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I was just on CNN looking at what chaos was going on in the world and their Breaking News banner just stated that Robert Altman has passed away. I unfortunately don't have an article link or anything just yet...

Alas, yes.



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News about Altman's death is here.

R.I.P.

tryavna wrote:Alas, yes.



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Oh man, that really, really sucks. I kinda wondered if Prairie Home Companion was going to be his last movie... he did not look healthy but he seemed like such a tough, old guy, though.

At least he left behind an impressive legacy of work.

FUCK, that was so sudden!!!!! RIP.

He was just at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York with Garrison Keillor three weeks ago too. No matter the age of someone when they die, if they are still working continually then it always comes as a bigger shock to me.

Well that's a pretty awful triple blow. I rewatched Hairspray and 3 Women only a couple of weeks ago too.

Just had CNN on and it's the top story. Anyone know if he was working on anything at the moment? Thanks Bob for some of the greatest films of all time.

God, how depressing. The man was a giant. For me, you can take nearly any scene from McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Nashville, 3 Women, The Player, or Shortcuts and have them stand as pure emblems of American cinema. Few managed to blend European cerebralism and American pragmatism as skillfully and as effortlessly as Altman. I find the world to be a little quieter today....

Very sad to hear it.....RIP mr. Altman

As uneven as his work was at times, I deeply admire his work ethic. I can only hope that I'm as productive and creative in my old age. You have to hand it to him. Rest in peace, sir, you were one of the greatest.

THX1378 wrote:Just had CNN on and it's the top story. Anyone know if he was working on anything at the moment? Thanks Bob for some of the greatest films of all time.

There was talk at one point of a film with James Franco and the cutthroat world of the SoHo art scene.

Even his flops were fascinating. It takes a real artist to produce something as bizarre as Quintet or O.C. & Stiggs

Altman was my favorite living filmmaker alongside Godard and Antonioni. If I were to make a top ten list, NASHVILLE would be in it. But I also love most of his other films.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Oh man, that really, really sucks. I kinda wondered if Prairie Home Companion was going to be his last movie... he did not look healthy but he seemed like such a tough, old guy, though.

At the risk of seeming morbid, and despite my reservations about the film itself, it would definitely be a fitting end to Altman's oeuvre. It was an "old man's movie" in the sense that it was a meditation on mortality - a film about learning how to die.

From the Washington Post:

"Mr. Altman loved making movies. He loved the chaos of shooting and the sociability of the crew and actors _ he adored actors _ and he loved the editing room and he especially loved sitting in a screening room and watching the thing over and over with other people," Keillor said in a statement to The Associated Press. "He didn't care for the money end of things, he didn't mind doing publicity, but when he was working he was in heaven."

I've only seen some of his work he did after The Player which is one of my favorites, but for awhile I've been interested in his work prior to that film. I'm really glad that I finally saw one of his films in the theater before he died, when I saw Prairie Home Companion. And it's so obviously fitting that that be his final work, dealing with the issue of life and death the way it does.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:I've only seen some of his work he did after The Player which is one of my favorites, but for awhile I've been interested in his work prior to that film. I'm really glad that I finally saw one of his films in the theater before he died, when I saw Prairie Home Companion. And it's so obviously fitting that that be his final work, dealing with the issue of life and death the way it does.

THE PLAYER is another wonderful film, as is SHORT CUTS. Somehow I get the strange impression that Altman "felt it" when he made A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. It's as much an artist's visionary testament as GERTRUD or LOVE STREAMS and for me the finest film of 2006.

Robert Altman has died. Please see our tribute thread here.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:I've only seen some of his work he did after The Player which is one of my favorites, but for awhile I've been interested in his work prior to that film.

The Player was my intro to the world of Robert Altman and after that one I quickly devoured most of the '70s output which still remains my fave period of his work -- MASH, The Long Goodbye, and California Split remain the holy trilogy of Altman-Gould team-ups that I will always cherish.

Of course, that is not to say I don't dig many of his other films of his, just not as intensely. I'm just glad that he was truly appreciated in his time.

Sad news indeed

I know what I'm going to do tonight - watch my favorite Altman film 3 Women with tuna casserole (complete with dehydrated onions) for dinner. And maybe some cheese whiz afterward.

This was highly upsetting as he was one of the great directors. The first film I ever saw of his was MASH and I absolutely fell in love. As has been said, even his flops have moments of brilliance that showed him to be a true artist. In my opinion, I would rather see a director try something new and fail than see them make the same thing over and over, and Altman seemed to always be trying something new. And one last note: Prairie Home Companion was a very beautiful way of saying goodbye.

Cheers