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Rest In Peace Robert Altman
Hey Folks Harry here - Altman's great films are effortlessly named. However, for me it is his films that I loved that critically fell on their face and that the public at large seemed to turn up their nose to - that really endeared Altman to me.
I saw my first Altman film on my 9th birthday in 1980, the day before it opened at a promotional screening at the Americana theater in Austin. I was dying to see it. It starred that Alien from TV and Jach Nicholson's crazy wife in that scary Stephen King movie. You see - that was how my brain back then thought of it. Altman wasn't on my mind. I ate a triple helping of Spinach before going to see POPEYE. And when it played - I was absolutely entranced. It wasn't based on the Fleischer Cartoons, which is where most film critics and the public when dumbshit on that film. Rather, it was an astonishing embodiment of the Newstrips and Sunday Pages and early early comics of POPEYE. That didn't really matter to me though. It was simply POPEYE. I grew up on musicals, so the music was blissful. And Shelly was perfect as Olive. Robin was a god as POPEYE. The Brutus version of BLUTO threw a lot, but that was his early interpretation - and it was an awesome first Popeye story and I remember hoping to see more. Sadly, that never came to pass. But that was the first time I learned the director's name.
It was years before Altman made a serious impression. At some point in my high school life, whilst exploring my Parent's Video collection that I inherited at their divorce, I discovered MASH, NASHVILLE, BREWSTER McCLOUD, THIEVES LIKE US, COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME JIMMY DEAN JIMMY DEAN and BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS - a wonderfully misunderstood film.
When I entered my first Film Appreciation class in college, my professor Dick Cutler introduced me to THE LONG GOODBYE and put NASHVILLE into context in my mind. Around that same time - Altman released THE PLAYER and SHORT CUTS - I prefered SHORT CUTS - everyone else in my film classes prefered THE PLAYER. Don't get me wrong, I really really like THE PLAYER, but SHORT CUTS blew me away. I started to really get into Altman, but finding videos was difficult.
Then the site got started and the first Altman film we covered from production to release was THE GINGERBREAD MAN - a film that had massive studio interference and crazed test screening problems. I got to see an early cut, which was much better than the final film.
I first met Robert Altman when he brought DR T AND THE WOMEN to Austin. We shared some words and he seemed to really appreciate the support AICN threw behind his cut of GINGERBREAD MAN - but he had not so much a sadness when he talked of the film in his eyes - so much as it was a difficult job. I got the idea he didn't linger upon the bad, instead invigorated by the next idea, the next project, the next collaboration. I think that is why he was so productive, so hungry to produce film. Over the history of AICN - he released 10 films in the 10 years. I didn't like all of them, but each of them were about ideas, notions, experiments and trying something new. The films didn't resemble one another and sometimes they were great like GOSFORD PARK. My favorite Altman memory from the decade of AICN - was at CINEVEGAS - when I got introduced to CALIFORNIA SPLIT - a gorgeous 35mm print in a casino multiplex. Watching that film, then walking out into a casino - with the sounds of gambling everywhere... it was awesome.
The Sadness in losing Robert Altman isn't that the filmmaker who made great films in the 70s is dead. No, the sadness is that one of the most unique and vibrant filmmakers of TODAY has passed. Somebody that created cinema despite the budget, the equipment. Whether it was studio financed or independent. He was alive in the way that so many so-called living directors are zombies treading forward in search for brains. His brain teemed with ideas, I know this because his film was filled with ideas. Something incredibly refreshing! We lost an artist last night. One of my faves.
Hey guys. Quint here with some real sad news. Robert Altman, director of such classics as MASH, MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER, CALIFORNIA SPLIT, NASHVILLE, POPEYE (screw the world, I love this movie), THE PLAYER, SHORT CUTS and tons more, has died. The cause of death is not known, but he was 81 years old.
I had the pleasure of spending 2 days on the set of THE COMPANY during one extremely wintery week in Chicago a few years back. I never got to speak with the man, but I got to watch him work. My main memory of that visit, spent in a rundown building somewhere downtown Chicago, was how different a filmmaker Altman was from anybody else I've seen work. He was shooting HD and had at least two cameras on every take. That in and of itself is not unusual. It's rather common to have two cameras running to get as much coverage as possible, but what Altman was doing with his second camera was what really caught my attention.
He had his A camera set up with the standard framing. It was a sequence with Malcolm McDowell training Neve Campbell and a class of dancers. The B camera wasn't fixed, though. During McDowell's speech to his class, the second camera was floating around the set, looking in every single corner, on every bit player or extra's face as McDowell talked, searching for a reaction or an angle that would just chance to happen. I was told that he works that way on all his films, which is why you get some amazing spontaneous reactions in his films.
That really impressed me.
