The Criterion Collection

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Wooden Lens

Great summary of what makes it great. From a technical level, Altman's juggling of characters and especially overlapping dialog is a total marvel to behold. Just watched my copy of this stacked release the other day and it's worth every penny.

Altman? Overlapping dialogue?

I don't believe you for a second!

[Polaroid]

Whoa R.I.P Andrzej Zulawski ... How did I miss this news?!?

[oildude]

Nashville gets a lot of praise, and while I can see why, it is one of the few Criterions I have blind bought that has left me decidedly lukewarm and underwhelmed. The weird thing is, going in I thought I would surely love it. I am not sure why it didn't resonate with me. Maybe it is just Altman's style or the multiple story lines (done very well I must say). Or maybe I wasn't in the mood or ready to appreciate it at the time I watched it.

Nashville is many things - a black comedy, a wicked satire, a probing dark film that touches on all the undercurrents boiling within American society in the 1970s. It airs society's sins and saving graces out in the open light of day using the hopes, dreams, and failures of the country music mecca as a conveyance. Altman is a mixed bag for me. Some films of his I love (3 Women, The Long Good-bye), but others just don't click, like Nashville. I need to rewatch it, which is why it is still in my collection. I do like the immense power of the ending of the film. Those final scenes and that ending song "It Don't Worry Me" from Barbara Harris sticks in my mind like nothing else. That alone is worth the price of admission. I should love this film. But I don't.

A little personal backstory I'd like to share: I was a kid in the 1970s raised by parents who listened to a lot of 70s country music. During the middle years of the decade, we spent several vacations that included time in Nashville, usually spending the weekend during cross country road trips to Virginia. While my brother and I would read comic books endlessly in the back of our Chevy Van during these long trips, the radio was always on the "Nashville Sound" stations favored by my parents. I have great memories of multiple visits to the Grand Ole Opry at its (then) new location in 1976 (the year after Nashville hit theaters) and 1977. There I saw legends like Porter Waggoner, Loretta Lynn, Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, The Gatlin Brothers, Little Jimmy Dickens, Minnie Pearl, and a massively pregnant Barbara Mandrell (that pregnancy was for daughter Jaime, born in 1976, who became a beauty pageant winner and actress). I still get the happy chills remembering the first time I sat in that concert hall and heard the Texas Troubadour Ernest Tubb's deep nasally twang belt out "Walking the Floor Over You" and "Waltz Across Texas" live in concert. LOL...I still remember the live commercials for Martha White brand flour, because the shows are broadcast on the radio and this announcer off to one side of the stage would read out in a mellifluous voice the amazing ability of Martha White flour to make the best biscuits and flapjacks and homemade breads you ever tasted. I haven't been back to the Opry since then so for all I know nothing has changed.

Full disclosure: I still love country music, but have gone over to Outlaw Country and more traditional western styles since then. I look back on 70s country of my childhood with a fondness for many of the stars and songs. But the Nashville Sound movement so prevalent in the 1970s that began emphasizing the glossy, processed, and big glitterti style represented by Porter Waggoner (and brought out in Altman's movie most directly in the Henry Gibson character) and later matured in the 1980s and 90s into the new country pop styles that dominated the radio and sold out stadium shows.....was not my thing. I moved toward, and absolutely love, the raw and honest style of the honky-tonk and Outlaw movements. To this day I am as likely to have Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., Asleep at the Wheel, or legendary Texas artists like George Strait, Joe Ely, or Butch Hancock, playing on my sound system as I am rock, blues, jazz, and classic soul.

Over the years I have also rediscovered my appreciation for Loretta Lynn, dormant for a long time because despite seeing her at the Opry, I never really knew the roots music and honky-tonk side of her. As a I child, I didn't care for her "duets phase" with the glitterati stars of the day that frequently played on the radio and that is mostly what I associated her with. If you have ever heard Loretta give an interview, you know what a classy and truly legendary lady she really is, and a complete hoot with her disarming honesty. Some things have come full circle. Thank you Jack White for bringing her back to me. It's all good.

[sethdlh]

Has there been any rumblings about a 50% flash sale through their webstore? It's about this time that they usually have one.

[mja345]

Great post, oildude. Altman is a polarizing director. I have a buddy who absolutely hates his films and he and I get in arguments all the time. My dad is a huge Altman fan and showed me his most well-known films (Nashville, Long Goodbye, MASH) when I was just 13 or 14 years old. And, as a kid, I didn't get Altman's films at all. There just seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them.

