Robert Altman: America's Rebel Director

[@BroeyDeschanel]

You can find Be Kind Rewind's video about Shelley Duvall and Robert Altman here!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2WpXmywpJmAo7s

[@bkrewind]

💖💖💖

[@thebagelsproductions]

Cool channel, also, Cool accent 😎. Where are you from? ❤ from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@paulomiranda6505]

Wait a video from Be Kind Rewind and one from Broey Deschanel in the same day... It feels like Christmas

[@Did.You.Forget]

I was just thinking the same thing!

[@futuresailor266]

Jinx! To us and them

[@ReidScott-vu3zk]

Both about Shelly too lmao

[@NO-so9dg]

😅 so funny I just watched the other one, and I hesitated because I thought that I was about to watch the same video accidentally... Yay!

[@osmanyousif7849]

You mean, coincidence? I THINK NOT!!!!

[@SK28th]

You and BKR made companion pieces for each other’s videos and released it at the same time 🥺 Classy 😊🙌🏽

[@els1f]

I'm going to be 100% honest rn. I didn't know who this guy is, didn't know mash was a movie first lol, and i didn't realize that it was Broey Deschanel's channel that posted this. Shelley Duvall stared into my soul and forced me to click that thumbnail before i even realized 🙃

[@BryonyClaire]

Watching this immediately after Be Kind Rewind's was like KZbin barbenheimer. Amazing work as always

[@ayamutakino]

Careful saying that, Broey’s go get livid and go on a rant about how the creative visions of the filmmakers don’t matter compared to brands when she sees this.

[@vernonmeidlinger870]

I'm so glad you made this. My parents have been huge fans of Altman for as long as I can remember but I feel like our generation has overlooked him. I recently watched "The Long Goodbye" and loved it and have been craving deep dives into Altman's career so this video is just perfect!

[@andrewkiwanuka4633]

A truly amazing video essay. Love this. Nashville is a brilliant film. It’s on my watchlist to watch again after seeing this video. Your work is incredible. Salute 🙌🏿🙌🏿❤️

[@Maya-md9yt]

I think there is a theme throughout all his movies, they are all highlighting the experience of ensemble. All of the characters have their own stories that could be individually extrapolated, but when they are all put together there’s a different sense of absurdist comedy that demonstrates how much our lives are interconnected and that it is silly to believe we have any control over our lives considering that “unrelated” instances from other characters will have an impact on each other. A little bit like Love Actually but with better material that can tease out in a multitude of contexts what it means to exist in a community when individual actors have no access to the omniscient narrative that encapsulates everyone

[@Extracredittttt]

It makes a lot of sense that Sean Baker cites Altman as a primary influence I see so much of Baker in these descriptions. Great video!

[@josephgraham3006]

Thanks for this insightful and necessary introduction & exploration of one of America’s greatest filmmakers - I worry he is being forgotten. Your video is fantastic!

[@tzimaka]

The most exciting part is the evolution of your filmed segments !

[@moviemaniac14]

Interesting that you post this video the same time Be Kind Rewind posts their video on Shelley Duvall who Altman worked with frequently during the 70s. Do I spot another future collaboration?

[@BroeyDeschanel]

yes we made companion pieces :) Izzy is a much better person to cover Shelley's life/working relationship with Altman! And I wanted to look at his filmography / style - so it worked out!

[@SamuelFeutchine]

@@BroeyDeschanel Could you make a video about Buffy The Vampire Slayer ? The impact of this show on pop culture and television are unbeliveble

[@JefferyEPetrone]

Had the opportunity to see "Theives Like Us" on 35mm recently. Absolutely enrapturing experience to see Altman on the big screen. Very exciting video.

[@berliozophile]

I love your take on Nashville, still one of my all time favorite films. You got me thinking about the culture in the film and that now-a-days we have individuals on tick-tok defined as, influencers.