My total interaction with Altman was kind of like most people's relationship with God. On the set, he had every room rigged with speakers and an audio system for him to be able to give direction from another room. So, as I sat with the sound man, watching the monitors, I'd hear Altman's voice randomly boom overhead. "Malcolm, do that a little slower!" or "That looks good, Neve. Let's do it again." Every once in a while the actors would need a little more interaction and out he'd walk from his room, past me and into the set with Neve, Malcolm and the rest of the cast to impart his direction in person.
On one of these trips, he looked over at me, a stranger with a cold, locked eyes for a moment and then continued on his way, I'm sure thinking, "Who is that fat geek and what is he doing on my set?" That was the extent of my interaction with the man, but I look back on my experience on that set with a lot of happiness. That was a fun trip, my first time in Chicago and a really great hand-shake and chat with Malcolm McDowell... not to mention the chance of a lifetime to watch one of film's best directors work, a chance I will not have again.
One of the great ones has gone. My thoughts are with his friends, family and fans.
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loved M.A.S.H
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at least he god his gold watch at the Oscars last year. He and his films will be missed.
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This one really is sad; Altman was one of the pivotal directors of the 70's.
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You mention "Popeye"...but the not "The Player"? That's criminal.
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Wow, couldn't believe this was the first thing I saw at AICN today. And yes Quint, Popeye rules. Popey haters stay away!
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Don't worry Mori, I also loved Popeye. I thought it was a really fun film. I also enjoyed The Player and M.A.S.H, but to be honest I never really saw any of his other films. I have heard great things about Gosford Park and Short Cuts, as well as Prarie Home Companion. Maybe I will go check out some of those flicks. My Condolences to his family.
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Don't worry Mori, I also loved Popeye. I thought it was a really fun film. I also enjoyed The Player and M.A.S.H, but to be honest I never really saw any of his other films. I have heard great things about Gosford Park and Short Cuts, as well as Prarie Home Companion. Maybe I will go check out some of those flicks. My Condolences to his family.
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jeez these epitaphs get increasingly weenie as they go along. altman was a fine director, terrific. but do we have to know how he never spoke to you or the manner in which he acknowledged your existence? i mean jesus, i thought this was about him, not you.
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Hardly surprising, given his age and everything, but he was a great talent who will be missed. Nashville still rocks my fucking world.
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No one satirized Los Angeles better. R.I.P. Mr. Altman. You had true class.
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With out him PTA would not have anyone to rip off.(Kidding i love PTA). But no really altman was a great talent, and Nashville is so the shit.
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In 'A Prairie Home Companion', Garrison Keillor says, "I don't want people to be told to remember me." It's clearly a film made by a filmmaker who - as of late - always felt like it was his last movie. The predominant themes of death and moving on are Altman's final words; and they are beautiful. Godspeed Robert; you brought a truly wonderful sense of magic and originality to the cinema. And for that, we WILL remember you . . . and you didn't even have tell us.
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MASH was brilliant (D Sutherland esp.), The Player had more than it's share of high points, Pret a Porter, I had no idea that he did that one, but it was worth watching (even for a guy). Damn shame I say.
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And every other movie you made. I guess god had a perfect screenplay for you.
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It was my first Altman movie and I love it too.
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It feels like the beginning of the end.Eventually-just how eventually is the real question-Coppola,Spielberg,Hill,and all the rest of that great wave will follow.Those men formed me,in many ways just as much as my own parents did,and it unavoidably makes me feel my own mortality.Damn,guys,seize the fucking day.Rest in peace.
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God Bless Robert Altman....one of the greatest American directors of all time. R.I.P boss.
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You'vw got to be shitting me.. I was just reading about him doing another big ensemble with Jack Black and some other people as his next project.... wow... Rest In Peace sir...
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RIP Robert!
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well that just straight up sucks. he has been one of the few filmmakers that i have literally been watching my entire life. his great talent will be missed. i will need to take a look at prairie home companion in the light above again. truly a very sad day for me.
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He was, however, highly overrated as a director.
Mash was great. Shortcuts was crap (except Julianne Moore). Popeye was crap.
The Player was decent. Nashville was overdone.
Prarie Home Companion was a nice piece of Americana.
To many people looked at him like he was a god though, and I just don't feel his body of work deserves that accolade. -
damn mash so great ....
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Popeye was, also, my first Altman film although I had seen MASH in bit form but Popeye was the first Altman film I had actually sat all the way through. That film has such charm without overreaching for it. My 5 year old daughter owns that movie now and loves it as much as I did when I was younger. I just rented A Prairie Home Companion and watched Nashville the other week for the umpteenth time. This is very sad news. We have lost one of our greatests directors. R.I.P.
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in this third dimension, seeing him standing with david lynch at 2002 oscars or whenever it was is a memory, that movie about the park or something cold day in the park? teh player, short cuts even the 16mm jimmy dean all have great memories for me. i wanted him to direct mike allred's xstatix, ultimately. well bob, see you later.
