| Robert Altman |
Robert Altman's body of work in many ways resembles the rich but somewhat unstructured style of filmmaking that he has become known for. He flew B-24's during the Second World War and made industrial documentaries in the early 1950's, but not before inventing a tattooing machine designed for the identification of dogs.
After some early projects, Altman directed two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1957 and was subsequently fired. But the exposure allowed him to establish himself, and he continued to develop his craft in the television industry during the rest of the 50's and 1960's. He worked as a director on a range of series including Bonanza and The Kraft Suspense Theatre. He was often in conflict with the TV networks for refusing to edit projects down to a manageable size, or for insisting on the inclusion of political subtexts.
Robert Altman began making feature films in the late 1960's, and in 1970 found commercial and critical success with M.A.S.H., a black comedy about the Korean War. He resisted offers to make big budget Hollywood films, and instead spent the early 1970's on successive projects that challenged established cinematic genres and critiqued American culture. Despite not being as commercially successful as contemporaries Robert Altman was recognized as an influential contributor to a creatively re-energized American cinema.
In 1975 he made Nashville, a meditation on Americana that received 5 Oscar nominations and featured over 20 major characters. Nashville's innovative narrative technique using overlapping storylines and a large ensemble cast, became something of an Altman trade-mark, and can be seen in films such as A Wedding [1978] that had over 50 major roles, as well as Short Cuts [1993], and Gosford Park[2001].
During the remainder of the 1970's, Robert Altman continued to produce a provocative body of work that mainstream audiences and critics often had difficulty with. Popeye [1980], a musical starring Robin Williams, failed to live up to expectations, and Altman responded by selling his production company and giving up his career as a Hollywood filmmaker. He turned instead to theatre, where he directed the Ed Graczyk play Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean on Broadway. He also worked on a range of innovative television projects including a docudrama about Richard Nixon called Secret Honour [1984], and a 5 episode HBO series called Tanner 88 about a fictional politician, that was shot amongst actual politicians during that years presidential election.
In 1993, Altman returned to the big screen and found critical and box-office success with The Player, a sharp satire of the Hollywood studio 'scene' that received 3 Oscar nominations. This was followed by Short Cuts, a snapshot of contemporary Los Angeles that was reminiscent of Nashville in its knowing portrayal of American life. During the rest of the 1990's, Altman's idiosyncratic approach to filmmaking continued to occasionally mystify critics and audiences. Pret-a-Porter [1994] and Kansas City [1996] were poorly received, and Gingerbread Man [1998] was re-cut by the film's producers after a disastrous preview screening. But true to form, Altman shrugged off these disappointments and made Gosford Park in 2001, which received universal acclaim and for which he won Best Director at the Golden Globes.
Robert Altman is self-effacing about his art and believes that film is really an actor's medium. Nevertheless, his genuinely innovative approach to narrative structure, and his continuing ability to offer an affectionate as well as critical eye on his subjects, marks him as one of the few genuine American auteurs.
David Vallence
| Novels presented as Films |
I have made several attempts at writing a piece on this topic, but each time it has turned out to be either too long-winded, too pretentious, totally incomprehensible, or all of the above. However this version is brief, perhaps to the extent of being cryptic.
Novels are usually in narrative form [1]. Films are often narratives. However it does not follow that a narrative novel will readily translate to a narrative film. After all, they are different art forms.
There are some basic technical difficulties to be tackled, such as:
Nevertheless, despite these (real or invented) difficulties, some extremely successful translations of novels to films have been achieved. "Wake in Fright" (Cook – Kotcheff, BFS showing November 13, 2003) is a notable example.
One film (as well as many others!) I'm looking forward to seeing is The Go-between. The author (L.P. Hartley) opens the novel with the sentence:
and thus thumbs his nose at any excessively tense-critical editor and opens a wide stage for a reader. How will the director and screen writer (Joseph Losey, Harold Pinter) handle that style?
Other showings in this category are:
| The Western |
The Western commands interest for at least two reasons.
The 2004 BFS program offers a fascinating selection of Westerns.
A wonderful sample of Westerns - enjoy!
Harry Oldmeadow
| Scandinavian Films |