But, in my early 20s, I started re-discovering a lot of Altman films and discovering many of them for the first time. What blew me away is how comfortably he worked in so many different genres. He could do outright comedy (A Wedding, MASH, Brewster McCloud), sprawling ensemble pieces (Nashville, Short Cuts), revisionist Westerns (McCabe, Buffalo Bill), surreal mindf**ks (3 Women, Quintet). The scope of the guy's talent blew me away. I think there are certain stylistic choices he made that can take time to get used to. The overlapping dialogue, the frequent zooming, as well as "the vaseline over the camera lens" look, as Quentin Tarantino put it in his assessment of "McCabe and Mrs. Miller".

When Altman was off his game, he could be way, way off, i.e. "Ready to Wear", "OC and Stiggs", "Dr. T and the Women", "The Gingerbread Man". But, to me, he's one of the more singularly talented American directors of the last 40 years along with names like Scorsese and Kubrick. Albeit less consistent than Kubrick or Scorsese. I break Altman's films into five tiers, outside of "Health" and "Countdown", which I haven't seen...

Masterpieces
Nashville
McCabe and Mrs Miller
Long Goodbye
3 Women
Short Cuts

Great
MASH
Images
California Split
Secret Honor
A Wedding
Thieves Like Us
The Player
Gosford Park
Buffalo Bill
Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean
Streamers
Kansas City
Brewster McCloud

Good
Vincent and Theo
Popeye
Cookie's Fortune
That Cold Day in the Park
Beyond Therapy
Quintet
A Perfect Couple

Average
The Company
Prairie Home Companion
Fool For Love
OC and Stiggs

Bad
The Gingerbread Man
Ready to Wear
Dr. T and the Women

[Page14]

I'm forever getting my Roberts mixed up ... Altman and Aldrich.

[RickDee]

Originally Posted by mja345

Great post, oildude. Altman is a polarizing director. I have a buddy who absolutely hates his films and he and I get in arguments all the time. My dad is a huge Altman fan and showed me his most well-known films (Nashville, Long Goodbye, MASH) when I was just 13 or 14 years old. And, as a kid, I didn't get Altman's films at all. There just seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them.

But, in my early 20s, I started re-discovering a lot of Altman films and discovering many of them for the first time. What blew me away is how comfortably he worked in so many different genres. He could do outright comedy (A Wedding, MASH, Brewster McCloud), sprawling ensemble pieces (Nashville, Short Cuts), revisionist Westerns (McCabe, Buffalo Bill), surreal mindf**ks (3 Women, Quintet). The scope of the guy's talent blew me away. I think there are certain stylistic choices he made that can take time to get used to. The overlapping dialogue, the frequent zooming, as well as "the vaseline over the camera lens" look, as Quentin Tarantino put it in his assessment of "McCabe and Mrs. Miller".

When Altman was off his game, he could be way, way off, i.e. "Ready to Wear", "OC and Stiggs", "Dr. T and the Women", "The Gingerbread Man". But, to me, he's one of the more singularly talented American directors of the last 40 years along with names like Scorsese and Kubrick. Albeit less consistent than Kubrick or Scorsese. I break Altman's films into five tiers, outside of "Health" and "Countdown", which I haven't seen...

Masterpieces
Nashville
McCabe and Mrs Miller
Long Goodbye
3 Women
Short Cuts

Great
MASH
Images
California Split
Secret Honor
A Wedding
Thieves Like Us
The Player
Gosford Park
Buffalo Bill
Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean
Streamers
Kansas City
Brewster McCloud

Good
Vincent and Theo
Popeye
Cookie's Fortune
That Cold Day in the Park
Beyond Therapy
Quintet
A Perfect Couple

Average
The Company
Prairie Home Companion
Fool For Love
OC and Stiggs

Bad
The Gingerbread Man
Ready to Wear
Dr. T and the Women

Great post but I would personally argue that Prairie Home Companion is s master piece and it's a travesty Critetion has not released it yet. It's even on Ebert's great movie list.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by sethdlh

Has there been any rumblings about a 50% flash sale through their webstore? It's about this time that they usually have one.

I'm ready for it, but I hope they hold off until March so I can use it on new blus. My last two pre-order titles shipped yesterday and put me over the hump for my $50 gift certificate.

USPS tracking is showing The Graduate and I Knew Her Well will be delivered to me today. That's surprising since the release date isn't until next Tuesday.

