One of America's great directors has passed away. Just a few films from his remarkable career:
MASH
GOSFORD PARK
SHORT CUTS
THE PLAYER
NASHVILLE
MCCABE & MRS. MILLER
I also really enjoyed his last film, the gently elegaic A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION.
They can't all be gems -- the same man brought us POPEYE and PRET-A-PORTER, after all -- but Altman, presented with an Honorary Academy Award just this past year, long deserved a real Oscar. Maybe even more than one.
At least we have his body of work and legacy. THE PLAYER is pretty much the definitive cinematic depiction of modern Hollywood. Without it, would there be an ENTOURAGE? Without MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, we wouldn't have DEADWOOD; without MASH, we wouldn't have... well, MASH.
And every ensemble, multi-threaded narrative -- especially with characters talking over each other as real people do -- tends to be labeled "Altmanesque." You gotta be pretty special to get turned into an adjective.
1 comment:
I'll take Popeye and you can keep Prairie Home Companion. My family *still* quotes from Popeye ("you owe me an apology" -- has to be said with the correct tone to be effective).
Either way, R.I.P. Altman.
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