I guess this is one I should have expected, but the complexity and energy of the man never seemed to wane. Prolific and varied, he nonetheless had a distinctive signature style, easily satirized (as Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin did so charmingly at last year’s Oscars). I think A Prairie Home Companion was one of the movies of 2006.
The credits are impressive. Among the very greats, we must mention Nashville, The Player, and M*A*S*H. But even his less perfect movies have their rewards, as I’ve written before.
This is just one of those days when I feel like I’ve really lost something. Like there’s a real hole in the world.
Be born again among us, Mr. Altman.
A very sad day. Going over the list of his films, I realized again how lucky I was to come of filmgoing age in the 1970’s, when Altman was at his peak. Other than maybe Preston Sturges in the 40’s, what other filmmaker made so many memorable movies in so short a time? Masterpieces like Nashville, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and The Long Goodbye, the nearly-as-great Thieves Like Us, California Split, and MASH. I even liked Buffalo Bill & the Indians and 3 Women. Of the later works, I always tell people that the greatest movie they’ve never heard of is Secret Honor. There’s lots of pleasure to be found in Short Cuts and Kansas City, though they may be less than the sum of their parts. And don’t forget Tanner 88 on television.
A giant loss. 🙁
yes it is, he was a great director and his “Short Circuts” was sitting in my mailbox today