you reach that point, there's an even further point of obsession in which you will find yourself considering Dr. T & the Women as one of Altman's better late efforts, defending Pret-a-Porter and The Gingerbread Man, moaning about how you can't find a decent VHS copy of H.E.A.L.T.H., touting Quintet, and exclaiming "You haven't seen California Split? It's, like, the best movie of the 70's!"

[Floyd]

I can't say I adore Robert Altman like some people although I find McCabe & Mrs. Miller to be a great film. Nashville is my 2nd favorite, and Secret Honor 3rd.

I didn't really care much for The Player, Gosford Park, Images, The Long Goodbye, Dr. T, or Short Cuts. That's just me though.

[two mules]

If you reach that point, there's an even further point of obsession in which you will find yourself ... exclaiming "You haven't seen California Split? It's, like, the best movie of the 70's!"

Er, California Split is a really great little film, much better than all those others you mentioned. Have you seen it?

[Hrossa]

California Split? It's, like, the best movie of the 70's!"

Er, California Split is a really great little film, much better than all those others you mentioned. Have you seen it?

Er, no I haven't. You caught me red-handed there. I actually just bought it on Ebay a couple of days ago. I was having trouble finding it on DVD for under $20, which is generally more than I'd like to pay for a DVD. But, I have seen:

M*A*S*H*, The Long Goodbye, Thieves Like Us, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Images, Nashville, 3 Women, Quintet, Popeye, The Player, Short Cuts, Pret-a-Porter, The Gingerbread Man, Cookie's Fortune, Dr. T and the Women, Gosford Park, and The Company.

Out of all of those, I think my favorites have to be Nashville, The Long Goodbye, and The Player, but I'm very fond of all of them, except for Cookie's Fortune, which I think is the worst Altman I've seen and definitely an ugly bastard child. It isn't even in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

No one's really said anything about The Company. While it isn't very quirky for Altman, it's up there for me with his best post-70's stuff. I'm sure there are others who would disagree...

[Elephant]

No one's really said anything about The Company. While it isn't very quirky for Altman, it's up there for me with his best post-70's stuff. I'm sure there are others who would disagree...

Thumbs up on California Split. But I do think The Company is one of the worst Altmans I've seen (along with The Gingerbread Man). The ballet is horrendous, and it's never clear if it's terrible on purpose, which I think is a serious misstep. Particularly since ballet is about the beauty and movements of the body and they're doing this retarded Blue Snake in these absurd costumes. At times it seems like Altman's poking fun at terrible costumed ballet but other times it seems he's quite serious. Also the fact that Neve Campbell's character is supposed to be a struggling dancer, and this is shown by seeing the train go by in the distance of her enormous, expensively-furnished apartment (meaning she can only afford an apartment which the train runs near). Fantastic performance by Malcolm McDowell, and the trademark Altman stuff is wonderful, but the silliness of the ballet (which I'm told the real-life ballet company represented in the film would never do) is just a bit too much. Whenever those scenes come on it's like commercials: get up and get a snack, check email, etc.

[skuhn8]

Watch any Altman you can. But save the long and/or weird ones till you become a fan. (Once you reach that level, than Nashville is better than Short Cuts. And 3 Women is leagues greater than Images.)

If you reach that point, there's an even further point of obsession in which you will find yourself considering Dr. T & the Women as one of Altman's better late efforts, defending Pret-a-Porter and The Gingerbread Man, moaning about how you can't find a decent VHS copy of H.E.A.L.T.H., touting Quintet, and exclaiming "You haven't seen California Split? It's, like, the best movie of the 70's!"

Of the dozen Altman films I've seen I would easily rate Dr. T the absolute worst. Cookie's Fortune, as precious and condenscending as it is, is miles ahead of Dr. T. IMO. But then, I think Gosford Park is one of his best, definitely not a popular opinion.

