"I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we could just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we've got something here. "
- Griffin Mill, "The Player"(1992)
Robert Altman died on Monday at age 81.
There is one less master filmmaker in the world.
I will not claim to be an expert on the man, and I am far from a Robert Altman historian, but I do know that I saw M*A*S*H*(I did not realize that Altman hated the TV show- he also says that he purposely left out any mention of which war they are fighting in the movie-apparently the studio made him add a disclaimer that it was Korea), and Nashville and Short Cuts and The Player and Gosford Park and even Popeye, glorious disaster that it was. And I do know that the man knew how to make a brilliant fucking movie. And he knew how to intertwine stories like no other.
If you've never seen the movies I listed above, do yourself a favor, see them. I will warn you about Popeye, it's not for everyone, but it is a glorious failure in my opinion. There is just something amazing about it, I can't quite explain it.
But the others are absolute gems. I'm particularly fond of Nashville(the scene when Keith Carradine sings "I'm Easy" is magnificent) and The Player, but they are all great movies. And he has several movies on my list of movies to see: McCabe and Mrs. Miller and The Long Goodbye among them.
Again, I won't go on for too long, but i just wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to a brilliant, maverick filmmaker. Adios, Robert. And thanks for the movies.
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