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I think that is what I will remember most about that film is that the way he shot really made things seem natural and spontaneous. He seemed like a true gentleman as well. My thoughts are with his friends, family, and anyone who loved his films.
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This hits me hard. hits me as hard as when Stanley Kubrick died. Or when David Lean died. These were truly original directors. Altman was one of the finest of the originals. He was rarely copied, sometimes out of respect for his methods, sometimes out of another director's incapacity to emulate his style without seemingly ripping him off. Altman had the closest thing to a solid patent on his visual and production style. The sound was hyper-realist. The dialogue was that you would hear when evesdropping. And the whole package, like life, was a messy affair of mixed bag of mayhem and humanity. And in the end, you felt for evey person in his films. Not because they were interensting, but because you grew to love them as you grew to be comfortable around them. That was Altman in real life. He brought an ease to his casts and crews, making them comfortable with him and with each other. There was no stress to an Altman project, rather, a company of artists all looking for the right words, the right expressions, and the the right receptions from their fellow artists. You only got ugliness in front of the camera, such as Malcolm McDowell's decision to scold Tim Robbins in "The Player". It was moments like that that Robert Altman lived for. The real. The funny. The profound. The truth. In a day and age of commerce over content in cinema, we should all realize the impact and void that will be left behind by Robert Altman. One of the last directors who was not required to follow the accountant's evaluation. But instead, a director that got to play with a camera, with a bunch of fellow artists along side. Altman was the kindly ringleader of the simple circus. Now that circus will no longer come to your neighborhood. It has dissovled. Now you have the choice of driving to the big city to see the new types for twice the cost. Or you can wait for video, and see the grand vision of a astute observer crammed into a small cropped box. This is a sad day for me. This is a sad day for true fans of cinema that pushes the common boundries of product for profit. Goodnight dear friend. Thank you for your work. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for the code you always stuck to.....And thus, there will a be an empty chair this Thanksgiving. - - - George, The 7th Chicken.
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The Player is without question one of my favorites ever. Gosford Park, Cookie's Fortune, Prairie Home Companion...every film of his that I have seen offered had something that I appreciated. The guy was a master and will be missed.
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I was never an Altman groupie, but he was an undeniable talent.
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because last year when he got the honorary oscar he said that thing about having another thiry years to go because of his heart transplant. he will be missed. so say we all.
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A great man has died.
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Big red nose.
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...and, fortunately, he was around long enough to give us lots to remember him by. Rest peacefully and with a sense of acheivement, Robert. And thank you.
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i literally gasped when i saw the headline. there was something about altman that lulled me into thinking he would never die...he would just keep doing his thing. i watched 'gosford park' the other day and man is his work wonderfully insidious...every time you watch one of his films, you find something new, you hear a piece of fragmented dialogue you never heard before that changes your opinion about a character, your perceptions are changed. he was one of those artists that, as a production designer, i always thought it would be a career coup to be able to work with him because his style was so unforced and captivating. people loved to work with him and he was a true original.
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It brings on many changes, and I can take or leave it if I please. And you can do the same thing....if you please. MASH was my first ever R-rated movie. I loved it so much I bought the vinyl "soundtrack" LP which was a condensed audio version of the film (the only way to constantly re-live a film before the VCR, the same with my "The Story of Star Wars" vinyl disc, both of which I still have, somehow, after all these years. My thoughs are with all those who are close to Robert. I'll be breaking out MASH or NASHVILLE tonight...and I secretly got a kick out of POPEYE, too. "I'm Popeye....the sailor...and I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam..."...pre-Garp Robin Williams, what a treat! (as for Robin, everything since "Fisher King"....what happened?)
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"....so this is all I have to say."
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need to go back and watch Altman's work. That's real filmmaking.
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Perfectly said, ChickenGeorge, can't add much after that. Popeye was my introduction to Altman, and it still lingers in my mind after all those years. Every film was a canvas and had that particular feel and look to it that when you saw it you automatically recognised it as an Altman film. Go with peace, Robert. The man leaves, the artist remains, and the legend of the films grow. And with that...the rest is silence.
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This is very sad. Altman was truly one of the Great Big Directors of Hollywood. Sad, sad news.
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From listening to so many of his commentaries, I very quickly formed the opinion that he was a sweet, loveable man with fiery cojones of steel.
He was a visionary anarchist who could take pretty basic stories like MASH and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and turn them into his own laid-back masterpieces. I can't think of any movie that uses music so well and naturally as McCabe.
And then there are movies that are their own damn society, like Nashville and Short Cuts. For some they might seem kinda slow and sprawling, and they may even appear under-directed, but that's where Altman's genius came in- he let his actors' characters sweat and mumble like anyone would in real life. Those movies are in a class and style of their own, of Altman's own, and so unique is that style, that trying to replicate it is like trying to write like Hunter S Thompson, you make the gulf between your own rip-off and his genius even wider.