[jorencain]

That Blue Snake ballet is only part of the film. It's a look at an entire season, and Blue Snake was used as the finale. I think all of the other ballet scenes are really wonderfully done, and look great. As far as the Blue Snake goes, it seemed like the point was that this guy comes in, he's all weird, and it seems like his ballet is going to be horrendous. In the end, it all works out, and goes over well. I, personally, didn't care for it either, but this had to be partly due to the music, which was written for the film to replace the real music for the ballet. Speaking of which, it is an actual children's ballet that has been performed, but not by Joffrey. Anyway, I don't think any of the performances were meant to be intentionally bad

Anyway, they are ALL struggling dancers. Neve Campbell, at least, has her own apartment, as opposed to the 10 or so people crammed into another girl's apartment in the film.

I am not into ballet in the least, but I really love this film. It's so close to being a documentary (but better, in my opinion). I think "The Company" is a great Altman film; it's a fantastic "fly on the wall" look at this ballet company. I also love all of the little plot threads that are mostly only alluded to, all of which suggest that each character could be the lead in their own stories, rather than the focus being on Neve Campbell.

[Hrossa]

That Blue Snake ballet

I know that this piece gets a bad rap all around from almost every critical take on the film that I've read, but I'm actually not at all negative in my view of the ballet, and more importantly, the scene that goes on underneath it. I think I read somewhere that it was a ballet that Neve Campbell had wanted to do ever since she was a little girl, so they did it. The fact that there's this weird hippy directing it adds another great layer to it. It's as if, in the end, the dance is being held up as something that could be attractive or strange or repulsive, depending on how you choose to look at it. Obviously, there's some objectivity involved with film viewing.

It's so close to being a documentary (but better, in my opinion).

I think that realism is something that I find incredibly easy to appreciate. It seems better than a documentary because it has well-framed personalities. It's artistically shot and lighted, and it distills the essence of being in a ballet company for you. Its scope is much more broad than most documentaries could afford to be.

I love the scene with the two black men in skirts who are going through some choreography, and the director says something about gathering the skirt up like its your infant child, and one of the dancers just can't get past the fact that a man can't give birth to a child, while the other one gets it.

DR. T & THE WOMEN

Is all of the hate directed toward this movie based mostly on its percieved mysogyny? To really appreciate it, go out and watch another terribly mysogynistic film - The Women (1939). Then come back and watch the waiting room scenes with the Dallas society women in all of their plumage and see if its possible to just let yourself go and enjoy it. There are so many ways in which Dr. T is yearning to be another Short Cuts or Nashville. Dr. T's alchoholic sister with the three identically clad daughters is screaming for more screen time, as is her housekeeper and several of the women at the clinic, as well as Andy Richter, playing one of Dr. T's golfing buddies.

Maybe people just don't like Tara Reid. Is that it? (although, she probably plays the best-drawn character in the whole thing.)

[Fletch F. Fletch]

[But I do think The Company is one of the worst Altmans I've seen (along with The Gingerbread Man).

I'd like to chime in to defend The Gingerbread Man, which I think is an underrated Altman thriller. He basically threw out the Grisham material and did his own thing.

I love the atmosphere he sets up from the beginning with the impending storm that climaxes when Robert Duvall escapes from jail. Altman continues the overcast weather vibe so that hangs over the entire movie for a prevailing gloomy mood.

I usually can't stand Kenneth Branagh but he didn't bother me in this one. He was passable. And you've got Robert Downey, Jr. improvising all over the place -- he's really the best thing in the movie and steals every scene he's in. I love watching the movie just for his performance alone. You've got Duvall as the crazy hobo father. His bit part in the court room scene is priceless. Finally, there is the muted performance of Daryl Hannah, which was a surprisingly good.

All in all, I thought it was quite entertaining, which, I believe, was Altman's goal. Nothing more, nothing less.

[skuhn8]

That Blue Snake ballet

DR. T & THE WOMEN

Is all of the hate directed toward this movie based mostly on its percieved mysogyny? To really appreciate it, go out and watch another terribly mysogynistic film - The Women (1939). Then come back and watch the waiting room scenes with the Dallas society women in all of their plumage and see if its possible to just let yourself go and enjoy it. There are so many ways in which Dr. T is yearning to be another Short Cuts or Nashville. Dr. T's alchoholic sister with the three identically clad daughters is screaming for more screen time, as is her housekeeper and several of the women at the clinic, as well as Andy Richter, playing one of Dr. T's golfing buddies.