[@alexheaney3394]

One of the most important American directors, and my personal favorite. I went to a screening of Nashville in LA and Ronee Blakley (Barbara Jean) showed up to give an introduction! The miniseries Tanner '88 is a great revisiting of the political world by Altman -- another one that grows ever more prescient. Thanks for the deep dive! (P.S. Popeye = Masterpiece, not kidding)

[@lorcan545]

Piece of trivia: Nashville has been one of those movies that plenty of people name as their favorite of all time, notably critics Pauline Kael and Owen Gleiberman. However, it didn’t make the top 100 of the 2022 Sight & Sound greatest movies list. I find it an intriguing question whether it’ll be a perennial classic, whether Altman will return to the S&S top 100 in 2032, or whether he/Nashville will fade. I watched Nashville twice, about thirteen and ten years ago, but more recently gave up on it before it had really started.

[@lizan2678]

3 Women is the Altman film that sticks out most for me, but I remember liking Short Cuts.

[@lorcan545]

I think you could very well be right, that that is indeed one that stands out, and going forward might be the one that will be memorialized, if it’s not Nashville. To talk of S&S 2022, one controversy was how high Portrait of a Lady on Fire is, #32, and 3 Women is quite a sporitual precursor of that film, imo. I remember it well enough, but would have to see it again to figure out how much I like it. California Split is one I‘ve seen multiple times, and is a perfect distillation of Altman. Gosford Park is great, and I remember thinking that about Short Cuts too, but that one too I’d need to watch again.

[@ogto]

i gotta say... if only there was a 3RD WOMAN that had made an essay about altman, or one of his collaborators. now THAT would've been a twist.

[@kristenefox7001]

IDK if you two planned this but I loved BKR's video and immediately came here after. I am sure I will love this, too.

[@ChrisBrooks34]

This is perfect because I've been feeling a very 70s mood. I've started to think about the New Hollywood autuers and actors and re/watching old classics. Along and with Be Kind Rewind deep dive on Shelley Duval perfect companion videos.

[@garrettbays6942]

Images and The Long Goodbye are two of my favorite Altman films. I especially love Vilmos Zsigmond's smokey and, at times, colorful cinematography for The Long Goodbye, capturing the beauty of Southern California, but also emphasizing its sleazy qualities of the time.

[@Advent3546]

The perfect video to pair with Be Kind Rewind's new video on Shelley Duvall

[@JeffreyDeCristofaro]

I never really saw Robert Altman as a social commentator so much on the state of America or the world in his films - rather, I saw his films as explorations of multi-faceted humanity in general. True, he was part of the anti-authoritarian counterculture of New Hollywood of the 60's & 70's, and his films did pick apart the cultural zeitgeist of the times in both subtle and non-subtle ways, but that was usually the thematic context. The far deeper subtext, the real meaty content, was the individual characters and their relationships, and their hidden or openly-shared perspectives, especially in response to what was happening around them, that really propelled the narratives Altman wanted to film. It's that intimate study of human nature within the grand canvas of settings and events of the periods depicted that is most captivating. It's like a staged documentary in a sense - it may be narrative fiction with a certain artistic aesthetic, but it's so busy, easily relatable, and feels more realistic than what you might find in the tropes of other film genres. There's certainly no denying this thematic influence on Paul Thomas Anderson. Whether exploring certain businesses or institutions like the adult film industry (BOOGIE NIGHTS), intertwined oil & faith (THERE WILL BE BLOOD) or Scientology (THE MASTER), he usually focuses on the characters within those frameworks along the same lines as Altman - characters with different motivations, flaws and outcomes. Hell, it was Anderson who had offered to take over directing from the elderly Altman, his idol, during production of A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION when the director's health was failing.

[@65g4]

Great video well done im seeing a screening of Nashville tonight at my local theatre looking forward to seeing it on a big screen

[@unclegumbald989]

A Broey Deschanel AND a BKR video in the same day?! 😮

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

who is BKR

[@TravellerOfBoth]

While the 70's work (McCabe, Nashville, Long Goodbye, 3 Women etc) is undeniably the "Masterpiece" time. Gosford Park is as striking and biting a take on the British aristocracy as there has ever been. It took an "outsider" so to speak to really see the poisonous element those sensibilities, mannerisms and customs can have on the people tied up inside it all. Just look at Julian Fellows work since then to see how frothy and inconsequential that film may well have been if not for Altman in the director's chair.

