#13 — Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993) At its most distinctive and accomplished, Robert Altman’s signature style, marked by overlapping dialogue and sprawling assemblies of pointed characters, makes his films feel like they emerge rather than start. A fully-realized shared existence … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Thirteen
#17 — Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001) Of course, there’s no shortage of admirable traits in Robert Altman’s finest films, but one of the clearest is the way they are rooted in the eras in which they were made. M*A*S*H … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Seventeen
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971). There are many who consider this film to be the quintessential Altman effort, and it’s not hard to see why. The hallmarks of Altman’s legend are all there: the overlapping dialogue, the moral ambivalence, the richly-conceived characters. Most importantly and impressively, the film is a thrilling example of the ways in which Altman pulls all these elements of his craft together to give the sense of a fully developed culture and society. The film is focused on the main characters, but the entire frame ripples with life. You feel as if you know … Continue reading And our silver screen affair, it weighs less to me than air
Coffee for Two 