Maybe people just don't like Tara Reid. Is that it? (although, she probably plays the best-drawn character in the whole thing.)

No problem with Tara Reid (as long as I don't have to sit through an interview with her) or the mysogyny. Actually I don't think this film is in any way mysogynist. I just found it incredibly smug and lazy. Helen Hunt did a good turn in this, though. But, could be I just have a hard time watching Richard Gere in anything. I just can't take him serious playing a human being, any kind of human being.

[neuro]

I quite like The Company and I think Altman does a great job with the material, considering that, in general, it's more of Neve Campbell's pet project than his own. He has a strangely feminine and painterly approach to ballet; specifically, I think the way that Altman celebrates and captures movement is striking. The film, at times, seems like it could have been made by Jane Campion.

I think all of the other ballet scenes are really wonderfully done, and look great

I agree, and I'm of the impression that the final ballet is purposely ambiguous as to whether Altman is satirizing it or celebrating it; he seems intrigued by its over-the-top nature and the dancers' commitment to the choreographer's vision, while at the same time, laughing at its absurd pretentiousness. If this is the case, it seems like the film can be read as an allegory for Altman's own democratic approach to filmmaking - the film's point of view seems to change from character to character, pausing to identify with several aspects of the ballet's production, from Antonelli (read "the asshole producer"), the choreographer ("the pretentious auteur") or the dancers themselves ("the dedicated actors," which, by the way, Altman seems to identify with the most).

Two scenes in particular strike me as being masterful in the film; the first being the ballet staged outdoors as the storm begins to move in. The atmosphere that Altman manages to create, the absolute sense of environment, is proof of Altman's wisdom as a filmmaker. If the final ballet is a bit awkward, the outdoor ballet is reason enough to see the film.

The second moment strikes me as being vaguely Powell & Pressburger-esque, that being the moment in which the dancer injures her ankle. Without much buildup or surplus emotion, Altman is able to simply demonstrate that within a second's time, and with something as simple as a rehearsal, that particular woman's dancing career, and aspirations, are over. What seems like a simple hobby, Altman seems to say, actually requires a huge amount of dedication and a certain exposure to harm.

All in all, I think its an underrated and overlooked work. The cinematography is excellent, as well as the choreography; the way in which it blends documentary footage of the dancing with its fictional elements is especially intriguing. The cast is almost uniformly outstanding, especially, as usual, McDowell and my personal favorite, James Franco.

[two mules]

California Split? It's, like, the best movie of the 70's!"

Er, California Split is a really great little film, much better than all those others you mentioned. Have you seen it?

Er, no I haven't. ... I have seen:

M*A*S*H*, The Long Goodbye, Thieves Like Us, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Images, Nashville, 3 Women, Quintet, Popeye, The Player, Short Cuts, Pret-a-Porter, The Gingerbread Man, Cookie's Fortune, Dr. T and the Women, Gosford Park, and The Company.

Out of all of those, I think my favorites have to be Nashville, The Long Goodbye, and The Player.

Then you will probably like California Split quite a lot. Very loose, off-the-cuff, but still Altman when he was at the peak of his powers.

[Hrossa]

But, could be I just have a hard time watching Richard Gere in anything. I just can't take him serious playing a human being, any kind of human being.

Yeah, I agree with you there. He kind of ruins Days of Heaven for me, too, but I think he fits as a sort of blank slate, which is what Dr. T is supposed to be, the kind of man you can't really imagine having a serious affair, or doing anything for that matter. He works well as a straight man to the flamboyant cast surrounding him. He's not required to do anything besides exist.

I love The Gingerbread Man for its wonderful misdirection. Robert DuVall is well-cast for a role that sort of fades away at the end. If he was a central figure in the film in the end, his performance might seem a bit overwrought (not to mention cliched).

Surely someone has written a graduate thesis connecting the storm motifs in Dr. T and the Women and The Gingerbread Man.

[Polybius]

I'm of the impression that the final ballet is purposely ambiguous as to whether Altman is satirizing it or celebrating it; he seems intrigued by its over-the-top nature and the dancers' commitment to the choreographer's vision, while at the same time, laughing at its absurd pretentiousness.