[Al_The_Strange]

Can't wait for the next flash sale. I gotta get The Graduate, The Manchurian Candidate, and I plan on getting that Hitchcock box set for my parents as a gift.

[ParaOK]

While we are on the subject of Altman, I just want to bring up how great the ending to McCabe and Mrs. Miller is. Specifically,

[Show spoiler]the last zoom close-up of Julie Christie's eye and the shot of Warren Beatty in the snow.

I can't wait to see this in HD!

[llj]

The Player was the first Altman film I ever saw.

I laugh at all the young people today who only know Peter Gallagher through his nice-guy-Dad character in The OC. When he played an ******* in Californication, some people were shocked.

They obviously have never seen Sex, Lies, and Videotape or The Player.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by ParaOK

While we are on the subject of Altman, I just want to bring up how great the ending to McCabe and Mrs. Miller is. Specifically,

[Show spoiler]the last zoom close-up of Julie Christie's eye and the shot of Warren Beatty in the snow.

I can't wait to see this in HD!

You know, I've seen McCable several times, but I'm not clicking on that spoiler tag. I want to see everything as fresh as possible.

[RickDee]

Originally Posted by mja345

"Nashville" is one of my top 10 films of all-time. It's one of the safest blind buys in the collection IMO. It's such a layered commentary on American life. It definitely doesn't require any interest in country music to enjoy it. In fact, someone who doesn't listen to country music would probably enjoy it more than a big country music fan. I first saw "Nashville" when my dad showed it to me when I was 14 or 15 years old and I think I've seen it about 10 times since then. I try to watch it once every year or two. It's a true masterpiece.

What's really funny is that the most popular song from the film I'm Easy was a hit pop song. There was nothing country about it.

[Nuck Horris]

Who is it at Criterion you send an email to to acquire booklets etc. from old releases?

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Can't wait for the next flash sale. I gotta get The Graduate, The Manchurian Candidate, and I plan on getting that Hitchcock box set for my parents as a gift.

Flash sale is only in stock items, so unless it doesn't happen until mid March (or unless Criterion gets stock really early) no Manchurian in the sale. Sorry!

[RickDee]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

Who is it at Criterion you send an email to to acquire booklets etc. from old releases?

No doubt. I want the artwork from all digi packs so I can have all the fillms in scanavo cases.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Flash sale is only in stock items, so unless it doesn't happen until mid March (or unless Criterion gets stock really early) no Manchurian in the sale. Sorry!

Dang, I forgot it comes out later. I blame Dr. Svet for posting the review so far in advance. To be fair though, that only psyches me up for the inevitable summer B&N sale.

And it also opens me up for another blind-buy possibility. Hmmm, what to try next...?

[mja345]

Originally Posted by RickDee

Great post but I would personally argue that Prairie Home Companion is s master piece and it's a travesty Critetion has not released it yet. It's even on Ebert's great movie list.

I haven't seen "Prairie Home Companion" in a while, so I probably need to revisit it. Oddly enough, the principal of my high school knew Garrison Keillor somehow, so Keillor spoke at my high school numerous times and I saw him probably 3 or 4 times. I think I had Keillor fatigue when I saw "Prairie Home Companion" initially.

[The Great Owl]

Robert Altman's Nashville is one of my least-favorite Criterion titles, but it has its odd charms.

Here is my review of the Blu-ray that I wrote after its release...

[Show spoiler]As I watched Robert Altman's 1975 ensemble film, Nashville, for the first time tonight, my initial impressions were unenthusiastic. On the surface, Nashville has a smarmy aesthetic to it, as though the story were told by one of those people who seems to be laughing at you on the inside while he or she converses with you in a supposedly straightforward fashion. As I continued to watch this multiple-narrative film, resolving to observe with an open mind, I gradually began to pinpoint treasures and genuine charms as they emerged from the fog. The effectiveness of good cinema is partially dependent on what the viewer brings to the table, and my own reception to the early scenes admittedly stemmed from my preconceived associations of Altman films with smug NPR archetypes. Ultimately, Nashville uses a myriad of plot lines to outline modern-day America in a nutshell, with its laughable delusions and its earnest strengths both exposed under a microscope slide for all to see, but it's up to the viewer to spot these traits in equal measure. My advice for fellow first-time participants who are underwhelmed at first echoes a lyric from a country song featured in one of Nashville's most pivotal moments. "Keep a-goin."

