Monday, November 04, 2019
Nashville
- Commentary: Owning this movie is a long time coming for me. I've just reviewed a list of Altman's motion pictures (vs. his "short industrial films", etc., of which there are many) and discovered that I've seen almost all of his films but do not universally love his work, although I admire and am grateful for the entire body of his motion picture work. He tried everything, tried to tackle everything, sometimes succeeded, sometimes, well, didn't, but what he finally committed to film stock was (and is) always interesting.
I think this film, Nashville, is his greatest work. It is observant, reflective, entirely non-judgmental from the perspective of the film maker while allowing his characters and their stories to make their own judgments. Mind you, I am not a classic Country Music fan. There have been many episodes in my life when I have, literally, cringed when listening to a radio station and hearing the first few wails of a slide guitar. But, this movie isn't about country music. It's about the United States. Using the offhand medium of Country Music concerts, Altman captured the ambivalence of the United States' dual in-your-face, get-off-my-property character. The movie is gorgeous. On all levels. I never get tired of watching it; which is why, when I discovered I had a chance to own it, I jumped on it.
In addition, Roger Ebert wrote a second review for Nashville when he christened it one of his "Great Movies" twenty five years after his first review.
I'm inaugurating a new label with this movie: reflective. Likely, that category fits a few other movies, here. I will, eventually, get around to attaching it to the appropriate films. In the meantime, when I'm done, here, entering my new acquisitions, I think I'll settle into a viewing of this movie. Again.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role David Arkin Norman Barbara Baxley Lady Pearl Ned Beatty Delbert Reese Karen Black Connie White Ronee Blakley Barbara Jean Timothy Brown Tommy Brown Keith Carradine Tom Frank Geraldine Chaplin Opal Shelley Duvall Martha Henry Gibson Haven Hamilton Jeff Goldblum Tricycle Man Scott Glenn Pfc. Glenn Kelly Michael Murphy John Triplette Lily Tomlin Linnea Reese Keenan Wynn Mr. Green Thomas Hal Phillips Hal Phillip Walker (voice)
Release Date: 1975
Directed by Robert Altman.
Labels: comedy1, Criterion1, drama3, musical1, ned-beatty, reflective, road-movie, robert-altman, satire1, tragedy1