[@marcus6918]

im sick atm and im getting a 1 hour robert altman video. thank you for your work broey.

[@Itcouldbebunnies]

I finally watched 'The Company' in preparation for this video only to find you didn't even talk about it!😅 Nevermind, I loved both the movie *and* your video.

[@jasoncromwell4206]

Welcome Back!!!!! Long time no see. I love Altman's work. I was first exposed to his style (way before I know what style was) while watching "Popeye" growing up on repeat I may add. I have seen most of his movies since and loved their rebellious and wild style. Surprised you didn't mention the muscular guy (in his first major movie) standing behind Elliot Gould in "The Long Goodbye" in the strip scene. Excellent video as always, Brooey.

[@jasoncromwell4206]

What I really love about Altman's movies is that they feel like real life while remembering you're watching a fictional story. His characters are thrown into situations they don't understand for reasons they don't understand. Just like real life. His characters don't mumble as much as they often speak at lower volumes which forces you to pay attention to the dialogue. It's a lot like trying to pay attention to your friends and loved ones at a crowded restaurant. The noise around you doesn't get lower you learn to compete with it.

[@LostCommenter7]

I've been getting to Altman's filmography so this really served to flesh out his artistic identity!

[@orionh5535]

My mom met Robert Altman in Palm springs, she said he was a cool hippy.

[@ayubnor0]

3 Women is a bonafide masterpiece imo.

[@forecheckbackcheckpaycheck]

One of the worst movies I've seen, maybe I should try to watch it again.

[@bacarandii]

Re: Altman's "Lion's Gate Sound System": You may THINK you're just "overhearing" overlapping dialogue, but it's finely orchestrated. Altman used early multitrack techniques to mix and balance dialogue the way musicians were doing in recording studios, as the technology grew from 4 to 8 to 24 and 48 tracks. Each actor had an individual lavalier mic, so all the dialog could be precisely adjusted, moment by moment, in post-production mixing. Which is what makes Tarantino's claim about the first reel mix of "McCabe" so ridiculous. You hear EXACTLY what Altman wants you to hear. You may not like it, but that doesn't mean it's "incompetent." And the dismissal of Altman as a "pothead hippie" (he was born in 1925, so he wasn't exactly an "Easy Rider" boomer) is just willfully insulting and dumb.

[@shubhangib.kundagrami3445]

Been waiting for you to talk about him!!

[@basitquraishi6388]

You and your friend hannah have a good podcast this was an entertaining episode

[@hetmanjz]

Wonderful video essay! If I may, though, a couple of quibbles: - Despite the idea that Altman reflexively annexed credit from writers, let's not forget how the fantasy story that Susannah York's character is writing in Images ("In Search of Unicorns") was in fact written by York and eagerly incorporated into the story by Altman, and the end credits give that fact full acknowledgement. - Vincent and Theo (about van Gogh and his brother), which preceded The Player by a couple years, was very much a critical success, and actually helped him secure funding for The Player. Anyway, it's always great watching your videos!

[@fiore3ky]

My favorite director, thanks!

[@bacarandii]

I graduated high school in 1975. "Nashville" was released that summer and instantly became a landmark in my life: the moment I knew for certain that movies were my passion. "Nashville" is bustling with life like no other film I've ever seen -- and I've seen a lot, having spent my whole life watching, formally studying, writing about, exhibiting (commercially and academically), and making movies. The novelty in 1975 was that "Nashville" followed 24 characters over a few days in Music City, USA. It was conceived after Nixon's crushing landslide victory in 1972, when Altman sent Joan Tewkesbury to Nashville to research the setting and spin a narrative that would culminate in an assassination. Those were the only conditions. It begins with a K-Tel TV commercial for itself, launches into a dumbed-down pseudo-populist political stump speech (pre-taped and delivered through loudspeakers atop a roving Hal Philip Walker campaign van) and ends with... a senseless shooting in front of an audience gathered at a pre-Epcot replica of the Parthenon, followed by what amounts to a shrug ("It Don't Worry Me" -- tilt up to a blank gray sky). In between, the movie explores the intersections of showbiz, politics, business, celebrity, art, advertising, religion, family and personal/career ambitions in ways that might seem prescient now, but were keen, clear-eyed observations of reality almost 50 years ago when the movie was made. Look at the first shot inside the recording studio (a pan/dolly with occasional inserts), notice how many characters are introduced and how impressions of them are established in mere seconds as Haven Hamilton records a take of his country Bicentennial anthem, "200 Years." It feels effortless, but when you pay attention, it takes your breath away.