Like I said though, he was just one of the nicest guys in the business. Someone who didn't have any delusions about the bogus bullshit that goes on behind the scenes, but who wasn't militant about his creativity. He just did his thing, and if you like it great.
For me, one of the most touching stories I heard from him, was when, after making the McCabe movie with Leonard Cohen's songs dancing through his head all throughout, he finally showed the movie to Cohen and Cohen hated it! Altman seemed so hurt at being shot down like that, even though he's in an industry that requires skins as thick as they come, that the pain rubbed off onto me. Leonard Cohen eventually rewatched the movie and immediately called up Altman to tell him he changed his mind- he loved the movie after all.
Unlike certain directors still kicking it today- like Ingmar Bergman- Altman was still working when he went. He could have eeked out ten more films if he had the mind. This makes his death all the more painful to me.
RIP fella, you were one of a kind. -
Like Kubrick, Robert Altman was an iconclast whose like we'll never see again. He didn't need to work within the Hollywood system. And I wish he'd lived another twenty years to keep bringing us his singular vision.
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McCloud, that is. I remember that film on tv when I was a kid, and the fun stuff about Bud Cort flying in the football stadium, a wet Sally Kellerman wearing white in a fountain and Rene Auberjenois turning into a bird while teaching about flight in a classroom. Strange film, great ending credits sequence like MASH where the announcer says the credits. And of course I saw Popeye in the theatre when I was a kid. Scary to think I'm around the same age as Harry. RIP Mr. Altman. You, sir, are one of the all time greats. Cheers!
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Somebody had to say it...
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Rest in peace Robert Altman
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I don'T love it, but I laughed hard in some parts!
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Must have been the Academy Awards 2001 (?), when he was nominated as best director (again), but Ron Howard won for A BEAUTIFUL MIND. While Howard went on stage, they showed for a few seconds Altman, talking to David Lynch, who sat next to him and was nominated too. It looked like both had fun anyway and didn't care.
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I'm gonna lose it anyway.
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After watching "The Player" on a friend's recommendation, watching "Nashville" and "The Long Goodbye" in a film class in college, I watched every Altman film I could get my hands on. While I didn't love all of them, I loved what Altman was able to do with them. As I said, we have definitely lost one of the great film directors of our time.
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5 years of bonus time.
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...to ruin a sunny day. Glad to see so much Popeye love but MASH was the first "naughty" thing I saw. I never know what to say ...so I'll just say he will be missed.
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81 great years, fantastic movies. The guy did his own thing. And the craft and the love in his work is impossible to miss. Love him or hate him...well, I just loved him. Thank you Mr. Altman.
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POPEYE was an unholy abomination, but I still prefer Altman's M*A*S*H to the last six seasons of the television series. GOSFORD PARK is a really solid character piece as well. A very talented director who will definitely be missed.
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that everyone that posted before me has already said a lot better. A great directer and a great man that made compelling movies that most of todays directors would not have the skill or the courage to attempt to direct.
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But no of them come close to the Player. The player was and will remain altmans greatest achievement. if you didnt understand the sheer stupidity of hollywood by the time it started you did by the time it was over. that film is so brilliant it left me reeling as did gosford park, which ranks among the best british films ever made. Maggie Smith should have got another Oscar for her superb performance.
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Sad news indeed. GP is one of favourite movies of the last few years. Always thought Short Cuts was an acting masterclass (director again!). Jack Lemmons scenes were heartbreaking.
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A true actor's director. The movie world has suffered.
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By all who appreciate movies, continued working till the end.
Rest in peace. -
...now lets hope our other great aging filmmaker get a chance to get one more classic out before they pass on. Specifically, I'm looking at you, Frank Hennenlotter.
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And that he did.
I dont think i'll ever forget that speech he made for the life time achievement awards at the acadamy awards. The best speech I've ever heard from someone accepting an oscar. He spoke about his love for film and the people who come together to watch cinema eloquently. Gosford Park and mash were definately amongy my favourites.
"I've always said that making a film is like making a sand castle at the beach. You invite your friends and you get them down there, and you say you build this beautiful structure, several of you. Then you sit back and watch the tide come in. Have a drink, watch the tide come in, and the ocean just takes it away. And that sand castle remains in your mind. Now I've built about 40 of them, and I never tire of it. No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have." -Altman -
Who took chances, put his ass on the line, and wasn't afraid to fall on his face. And his track record in recent years was excellent: Cookie's Fortune was terrific; Gosford Park and Prairie Home Companion are also fine films. But this guy officially entered Movie Heaven when he made THE LONG GOODBYE. One of the best films of the 70's... which is really saying something. McCabe and Mrs. Miller, MASH, Nashville, The Player... Anybody who thinks Altman is overrated doens't know shit about his films. Short Cuts, however, IS overrated. But who cares? Even his turds are more interesting than anything in Ron Howard's filmography.
