I was going to link to a wonderful biographical piece about Robert Altman that I had seen at youtube. The operative word here was. When I returned to the link this is the message I found in bold red letters:
“This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because its content was used without permission.”
Give me a freaking break! A homage to Robert Altman due to his death and we get these crappy messages! The amount of threatening going on at youtube to remove content now that the company that owns it has some money blows my mind. Suddenly there is an assertion about copyrights and crap about intellectual property when the powers that be couldn’t give a flying you know what not that long ago.
I wish I knew what Robert Altman would say so I could post it.
Back to my original intention… I couldn’t write this post the day of Robert Altman’s death because I had to spend some time thinking about when I first saw each of his movies; what amazed me in each and every one.
Margaret and I had just seen Prairie Home Companion and were pleasantly surprised by the film. Even with one of the best storytellers [Garrison Keillor] and best environmental designer [Altman] I had my doubts… after just two minutes they were cast away.
We’ve begun to watch the movies again. To remember a life’s work and enjoy seeing the world from his point of view. I thought, should they be watched in the order they were made? No, I would begin with the film that had the most impact on me — 3 Women. Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek need I say more?
I’ve pasted the filmography and list of movies for which he was nominated for Academy Awards from Wikipedia [not to steal content but to link to it]. Never awarded an Emmy for a piece of work the industry gave him an honorary one just before his death.
I think McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) is next.
Films
- The Delinquents (1957) (Altman’s big-screen directorial debut)
- The James Dean Story (1957) (documentary) (co-dir: George W. George)
- The Katherine Reed Story (1965) (short documentary)
- Pot au feu (1965) (short)
- Countdown (1968)
- That Cold Day in the Park (1969)
- MASH (1970)
- Brewster McCloud (1970)
- McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
- Images (1972)
- The Long Goodbye (1973)
- Thieves Like Us (1974)
- California Split (1974)
- Nashville (1975)
- Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976)
- 3 Women (aka Robert Altman’s 3 Women) (1977)
- A Wedding (1978)
- Quintet (1979)
- A Perfect Couple (1979)
- Health (1980)
- Popeye (1980)
- Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
- Streamers (1983)
- Secret Honor (1984)
- O.C. & Stiggs (1984) (released in 1987)
- Fool for Love (1985)
- Beyond Therapy (1987)
- Aria (1987) — segment: Les Boréades
- Vincent & Theo (1990)
- The Player (1992)
- Short Cuts (1993)
- Prêt-à-Porter aka Ready to Wear (1994)
- Kansas City (1996)
- The Gingerbread Man (1998)
- Cookie’s Fortune (1999)
- Dr. T & the Women (2000)
- Gosford Park (2001)
- The Company (2003)
- A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Nominated: Best Director
1970 MASH
1975 Nashville
1992 The Player
1993 Short Cuts
2001 Gosford Park