Monday, April 24 | 2 Films
So much is written and talked about the filmmaking period now known as “The New Hollywood.” This period, from the late 1960s to the early 80s, brought a generation of writers, directors and actors who made movies with innovative filming techniques and with subjects almost never previously addressed in Hollywood movies. Always ranked highly in this group of filmmakers is writer and director Robert Altman.
Altman’s long filmography ran the gamut of genres and settings, yet each movie had a style which was distinctly his. Among his signature trends was telling stories (though he hated the words “story” and “plot” applied to his films) about serious subjects, such as war and crime, with a satirical and tongue-in-cheek twist. His movies also tended to feature large ensemble casts from the newer schools of acting, who used overlapping and improvised dialogue to create a more realistic effect. Though creatively liberal and generous, Altman often found himself at odds with studios and executives from the fading traditional Hollywood system who questioned his new methods.
As part of their April tribute to the Centennial of Warner Bros, TCM is showing two of Altman’s most ambitious, though less frequently shown films which he made for that historic studio.
After achieving moderate success with short films and on television in the 1950s and early 60s, Altman’s first film for Warner Bros (and only his second feature) was the low budget science fiction thriller Countdown (1967). Robert Duvall, James Caan and Michael Murphy play three young astronauts assigned to NASA’s simulated flight plans which are a part of the United States’ moon landing project. When it is learned that the Russian space program has already launched and is circling the moon, the three astronauts are tasked with moving from their simulated project to launching into space. One of them will have to be launched into space, land on the moon and live alone on the ship for an entire year.
The real NASA was accommodating to the production and allowed Altman to film at some of the real NASA space facilities in Florida, making the film appear very realistic. Despite this cooperation, the film was panned by both space experts and film critics for its unbelievability. Who could accept that the U.S. space program could be so ill-prepared and would allow such inexperienced astronauts into space?! Apparently, they couldn’t understand that it was science “fiction.” Altman was actually fired from the film during post-production and not allowed to edit his own movie after Warner Bros studio executives saw his original rough cut. Jack Warner, who was in his last days of power at the studio, was appalled with how the actors were speaking over each other. Of course, overlapping dialogue is now known as one of Altman’s trademarks. The film is now scene as a brave and unique creation of the space sci-fi genre.
Upon his dismissal from Countdown, Altman found himself without any offers from any other major studio and made the independent suspense thriller That Cold Day in the Park (1969) starring Sandy Dennis. It was another critical and commercial failure.
After a dozen other directors passed on the project, Altman accepted the job of directing the film adaptation of a little-known satirical novel about Korean War veterans. This would ultimately become one of Altman’s most famous and successful films, M*A*S*H (1970).
This film was the third biggest moneymaker of 1970, earned Altman the first of his seven Oscar nominations and marked the beginning of his status as one of Hollywood’s most sought after filmmakers.
Warner Bros came calling back and allowed Altman full reign over his next choice of project. Altman and producer David Foster chose to again turn a traditional movie genre on its head with the revisionist-Western McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971). Warren Beatty and Julie Christie (both at the peak of their stardom and appeal) play the title characters, a drifting gunfighter and a prostitute who go into business together, running a brothel in a small mining town in turn-of-the-century Washington state. When McCabe refuses to sell this successful business to the mining company from a nearby larger town, McCabe puts his life and those of the town in danger.
Altman originally offered the role of McCabe to his star of M*A*S*H Elliot Gould, who turned down the part after not enjoying his first experience with the director. He later regretted his decision. Altman described his film as an “anti-western” and indeed it is a very unconventional film. There really is no central hero, the dialogue between the actors was almost entirely improvised and the film is certainly without any conventional ending. Despite these distinctions, the film is now regarded by many as one of the greatest Westerns ever made. In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked it number eight on its list of Top 10 Movie Westerns.
Though the film was praised by critics, it was only a modest success at the box office.
Many of Altman’s greatest successes still lied in the decades ahead, including such classics as Nashville (1975), The Player (1992) and Gosford Park (2001). Altman received his only Oscar in 2006, and Honorary Academy Award for “a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike.” Altman passed away from Leukemia later that same year.
Alas, Countdown and McCabe & Mrs. Miller were ultimately the only two movies which Robert Altman made for Warner Bros, but what a pair they remain. Altman’s filmography and his reputation as a groundbreaking filmmaker will continue to live on, fascinating audiences and influencing free-thinking filmmakers forever.