He walks that same line, with steps off to either side along the way, in pretty much every film he makes.

[Jeff]

Is anyone familiar with the Altman-produced 1997 TV series Gun? I don't recall ever seeing it, but according to DavisDVD, a complete series set (six episodes) is coming from Goldhil Media on June 14. The reviews I've found of the show thus far have ranged from wretched to brilliant. I suppose that is to be expected for an anthology show. The Altman-directed episode seems to be among the least popular, with Nathin Rabin filing it under Altman's "interesting failure" category. James Foley and Ted Demme directed episodes as well. Does anyone here have a take on the series? Is it worth my time/money?

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Oh happy day, Vincent and Theo is finally getting a Region 1 DVD release from MGM on August 23rd:

Vincent & Theo
In life, he was impoverished, his work largely ignored; yet today, paintings by Vincent Van Gogh fetch millions of dollars at auction. This supreme irony is laid bare in the passionate story of an obsessive artist driven by inexorable demons and his alternately devoted and despairing younger brother who seems unable to live with him… or without him.
Running Time: 140 minutes
Screen Format: 16X9 Widescreen

[Lino]

Hey, Fletch - where are you getting these MGM August news from? I can't seem to find them anywhere. Do they also mention any Midnite Movies?

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Hey, Fletch - where are you getting these MGM August news from? I can't seem to find them anywhere. Do they also mention any Midnite Movies?

I got it from a MGM email press release. Sorry, it didn't mention anything about the Midnight Movies line.

[Lino]

Any other title worth mentioning?

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Any other title worth mentioning?

Welp, there's:

The Pink Panther Promotion – Classic Cartoon Collection
The coolest cat on the planet pounces onto DVD in MGM Home Entertainment’s The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection.

Available July 26th, the swingin’ five-disc set features 124 cartoons with over 13 hours off feline fun, including oscar winner The Pink Phink, plus featurettes on the pink phenomenon and its creators, animated main title sequences from the live-action feature films and more!

Live-action panther films also slinking onto single disc DVDs include:

The Pink Panther
A Shot In The Dark
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Revenge Of The Pink Panther
Trail Of The Pink Panther
Curse Of The Pink Panther
Son Of The Pink Panther


DVD gift set includes a free movie ticket to the theatrical release of The Pink Panther, starring Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles and more

The Pink Panther is – paws down – the world’s grooviest cartoon star. And for the first time, 124 cartoons arrive as a five-disc DVD set in The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection, debuting July 26th from MGM Home Entertainment. In 1964, the pink-inked feline slinked onto the opening credits of director Blake Edwards’ caper film by the same name, threatening to steal the entire show. Sleek, sophisticated and witty, the animation, created by Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie, was a stylish departure from its contemporaries and an instant hit. The Academy Award®-winning* cartoon, The Pink Phink spawned a celebrated series of animated shorts featuring the sly cat. The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection features four discs with 124 cartoons produced by Freleng and DePatie between 1964 and 1980, and a cat’s meow of all-new bonus materials featuring the original animator, Art Leonardi, on the bonus disc.

Witness the courageous portrayal of one family’s fight against apartheid in A World Apart, debuting on DVD from MGM Home Entertainment on August 23rd. Based on a true story, this “haunting, deeply moving film” (Los Angeles Times) earned the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Starring Barbara Hershey, this potent account of political turmoil brims with “emotion and radiant intelligence” (The New Yorker).

Other passionate films premiering on DVD include Four Friends, a poignant coming-of age story set in the ‘60s; I Love You, Don’t Touch Me, a romantic comedy from writer/director Julie Davis (All Over The Guy); Inserts, a provocative collision of sex and cinema starring Academy Award® winner* Richard Dreyfuss; The Killing Of Sister George, a steamy, racy romp from director Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen); Kissed, a “gripping” (Vogue) and haunting tale of love and obsession; Vincent & Theo, a masterpiece directed by Academy Award®-nominated* director Robert Altman about famed artist Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo; and Without You I’m Nothing, featuring a bold and outrageous performance by Sandra Bernhard (The King Of Comedy).

No word on extras (if any) on these discs yet.