[@katierose8238]

Everybody please check out her podcast. It’s fascinating af.

[@developingtank]

I don't think I've seen any Altman films, but as a huge Kubrick fan I had the same "anti-Kubrick" thought a few minutes earlier in the video before you mention it when Shelley Duvall was talking about how great it was to work with Altman. Seems like a very on point take from everything you're saying here. This video has inspired me to finally go in on Nashville.

[@brandonhamaguchi]

I don't think Alman is underrated, but I'm sure that it needed more discussion about him and his work. Thanks for this video!

[@frannosabenada]

I've been waiting for this video since you announced it and I loved it. Is there a reason you didn’t mention California Split? Also, it’s interesting how Altman’s work influenced PTA’s early films, and how Altman ended up being the standby director for PTA in his last film. And I think there’s some resemblance worth exploring between his way of directing stories with many characters and some of Bogdanovich’s movies.

[@JAYDUBYAH29]

Have been trying for years to find Short Cuts in any format… it’s like it disappeared. Great film, incredible ensemble cast.

[@Itcouldbebunnies]

Lol, I looked it up and immediately found dozens of copies of the dvd on offer for extremely reasonable prices.😁

[@SAngel-dj1lv]

Ohhh, very excited!

[@bakubaku087]

the ''alt'' in altman wasn't for nothing

[@titoleon3101]

What a great video. Love these retrospectives.

[@lancedeschenes4046]

Robert Altman told stories. He understood the obligations and responsibilities of storytellers.

[@billbolin7972]

Well done. We would want more. Which is a good thing. More on his remarkable filmed plays, especially Streamers and the rarely seen Laundromat (with Carol Burnett in a dramatic turn). But, yes, more.

[@emily-sg2cu]

ahhhh, an excellent essay!! thank you again 🤓🤓

[@darylchin53]

Excellent examination of Robert Altman's singular career in the American commercial film industry. One caveat: you conflate two movies in discussing Altman's post-NASHVILLE career. In 1978, he directed A WEDDING where he tried to up the ante on NASHVILLE, which had 24 people listed as "stars" (A WEDDING had 48 people listed), and a few months later, he made the smaller scale A PERFECT COUPLE (released 1979) starring Paul Dooley and Marta Heflin. Altman never made a film called A PERFECT WEDDING.

[@ogto]

it's mind-boggling HOW good Nashville is, when you think about it. i personally have a soft(er) spot for The Player, but Nashville really is a Citizen Kane-level piece of filmmaking

[@leos4243]

Altman is probably my favorite American director, McCabe and Ms. miller is probably one of my favorite westerns if not my favorite

[@LON009]

When I was a kid, I was a huge Popeye fan, but didn't know about the Altman film until we got cable TV around the mid 90s. Told my parents I wanted to stay up late to watch it, and they let me, but I guess it simply bored me because I fell asleep, I recall thinking it looked too much like a "grown-up" movie. My parents did finish watching it, to this day they still tell me it was a bizarre film (and my mom still refers to Shelley Duvall as Olive).

[@user-kc9rs8ew4x]

'And He yam what He yam What He yam and He yam What He yam and that's all that He yam 'Cause He yam what He yam' Thanks for the essay, good stuff.

[@Headytopper125]

Very smart review. Instant follow

[@planetclay]

The Player and Prete' Porter' are 2 of my fave movies ever.

[@maurinet2291]

As you described McCabe and Mrs. Miller I thought, "that's Deadwood." The series on HBO that ran for a few seasons to incredible critical acclaim, still beloved by fans. Maybe McCabe's audience in the seventies just weren't ready for it, or the story needed the longer form of post-Sopranos TV to really shine. Altman's vignette approach would have been perfect for modern TV storytelling, I think.

