my favorite american director, robert altman has passed

i loved (most) of his work. i REALLY loved it. he was an original. one of a kind. he blew off the hollywood establishment. he did innovative things such as having his actors talk over each other in scenes (like people do in REAL life). next to fellini, he was my favorite

Robert Altman: An American original

By Michael WilmingtonTribune movie critic Published November 21, 2006, 9:48 PM CST
Robert Altman was an American original and a moviehouse treasure whose work spanned generations. He was the great gadfly filmmaker who shook up the Vietnam era in 1970 with the classic movie "M*A*S*H," and then kept provoking and entertaining audiences for the next 36 years with a string of outrageously personal and often scaldingly irreverent movies.Altman, who died Monday in Los Angeles from complications from cancer, was 81..........

Director Robert Altman has died

and from imdb

Director Robert Altman Dies at 81
Robert Altman, the legendary director behind such modern classics as MASH, Nashville, The Player, and Gosford Park, died Monday night in Los Angeles; he was 81. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed, and a statement released Tuesday afternoon stated that Altman died from complications due to cancer; the news release also said that Altman had been in pre-production for a film he was slated to start shooting in February. When he was presented with an honorary Academy Award just last year, Altman revealed that he had been the recipient of a heart transplant within the past ten years, a fact he hadn't made public because he feared it would hinder his ability to get work. One of the most influential and well-respected directors of modern cinema, Altman's work was marked by a naturalistic approach that favored long, unbroken tracking shots and overlapping dialogue (as well as storylines), as well as improvisation, usually among a large ensemble cast. Though now regarded as one of the premier American filmmakers, Altman had a career that reached both popular and critical highs as well as lows, as he burst onto the scene in the early '70s with very acclaimed films, but had a string of commercial and critical failures as well. All told, he received five Oscar nominations for directing MASH, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts and most recently Gosford Park. Other numerous awards include two Cannes Film Festival wins (for The Player and MASH), a Golden Globe (for Gosford Park) and an Emmy (for the TV series Tanner 88).............

damn fine obit in the ny times



if you ain't seen nashville you ain't lived. i think most everyone has seen mash of course. nashville had THE best music. dang! even henry gibson 'sang'. ronee blakley and barbar harris had some AMAZING songs. i MUST find that soundtrack. it's on vinyl. wonder if i can get it on a cd

brewster mccloud
mccabe & mrs miller

are also two of my favorites by him.

Tech Tags: robert+altman nashville mash director