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Nashville and Short Cuts give it a run for it's money in places. His style of interweaving conversations has been much imitated but never equalled - he was truly a one off. R.I.P. Mr.Altman... there are a lot of true movie lovers going to miss your 'style'.
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This world is a lot shittier today than it was even yesterday. At least he knew that he was loved and respected, and got to work with a lot of creative talents that excited him. Nobody lives forever, and this seems to be one of the better ways he could go. My thoughts are with his family and close friends.
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This is just sad. He gave us M*A*S*H and he was always a class act. He will be missed. Damn!
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Like Harry and Quint (at least), I adore Altman's "Popeye". Others of his films, too. But that one is pure genius, from casting and acting, to script to music to sets to - of course! direction. Very dear to my heart, like Mr. Altman himself - for his constant imagination and audacity. Party on in the Great Beyond, Robert! Hope we catch your next films when we arrive there.
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We've lost another one of the greats.
Maybe now they'll put Brewster McCloud on DVD. -
Here was a man who, at 81, was still bucking the studio system, even when he worked within it; he was shooting films on video (Jimmy Dean, Secret Honor)before anyone thought it was a good idea. Can't wait for the retrospective on TCM.
Here's a quote that's pretty much sums it up: "I fiddle in the corner where they throw the coins. Where I can get my work done." -
Just read the news.Very sad one of the true greats of film is gone. But at least we'll still his great films to remember him by.
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A Praire Home Companion. Sucked. R.I.P. Bob
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You know it did.
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I thought he was going strong and would do so for a long time to come, especially after seeing him at the Oscars last year. Altman made brilliant, one of a kind films. Such a sad loss, but at least he has left a glorious, everlasting legacy. In his honour, I will seek out Nashville, a film I've not seen for about 14 years. High time I did so! It is truly brilliant and, for me, encapsulates the classic Altman "style", if he can be pinned to one. After all, he made many films, of many different genres. But Nasville stick out as one that captures his unique attitude toward actors and dialogue. Rest in Peace, Mr. Altman.
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Quality aside (I loved it) it's defintely a film that makes for a fitting epitaph.
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What a temendous loss for anyone who loves the movies. I must watch "Nashville" at least two or three times a year; I'm obsessed with that film. Glad so many folks around here love "Popeye," too, as much as I do. Another cultish Altman film that deserves mentioning is "3 Women"--if you've not seen it, you should; it's funny, surreal and eventually enigmatic, plus it stars Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall, a combination that for some (you know who you are) will be reason enough to watch. Oh, and "Vincent and Theo"...! God, there's so many fascinating Altman films, you can hardly name them all. (BTW, will someone please, please release "...Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" on DVD?)
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he did what he wanted, when he wanted and no harm befell anyone else as a consequence. that's about the best anyone could have said about them, the fact that he made some excellent films along the way is an added bonus. and anyone who did not love the Popeye film when they were young is either watching movies for all the wrong reasons or is just lying to try and look sophisticated. perhaps the latter is the hypocritical manner Mr Altman often exposed.
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Spot on Bobby, you will be missed.
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I was lucky when I was a kid, as I was exposed to Altman through my parents before movie geek friends my age were. Loved Popeye as a kid and MASH and all the obvious ones, but somehow my favorite Altman movies were the three he did back to back in the early 90's - The Player, Shortcuts and the vastly underrated Pret a Porte (Or Ready to Wear, dependeing on what video store you rented it at). I can't honestly say I've kept up on his recent movies, but he will definitely be missed.
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The Player was among my top ten favorite movies back in highschool (cough, 12 years ago, cough) and I tried showing it to some film geek roomates of mine like five years ago, thinking they'd dig it. Not only did they not like it, but they didn't realize it was a comedy! Not even with that brilliant punchline of an ending- but then they all went and watched Magnolia and had a big circle jerk about how "brilliant" that movie was... as you can guess, I stopped hanging out with those guys not long after. Robert Altman's epitath should read "Never needed frogs or a rubber cock to make you sit through his movies"
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Absolute worst movie ever. 2+ hours of my life completely wasted. I sat there waiting for some redeaming quality. Julianne Moore's firecrotch gave me a brief twinge but, aside from that I found nothing in that movie remotely entertaining. I actually thought I lost IQ points watching it. I've enjoyed other Altman movies but, Short Cuts was a big steaming pile. Sorry
Tragedy the guy is gone. I appreciate what contributions he's made to the film community. -
to overlap each other? I think Altman would have liked that. And nothing anyone can say will top the tribute done him by Tomlin and Streep at the Oscars. That was just brilliant.
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I hadn't heard this news till I came here. I have to say that POPEYE is one of my most Favorite Altman films, I wish it had been shown more during the oscars. To me Sweet Pea was and is the cutest movie baby ever. Thanks to my dad I got to see Nashville, he also took me to see Short Cuts on the big screen, all of Altman's movies just wrap you up in a world and make you think. Time to re-watch his films again!