[@ayamutakino]

It was a MAJOR influence on Lord & Miller’s vision of Solo. Y’know…..before Disney destroyed their vision and forked them over, bringing in Ron Howard to finish the job while Bradford Young and Alden Ehrenreich unfairly took the brunt.

[@jgr2637]

Bekind rewind led me to this video. Both great channels !!😊

[@ocelot15]

Spoilers from the movies I haven't seen yet? Well, I guess I should've watch them until now ;)

[@autofocus4556]

Jack Lemmon’s monologue in short cuts is 🧑‍🍳 💋

[@gabrielidusogie9189]

could you make a film studies and media analysis for beginners vid and why its important? Media literacy is such an underrated skill

I missed more about "A wedding" I find it astonishing brilliant and deep

[@emcvideoproductions500]

I’m admittedly not a huge fan of Altman’s work (save for Nashville and 3 Women which I think are phenomenal works of art) but every film of his that I’ve seen has fascinated me for the exact reasons you stated in this video. Even though he passed away almost 20 years ago, his unabashed bravery and artistic perseverance has truly remained unlike a lot of filmmakers out there and I look forward to checking out more of his work. On a side note, Brewster McCleoud is probably one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen. You kinda have to see it just to believe it, like a lot of Altman’s films.

[@ayamutakino]

PTA, Lord & Miller, and Edgar Wright are just a few heirs to Altman’s throne.

[@Yinny-nj9us]

42:34 Love the editing there :)

[@tmamone83]

Guess I should finally get around to watching "Nashville."

[@corbinmarkey466]

Not nearly enough appreciation for Altman. He and Ashby were the unsung heroes of that 70s wave of directors.

[@franmcwhorter9654]

I agree with you about Gould. He's the cat's meow

[@MYMOTHERISAFISH-ci2ts]

I really like that you are comparing his visual style with painters. But I personally think that if I really had to choose one painter I'd probably choose James Ensor. Especially Ensor's,'Christ's entry into Brussels' or 'Carnival in Flanders'.

[@icraft1990]

I have nevet watched a Robert Altman movir but after your video I realy want to check them out. Great Video!

[@robderiche]

Ah, did not realize Phantom of the Paradise (1974) lifted the backup singer taking center stage after lead gets offed bit.

[@sjohns1974]

Phantom of the Paradise came out a year earlier.

[@robderiche]

@@sjohns1974 Ah, did not realize years went in order. Thanks for the correction. Now I have to wonder if Altman saw Phantom first. Or maybe it’s just a common variation of the understudy trope?

[@SembuaHumpdediddle]

I don't think that I've ever watched any of his movin pictures. I don't think that I want to either.

[@kathylennerds750]

Wow, I am completely unfamiliar with this man, but I now want to watch his entire filmography. I've heard vaguely of some of these movies but being a European whose main point of cultural reference is the 2000s, I can confidently say I've seen none of them.

[@activatedcharcoal]

If you mostly watch newer movies, Gosford Park is a very accessible and enjoyable way to become acquainted with Altman.

I love Altman: his characters are so weirdly humans and authentics

[@aisle_of_view]

The Player is terrific and hilarious.

[@theresacherco3503]

Yeah, I watched the be kind rewind about Shelley Duvall it was interesting and then she recommended this video and I was OK cool because I like both of your videos

[@danopticon]

I’ve only ever seen (in the order in which I’ve seen them) _Popeye, M.A.S.H., Short Cuts,_ and _A Prairie Home Companion,_ and I honestly never “got” Altman. (I saw _Popeye_ in the theater when it was released, in fact - I made my mom take me - and I *hated* it! You mention kids contemporaneously loving this movie, but I was around 10 years old then, and I was NOT among them!) Yet you’ve convinced me, I’ll now check out more of his filmography - maybe I simply haven’t seen the right Altman yet!

[@AnthonyAcriaradiocomix]

I loved Robert Altman since I was seven and saw a bootlegged super 8 of MASH which I had read every copy of that series. To the point that I looked up every Gunsmoke he ever did. AS like Dsnny Arnold I find people who everything they touch is gold. I must see Popeye again.

