Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving day.
Another cinematic star has left us this year, and I want to take this opportunity to give thanks for all the brilliant film work he’s given us.

– Robert Altman died Tuesday, November 21, 2006. I wanted to post some thoughts yesterday, but wasn’t able to do justice to the man in so short a time. Please forgive my rambling thoughts on the man, but I want to say something about his landmark career and the influence it has had on me.

Robert Bernard Altman was born on Feb. 20, 1925, in Kansas City, Mo. He worked in Kansas City doing small training films before moving to Hollywood. There, he did a lot of television work on shows ranging from Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Maverick,” and “Peter Gunn,” to “Bonanza,” and “Route 66.” Once he did his first film, Countdown, starring James Caan and Robert Duvall, he was on an express track. That film was shot on a very low budget and led to others including his breakthrough film, M*A*S*H.

The success of M*A*S*H. brought a bit of money and power and allowed him to do other projects such as Brewster McCloud, which was as far away from mainstream as you’ll get. He was able to do at least a film a year, and often two, right up to his death. Released only this Summer was A Prairie Home Companion which starred the diverse cast of Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan and Woody Harrelson.

It’s wonderful to be a New Yorker. So often you’ll pass celebrities on the sidewalk or see them in restaurants and other moments of yours (and their) normal life. Over the years, I’ve seen Robert Altman on the street at least half a dozen times.

The first time we passed was back in the 70′s as I was entering a screening of some Anime films, he was exiting the screening room. I held the door open for him, dressed in a rust-colored buckskin jacket with fringe-a-plenty and a cream-colored cowboy hat.
The last time I saw him was in August at a theater when I saw the play, The History Boys, on Broadway. He sat a couple of rows behind Heidi and me and looked as if he enjoyed the play, though he didn’t look particularly comfortable.

For so long, I truly respected what he did and always sought out his films, but I didn’t always enjoy the experience. I loved his use of sound and overlapping dialogue, his mobile camera and intentionally casual approach. And such great acting – always. The films, themselves, weren’t always entertaining, to me, – except on a technical level. Too often they were self-conscious or self-important.
However, that all seemed to change around the time of The Player and even before that there were exceptions for me:

Three Women was intelligent, different, well-acted and had a brilliant score by Gerald Busby. The visual look was stunning.

Popeye had first rate performances by Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, beautiful songs by Harry Nilsson, and a great score by Van Dyke Parks.

Short Cuts was brilliantly acted with virtuoso performances by Madeleine Stowe and Julianne Moore. It was an incredibly literate and articulate adaptation of Raymond Carver‘s short stories.

Gosford Park had a brilliant script by Julian Fellowes and outstanding ensemble acting by a large cast of Britain’s finest actors. It smashed the Masterpiece Theater mold while mimicking it.

The Player took Hollywood filmmaking apart piece by piece and had fun doing it. The script by Michael Tolkin was wonderful, and all the elements came together to make a dark, enjoyable romp for Altman.

The key to Altman, for me, was that with very few exceptions he made films that wouldn’t have been made otherwise. As a matter of fact, with his death, a reliable source of cinematic “Art” is lost to us. Even his slightest film, such as The Company, would never have seen the light of a projector.
This is not something you can say about many directors.

He also supported new talent and enabled many to get their start in film. Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine, Cynthia Nixon, Alan Rudolph and so many others jump-started their careers in Altman’s films. Actors, in fact all talent wasl treated like gold, and he used every ounce of all the talent around him on the set. This, in film, is a rarity. If only for that he should be applauded.

A.O.Scott has a good appraisal of Mr. Altman’s work in yesterday’s NYTimes.
The obituary by Rick Lyman is also well written.
Jaime J. Weinman wrote a nice piece on Tuesday.

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