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I loved that movie. I'm a tad more critical of it now that I'm grown, but love it no less. What a cast! Sipowicz, Bill Irwin, Mork, Back-in-bowl guy, Shining wife, Carnivale Management voice lady, etc etc If I'm not mistaken Sweetpea was Altman's grandson or something.
I loved the music, the style, the design and the crazy ass landscape of Malta.
RIP Altman. -
my god, this is not what I was expecting when I decided to check back on the site... the first film I saw by Altman was "Gosford Park" and I absolutely loved it. It inspired me to dig out more films and he is truly one of the greats... Harry is right, not one of the greats in the 70's but also now. I will miss the opportunity to see a new Altman film. Rest in peace.
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Very, very sad. I really hope Lynch and Scorsese don't go soon too.
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He fucking worshipped the guy. At least he got to work with him during his final film.
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Thank you, Robert.
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My first Altman film was Popeye, also. Then M.A.S.H., which was SO different from the TV show that I loved, then Nashville, which went over my head at the time. Then I saw The Player and Short Cuts in the theater when I was older, and I was just blown away by this genius filmmaker at the peak of his craft and he was...70 years old? (at the time) Most directors have a limit of really good films inside of them; Altman always seemed to have one left after we thought he was done. Gosford Park came after Kansas City and The Gingerbread Man. (Two films I so desperately wanted to like because of everything he'd done that I'd loved do much, but ultimately couldn't) I still haven't seen A Prairie Home Companion, yet. I guess I'll watch it in mourning, tonight. We've lost a true artist in every sense of the word; he will be missed...
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I can't believe this site. One of the greatest directors to ever live and... what? Never mind.
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you sir, are a fucking philistine! Short Cuts is a fantastic film, both a brilliant adaptation of a near-unfilmable literary source, absolutely incredible ensemble acting and maybe the best film about modern society EVER MADE! Don't say another word, just walk away slowly and never darken this talkback with your idiocy EVER AGAIN! ASSHOLE!
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Nov 21, 2006 3:27:38 PM CST
Not being able to see a new Altman movie again is...
by talkbacker with no name
...really hard to take in. I loved his movies and the way we dealt with actors. How he made movies was like no one else on the planet. I will really miss you Mr Altman!
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...watching Short Cuts if you didn't have an IQ to speak of to start with! Amazing film which is wasted on the likes of you, my friend.
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I just accept him as a popeye in the flesh. everyone in that cast. olive oil, popeyes pappi. bluto. it's amazing and left for all time for kids to enjoy forever
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prairie home companion hasn't even been released in GER yet. OOooouuuuuuuhhhhhh. I'm kind of shocked. May he rest in peace....I dunno what he believed in... well...we all end some day. I'm sure he'll be remembered a long time. he left his marks on our earth ... It's weird, I also -as DanielKurland- had to think of PTA when I just read about Altman's death.... still...everyone ends....inspiration stays
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One of my all-time favorite filmmakers has died. I'll miss him!
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My, I will miss him. Lucky for me I'm just discovering many of his movies. Kubrik and Altman are gone, we are loosing the greats of a generation.
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I could see the high level of skill they were made with. Maybe that's one of the few signs of true talent?
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You have to see O.C. and stiggs, most underrated altman flick.
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Nice trippy movie. I never understood all The Player-haters
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of ensamble cast pieces..altmans films were so complex in the sheer number of characters and backstories..yet i never felt cheated or that he skimped on any of them..just watched a prarie home companion about 2 weeks ago and it was a solid little movie..a fitting swansong..god speed
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is not that one is old, but that one is young.
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More likely they're raising a glass and taking a toke on a big fat joint now that Altman's amongst them.
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I could only call one person (my brother) who I knew would appreciate the news. If there were true justice in this world, Altman should get more box office than George Lucas!
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I thought he had one more in him. Still, A Prairie Home Companion is a fitting final picture. May he rest in peace, he earned it.
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A sad, sad day indeed.
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because I am sure that if I said that pret a porter, Dr.T and the women were all terrible as were Cookies fortune and Kansas city, someone will say they were all great and how dare i for say that they were rubbish. That is subjective nature of film. I think Short cuts is a great film.
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Sex Lies and Videotape aside (Soderburgh), The Player and Short Cuts had the biggest impact on filmgoing habits than any other films.
Almost overnight (well over a few years or more) I switched from big budget to who-cares-budget.
All of a sudden the characters, the acting, the story telling took their place over special effects and I was entranced.
Altman wasn't always perfect. Pret a Porter was pants and Kansas City was average.
I once attended one of his premieres. By chance we passed on the stairs and told him that I really appreciated his work. He spent a few moments telling me about his next project and then he was dragged away.
Just a fleeting moment with one of the greats of cinema but a moment I'll treasure.
I'm not particularly sentimental or soppy, but tonight I feel genuinely sad for someone I never knew.