[@AstroBuoyant]

The Cowboy hat looks good on the Broey

[@waddlesdpuffin]

He may have been blah about his time in TV but others have been less so TV movie Nightmare in Chicago was championed by Maltin and TV guide heaped praise on an episode of the series Combat! That he directed

[@benjammin9906]

Saturday BKR Broey Shelly Duvall double feature 😍

[@DameDarcy999]

Popeye is literally one of my all time favorite movies. First seen in 1980 as a 9 year old, combined with the OZ book series from the 19teens and Alice mixed with goth 80’s subculture. Created my comic book series Meat Cake. And this movie gave me the faith my comics could also become a TV series with real life actors and animation combined.

[@ayamutakino]

Broey would fucking HATE Popeye and trash Robert Altman’s vision if that movie was released today.

[@jacobprice4311]

Short cuts is a masterpiece

[@jacobprice4311]

Fuck it, no one cares but I'll say it anyways, it's easily his greatest film and I'm assuming most difficult to direct

[@drainel9707]

the best director imo

[@jonahthejedai4973]

Great video as always! Is it bad to say your outfit rocks? You’re Gorgeous!

[@mbvie]

i loveee the long goodbye

[@rebeccassweetmusic4632]

Lily Tomlin as Lenea was a great acting choice by Robert Altman. She's a very interesting character who certainly loves her children, but doesn't feel fulfilled with her life. I think it's also interesting that Bob made Lenea a white gospel singer. It definitely led to some fascinating conversations. Also, for Lily's first movie role, she gives Lenea so much depth

[@The-Wolf-with-no-name]

Looking at the thumbnail of this video i thought it was going to be about Shelley Duvall considering she just passed away. Anyway good analysis of Altman.

[@bruins94laurent85]

Altman heads eating good today

[@SolracOsno]

Would it be too much to ask for a gena rowlands john cassavettes video? Been going to the American cinematheque retrospective here in LA. And a woman under the influence at the Egyptian theatre was very special. Agitating cinema which lives outside the cinema.

[@bkrewind]

absolutely booing tarantino for that mccabe and mrs. miller quote!!!!!

[@unimpressedalchemist]

Bruh. I didn't know you were gonna do a quick spoiler rundown of Nashville 1 minute into the video.

[@BroeyDeschanel]

thus the spoiler warning at the beginning of the vid :D

[@unimpressedalchemist]

@BroeyDeschanel not blaming you lmao I was just sending a text and missed it

[@activatedcharcoal]

@@unimpressedalchemist If you're worried about spoilers on a 50 year old movie, then maybe you should pay attention for spoiler warnings.

[@unimpressedalchemist]

@activatedcharcoal I'm not worried about it, just wasn't expecting it in the first minute of the video. I continued watching the video and then continued on with my day.

[@activatedcharcoal]

@@unimpressedalchemist Why even leave a comment about spoilers, when the video literally opens with spoiler warnings? If you can't even pay attention for 30 seconds without picking up your phone, then maybe hour long video essays are not for you.

[@mercurialhypersprite9556]

Yay! Fuck the algorithm cinephile topic!

[@johnwatson3948]

His style really stood out - don’t know which one, but was watching an early 1960’s TV show with just two men talking at a bar and thought “this is great, like something Robert Altman would do” - of course finding out it was directed by Robert Altman.

[@centreoftheselights]

7:06 I might be wrong but I thought "silver screen" meant the cinema, not TV?

[@Tee13-o8t]

Lovely !!!!!

[@allocater2]

That's Odo!

[@Anynom]

Him not winning an Oscar remains an Academy shame.

[@stephenaltman5054]

But he did get an lifetime achievement Oscar.

[@Johnconno]

McQuaid and Mrs Hillier was a masterpiece.

[@brandonhamaguchi]

How do you research reading those books and choose just a few quotes for the video? Sounds really difficult!

[@raleighsmalls4653]

I thought Hal Ashby was the rebel director ?

[@garrettbays6942]

I think you mean A Wedding, which was followed by A Perfect Couple.