In terms of plot structure, Nashville reminds me of the nineteenth-century George Eliot novel, Middlemarch, that utilized numerous characters in interlocking narratives to paint a portrait of political issues, gender roles, ethics, religious themes, and social customs of its era. The self-congratulatory satire that I initially expected is there for the taking in several scenes revolving around the political and musical circles in the story, and I couldn't help but wonder what Altman would think of the current television phenomenon, American Idol, where many people with no semblance of vocal talent venture onto the stage under the illusion that they are destined for lucrative musical careers. One particular character, a BBC reporter, gave me an idea of what Altman must have thought of many Cannes Film Festival media presences. As one takes a closer look, though, devastating sadness and admirable resolve can be found in these characters. My heart went out to an elderly man, Mr. Green, who loses his wife during the story while dealing with a superficial niece. Lily Tomlin's housewife character reveals an uncanny integrity and self-assurance as she exits the bedroom after an affair with a singer who simultaneously reveals a forlorn side to his callous exterior during the sequence. An older country singer who inspires our extreme dislike early in the story eventually displays an unshakeable strength when he places the welfare of an audience over his own injury. A strangely fragmented and displaced female character who seems to be tossed around the story like a rag doll finally shows a stately grace as the film concludes. This assortment of souls is flawed, yet resilient, just as America is flawed, yet resilient.

I'm not quite ready to list Nashville among my personal favorite Criterion Collection titles, but I will treat myself to repeat viewings of this title because, as one of Kurosawa's seven samurai states to another, its characters fascinate me. The booklet essay by Molly Haskell makes a great case for this film's legacy, as does the 2013 documentary, The Making of Nashville. Robert Altman's commentary track, which I'm watching right now as I write this, provides a pleasing look at the director's working relationship with faithful friends over the years.

I was compelled to purchase this Criterion Blu-ray, my first Altman title, because of its reputation, namely its placement on the American Film Institute Top 100. What I've found is one of the most challenging titles that I have watched in recent memory, but I am glad to have this film in my collection in a beautifully-presented edition with an impressive video transfer and crisp audio quality so that I can revisit it and uncover more of its strengths over time.

I love Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, though, so everything balances out.

I bought 3 Women during the last big sale, but I haven't made my way to watching it yet.

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by mja345

Great post, oildude. Altman is a polarizing director. I have a buddy who absolutely hates his films and he and I get in arguments all the time. My dad is a huge Altman fan and showed me his most well-known films (Nashville, Long Goodbye, MASH) when I was just 13 or 14 years old. And, as a kid, I didn't get Altman's films at all. There just seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them.

But, in my early 20s, I started re-discovering a lot of Altman films and discovering many of them for the first time. What blew me away is how comfortably he worked in so many different genres. He could do outright comedy (A Wedding, MASH, Brewster McCloud), sprawling ensemble pieces (Nashville, Short Cuts), revisionist Westerns (McCabe, Buffalo Bill), surreal mindf**ks (3 Women, Quintet). The scope of the guy's talent blew me away. I think there are certain stylistic choices he made that can take time to get used to. The overlapping dialogue, the frequent zooming, as well as "the vaseline over the camera lens" look, as Quentin Tarantino put it in his assessment of "McCabe and Mrs. Miller".

When Altman was off his game, he could be way, way off, i.e. "Ready to Wear", "OC and Stiggs", "Dr. T and the Women", "The Gingerbread Man". But, to me, he's one of the more singularly talented American directors of the last 40 years along with names like Scorsese and Kubrick. Albeit less consistent than Kubrick or Scorsese. I break Altman's films into five tiers, outside of "Health" and "Countdown", which I haven't seen...

Masterpieces
Nashville
McCabe and Mrs Miller
Long Goodbye
3 Women
Short Cuts

Great
MASH
Images
California Split
Secret Honor
A Wedding
Thieves Like Us
The Player
Gosford Park
Buffalo Bill
Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean
Streamers
Kansas City
Brewster McCloud

Good
Vincent and Theo
Popeye
Cookie's Fortune
That Cold Day in the Park
Beyond Therapy
Quintet
A Perfect Couple

Average
The Company
Prairie Home Companion
Fool For Love
OC and Stiggs

Bad
The Gingerbread Man
Ready to Wear
Dr. T and the Women

Maybe I'm in the minority here but McCabe and Mrs Miller something didn't do it for me. Visually great but I was underwhelmed. I thought Nashville was great. Mash, short cuts and Gosford park were excellent. Still need to see 3 women and The Player