Robert Altman dies

[JBZ]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movi....ap/index.html

I'm officially bummed. I didn't always love everything he did, but I respected the fact that he tried to make movies about people and that he did it his way.

RIP.

 

[Connemara]

****. Talk about a downer. One of the greatest, no doubt. RIP buddy.

 

[EL72]

Damn! MASH is one my favorite movies. Loved The Player and Gosford Park too. Short cuts was so-so imo. A great director for sure. He'll be missed.

 

[LabelKing]

That article repeatedly mentions "MASH" but not one mention of "3 Women"?

 

[Britalian]

Loved Short Cuts and The Player, not too keen on the Prarie Home Companion. Great director nevertheless.

 

[gdl203]

My undying love for Julianne Moore was born during my first screening of Short Cuts.

RIP

 

[Thomas]

Loved The Player and Pret-a Porter. Excellent satire.

Rest in Peace, Mr. A

 

[modsquad]

I had the good luck to be discovering cinema at the same time Altman reached his peak in the early 1970s. Of the directors who were redefining American film at that time - Coppola, Scorcese, Terrence Mallick (Badlands), Bob Rafaelson (Five Easy Pieces), Hal Ashby (The Last Detail, Shampoo, Bound for Glory) - Altman was my favorite, with Ashby a close second. The string of movies Altman made from 1970 to 1975: MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, The Long Goodbye, California Split and (for some, although not for me) Nashville, is as superb a body of work as any American director has ever produced.

This set of movies were the most complete expression of the theme that drives many, although not all, of the great movies released during this period: that the central premises and institutions of American society have collapsed but the wisdom that springs out of the American experience lives on at its fringes. The best of America will be preserved by its outsiders. None of the characters in these films has anything resembling a straight job or even any apparent past. No one ever mentions a parent, an ex-wife or a university. Nobody ever reads anything. Yet the characters are charismatic. They are self-created without any apparent guides from conventional social structures like jobs, schools or family.

Altman married these characters to a camera technique characterized by slow pans and dreamy movements and a multilayered soundtrack. The stylistic contrast between the sound and the camera movements underscores the idea that his heroes' secret is their ability to remain relaxed in the hubbub around them and their powers of observation. This Zen calm at their core enabled them to learn the correct lessons and to draw what they needed from the chaos of a society collapsing from too much materialism, too much military and too much regimentation.

The best-executed and most fully realized of these characters is Elliott Gould in California Split. California Split is Altman's best picture and its acting and its screenplay remain unique to this day. Elliott Gould is sort of a bohdisattva of losers. George Segal gets drawn into his orbit and they spin out together looking for stimulation, and something more, in down-at-the-heels gambling venues of all types. (To those under 30: I realize it is hard to believe that either Elliott Gould or George Segal individually could have been in a good movie. The idea that together they did something not just good but great must boggle your comprehension, but it's true.) The Gould character doesn't care if he finds it or not, so he is free. The Segal character is sufficiently tied to conventional measures of success that, despite his best efforts, he does care, so he's doomed to disappointment. He'll always want more.

Except for Nashville, Altman's work from 1970 -1975 is mostly about men. The sexiest characteristics a man could possess, Altman's films proclaimed - were individualism and a jaundiced eye. This meant a great deal to a quirky high school student and has probably been hobbling my seduction technique to this day. That the embodiment of this sexuality was, more often than not, Elliott Gould has only made things worse.

 

[Alter]

Modsquad,

What a beautifully written tribute. Many thanks for sharing that.

 

[Get Smart]

Originally Posted by gdl203

My undying love for Julianne Moore was born during my first screening of Short Cuts.

RIP


definitely worthy of several rewinds

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Loved Pret-a Porter. Excellent satire.

 

[Oldboy]

Overlapping dialogue will never be the same again. RIP to one of the greats.

 

[acidboy]

USA Today posted the always intelligent and revered Lindsay Lohan's public statement on Mr. Altman's passing.

Originally Posted by USA Today

Lindsay Lohan released a statement Tuesday extending her condolences to Robert Altman's family: "I would like to send my condolences out to Catherine Altman, Robert Altmans wife, as well as all of his immediate family, close friends, co-workers, and all of his inner circle. "I feel as if I've just had the wind knocked out of me and my heart aches. "If not only my heart but the heart of Mr. Altman's wife and family and many fellow actors/artists that admire him for his work and love him for making people laugh whenever and however he could.. "Robert altman made dreams possible for many independent aspiring filmmakers, as well as creating roles for countless actors. "I am lucky enough to of been able to work with Robert Altman amongst the other greats on a film that I can genuinely say created a turning point in my career. "I learned so much from Altman and he was the closest thing to my father and grandfather that I really do believe I've had in several years. "The point is, he made a difference. "He left us with a legend that all of us have the ability to do. "So every day when you wake up. "Look in the mirror and thank god for every second you have and cherish all moments. "The fighting, the anger, the drama is tedious. "Please just take each moment day by day and consider yourself lucky to breathe and feel at all and smile. Be thankful. "Life comes once, doesn't 'keep coming back' and we all take such advantage of what we have. "When we shouldn't..... ' "Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourselves' (12st book) -everytime there's a triumph in the world a million souls hafta be trampled on.-altman Its true. But treasure each triumph as they come. "If I can do anything for those who are in a very hard time right now, as I'm one of them with hearing this news, please take advantage of the fact that I'm just a phone call away. God Bless, peace and love always. Thank You, "BE ADEQUITE" Lindsay Lohan
BE ADEQUITE!!!!????!!!!!

 

[LabelKing]

What is she ranting about?

I imagine a trip to Betty Ford is in order.

 

[Ivan Kipling]

Was not a fan.