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There are certain directors that have such a unique style that you could automatically spot their work within a few seconds of a film. I believe Hitchcock, Spielberg, Scorsese, Woo, and Altman all have this ability. Altman filmed movies like a true voyuer into someone's life. You really felt like you were eaves dropping on someone else's conversation when viewing his films. That was his unique style. The director's of today are too heavily influenced by Mtv. quick cuts and too many closeups. There will never be another Altman. Godspeed Mr. Altman
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This truly sucks. The Player is my fav movie of all time. Can't say he was my fav director, but he was up there. Can't say anything else about the man that hasn't already been said.
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Goddamn it. There will never be another. Any of you mouth breathers talking shit about him are probably too fucking daft to appreciate his work anyhow so fuck off.
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Robert Altman has left his mark on the world and accomplished more than most people ever hope to. He never ran out of steam. He made great movies right up until his passing. He neither burned out nor faded away.
P.S. "POPEYE (screw the world, I love this movie). . . ." Have you looked up reviews for "Popeye" recently, Quint? The world seems to agree with you now. -
RIP : (
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errrrrr... Robert Altman.
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unlike paul ws anderson, the day he dies i'm having a street party and everybodys invited.
so long bob -
... love Popeye and Short Cuts. In fact, I think I'll watch Popeye right now.
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I remember watching MASH for the first time during the 1984 election. It was such a blowout I needed something to take my mind off of the inevitable, the Reagan landslide. What I saw was a movie that from start to finish was utterly entertaining, hilarious and downright funny. It was a movie that took so many conventions and turned them upside down. Later, I saw 'The Player' and that movie was simply astonishing. That Altman was in his late 60s making that film was equally astonishing. He's done films since that have been hit and miss but even his misses are better than other filmaker's greats. He will really be missed.
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Yes he was 81, but it is still a great loss. I always hate it when we lose a great director. They are a dime a dozen(the greats) And when one passes away we know we will never see a film quite like what they have given to us every again.
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"It's a big plus to our industry that he died. I'm only sorry he didn't live longer and suffer more." Regarding the death of Don Simpson (vis-a-vis Simpson/Bruckheimer). Altman was quite the asshole, and a pretentious wanker to boot. My condolences to the family, and those who were close to him.
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Now there was a loss that was truly tragic, as evidenced by the tremendous outpouring of sympathy on AICN. Altman made a few of what cinephiles might call "some of the greatest American films ever made", but at the end of the day he just didn't have an eighth of one-time Oscar nominee Pat Morita's charisma or subtle brilliance!! Wax on, Miyagi-san.
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This guy sucked. Mash sucked too.
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A great movie and send up of the fashion industry.
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When I was a kid I was a fan of the MASH tv series. Then I saw the film and realised the source material was waaay stronger. First grown up film I think I ever saw and appreciated, set me on the road beyond popcorn
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Nov 22, 2006 2:34:07 AM CST
It's funny that the Altman's greatest achievement...
by seppukudkurosawa
came just ONE day after his death.....
And that was having the great mOOG posting how much one of his movies sucked on his obituary talkback.
Altman, for that you will live on in eternity, ever-twinkling and blinking and swirling like the Quasar of our dreams.
tHEmOOG...you sir, are a used douchebag. -
...'damn you Michael Bay' in a talkback to remember somebody who has passed away, should be ashamed of themselves.
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A true craftsman has past. Altman’s “M.A.S.H.”, “Popeye” and “Gosford Park” are simply wonderful examples of filmmaking. His absence will most certainly be felt. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Thanks again Mr. Altman for your legacy and for sharing your vision.
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I was not a huge fan of this Robert Altman, but I'm sorry to hear this news. He was one of the few directors with his own voice, and he really made his mark on cinema, which is something no one can argue. I quite liked The Player, and any director who gives Tom Waits some work is alright by me. More directors like Mr Altman, who seemed like he always went his own way no matter what, would be a good thing, I think.
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well it's true.
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Altman's body of work speaks for itself, but for me the one I'll rewatch for years to come is the first I saw: MASH. Sure, it's less of a single plot than a collection of set pieces, but it's a *great* collection of set pieces, with the customary Altman touches. I laugh every time I watch it. "Oh my god, they've shot him!" "Hot Lips you incredible nincompoop, it's the end of the quarter."
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That was incredibly insightful, I think I speak for everyone when I say- Thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your day, while people are mourning a death or someone that impacted their lives and telling us he sucked and we are idiots for feeling his loss. Thank you for opening our eyes and showing us that for years and years of loving Altman movies, we were all wrong. The thousands upon thousands of film lovers who adore Altman, and love his wrok were all just delusional. Good thing you are so insightful and have such a razor sharp wit that you can point out such a jarring truth. Truly everyone will take what you said to heart and it will affect us all deeply. God Bless You Sir.
