robert altman again

I really liked this article about an Altman retrospective: “The Brattle celebrates 100 years of Robert Altman with summer-long series”

I particularly liked the comments on:

Shelley Duvall. So many people these days seem to know her mostly (or entirely) from The Shining (and all the stories about how Kubrick abused her to get that incredible performance), but she was wonderful in a wide variety of roles in Altman films during the 1970s.

“Altman pioneered a multitrack recording system that allowed his actors to talk over each other the way we do in real life, conducting glorious cacophonies during which he’d ride the mixing faders, foregrounding stray scraps of dialogue until they turned into punchlines.” I spent a fair amount of time in recording studios and mixing sessions in my youth, and, yes, I can see him in that setting very clearly.

“His highly regarded 1993 ‘Short Cuts’ (Aug. 19) stitches together nine Raymond Carver short stories in a brilliantly acted tapestry of misery, one that I can respect but never quite bring myself to love.” Yes, but I don’t even respect it that much. Overrated, I’ve always thought (though I will concede the “brilliantly acted” comment, especially Lily Tomlin and Tom Waits).

“His last picture, 2006’s ‘A Prairie Home Companion,’ was maybe the most self-reflexive final movie from any director this side of John Huston’s ‘The Dead,’ with Virginia Madsen as a gorgeous grim reaper stalking the hallways during the last broadcast of a beloved radio show. It’s a sunny reflection on the inevitability of endings, full of tears and terrible puns.” Agree completely, about both movies (I’ve drawn that parallel myself, in fact).

My Robert Altman reviews are here.