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So I was extremely sad to hear the news that Altman has left us especially since he was willing to take on my favorite author Raymond Carver with Short Cuts. Now why I am annoyed...because I wasted my time reading these two peace of shit articles. Harry and Quint, its not about fucking you. No one gives a shit about how you almost met him and he looked over at you. A great director passed on and somehow the whole story is still about you. Fucking ridiculous!
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Can't you even get the facts correct? He released ten movies in the last ten years. That's a little better than one every four years.
Also, fuck you! -
movies. Some of you guys are a trip. You'd think this guy was the 2nd coming or something. I loved Popeye as well as the Player. I can't for the life of me see the love for Short Cuts though. I'm guessing the backlash I got for expressing my opinion was from the self-proclaimed "cultural elite" who spend hours in Starbucks sipping their double lattes and reading AICN on their laptops sponging off of Starbucks free Wi-Fi. You guys are truly masters of the universe with your 20 year old Don Johnson wannabe beard stubble. Most of you asswipes wouldn't know a good movie if it bit you on your collagen injected asses. Ha... jerkoffs.
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But that's life. I'm just glad that he left behind a collection of great work to be viewed by every new generation of cinephile. It's a great loss to the cinema world and he will be heavily missed. For what it's worth, R.I.P. Mr. Altman.
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Two detectives checking over a dead body filled with bird droppings and found a doobie, the first detective said "Is that what I think it is?, well there is only one way to find out." The second detective takes out his lighter but then the first detective said "Send it to the lab." That scene still cracks me up as it did the first time I saw it in the 70s. Rest in Peace Robert Altman, you are one of the best.
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why dont you guys go fuck yourselves. report the facts. not your near brushes with fame. no-one gives two fucks. and re-read your posts before putting them into the e-stratosphere. so many typos. so little time.
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Notice the slight difference in the name? Yeah, it's pretty messed up. My apologies for this troll's intrusion.
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totally up your ass! You're correct: everyone has a right to their own opinion. However, this particular talkback is for fans of a TRUE artist, who are in mourning over a sincere loss, not for trolling assholes who want to put their dicks into a hot dog bun and tell us it's a kosher frankfurter. (I'm not even sure I know what I mean by that) My point is this: you wouldn't go to someone's funeral and rant about what a cocksucker they were; (well maybe YOU would, you no-class motherfucker) How about simply showing some respect for the death of a human being, whether you liked his films or not? (and a big fuck you to Trazadone, too!) For example, I'd rather wipe my ass with a Picasso than look at it, but I wouldn't be telling all of his admirers that they're "jerkoffs". (Which, of course, you are. Also, dildo, felcher and ass-muncher are probably accurate descriptions of your personality) Have a nice day, fuck-wit!
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we "self-proclaimed cultural-elite " types don't drink Starbucks coffee, we drink Peet's "fair trade" coffee...you small-minded, micro-penis troglodyte! (and choose another "handle" now, because no one will ever respect your opinion on this site again, EVER!)
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All this talk of trolls putting micro-cocks in hotdog buns has me riled up, but when it comes to Altman, if all you dipshits can talk about is The Player, Mash, and fucking Popeye, than kiss his wrinkled, embalmed ass and die, you freaks. His lifeless, rotting corpse is smarter than everybody who has ever read AICN put together, and at least as funny too.
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and I hereby apologize for my rant in what SHOULD be a thoughtful eulogy for a talented filmmaker. And of course Altman's great films are more than just The Player, or M.A.S.H. or even the film that started my rant against DarthMartel, Short Cuts. I also love McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Nashville, Vincent and Theo, and even Brewster McCloud. (which I'm still waiting for on DVD, btw) So, on this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all the many great and even no-so-great films that Robert Altman gave us during his lifetime. Rest In Peace...
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haunts me.
Not one mention of it yet.
Damn, I want to watch A Prarie Home Companion and Nashville again. And see his films that I have not yet seen. -
when did you ever get the idea that this was a "serious" news site. AICN has always been half-blog/half-news so quit your bitchng about quint and harry telling their personal stories about people. it's no different than them just scrolling down and entering their story into a talkback, so stop being such a pretentious prick. that goes for you too, darth.
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i thought they wanted to be taken seriously, that would be the reason they go to sets , and conduct what are commonly reffered to as interviews. by imparting us with their bullshit,"he looked at me once", stories im reminded of that loser king who once met a man who met a man... and that is pretentious. by the by... your name is stupid. and happy thanksgiving you slag.
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death last week. The guy was cinematographer for Orson Welles, John Cassavetes, Ron Howard, Al Adamson, as well as director of lots of B movies from the 1970s, but no mention. I think that sucks.
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Weighing late.. Altman was a master. He was (and will continue to be) an influence to many future generations of filmmakers. A maverick who managed to get his films made, seen, and appreciated, despite the fact the studios never loved him. A film director's director, who I would have loved to have had a chat with. Death takes another great talent. At least, his films remain.
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