ALTMAN POLL

Half-distracted half-saw Rounders on cable, but liked what I saw; will get around to a good watch, thanks for the recommendation.

Was really enjoying HBO's Luck too, for the brief time it lasted, alas.

I'm interested in film about all kinds of gambling (or all kinds of its aspects). But (maybe because I'm not a gambler) I'm less interested in depictions of gamblers who really just want to "win," or gamblers as skilled experts in a competitive sport (as it were), and more interested in "existential" gamblers, so to speak. (Is this a more pathological form of gambling? Or something like a drive, something like-- but more complicated than-- a death drive, which underlies all gambling, primordial part of the compulsion and thrill?)

There's something mysterious there which The Gambler and California Split (and Dostoevsky's novel) et al get at.

But that makes it sounds like my interest/ fondness is theoretical. I love hanging out with those two characters-- two gamblers, but ultimately very different-- to be immersed in the non-plot-driven idiosyncratic details of their time together, and such a complicated male friendship (so much more shaded and complicated and dark along with light than, say, the buddies in MASH).

HBO's Luck had some of that feeling too.

let's talk about Combat! instead

Saw Nashville for the first time last week - p good film!

The sound production was very trebly though, is that an issue w the blu-ray or a 70s sound thing? if so: why is the background noise so trebly? dark side of the moon is '73 so I know hifi mixing equipment was available...

What a filmography...

I can definitely get with your ranking. You captured pretty much everything I'd include except for Images, PHC, and Brewster McCloud. And Tanner '88 is an absolutely essential work so it's only natural that you'd include it.

Actually just watched The Gingerbread Man for the first time last week. Relatively minor Altman but definitely the best Grisham film I've seen (faint praise, yes).

The sound production was very trebly though, is that an issue w the blu-ray or a 70s sound thing? if so: why is the background noise so trebly? dark side of the moon is '73 so I know hifi mixing equipment was available...

― niels, Monday, November 2, 2015 6:45 AM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Late w/this, but feel I can address the matter. tl;dr--it's a 70s sound thing.

Longer version: This is an apples and oranges thing. The tech--from microphones to consoles--involved in recording studios in the 70s was a bit more advanced than what was being used on films of the time, particularly heavy on location productions like Altman's works. That said, in this case the disparity isn't as much as it could have been. The direct sound was recorded on a 24 track remote console, not unlike what would be used for a live album or concert film, that Altman had purchased to get more wide-ranging and true stereo location sound on his films, which--as in the case with Nashville--were becoming total on location productions with little if any filming being done on soundstages. (Before I go further, all of this is covered in greater and definitely more accurate detail in the Nashville Chronicles book).

The problem was, even with the big board, due to restrictions caused by the small omnidirectional lavaliere microphones hidden on actors (instead of the tradition over/under head boom mic), they couldn't use all the tracks at once because of frequency issues. Usually only a couple of actors would be mic-ed, even in big scenes (Allen Nichols recalls in the book having to speak in the direction of Keith Carradine's shoulder in their scenes together so he'd get picked up into the mic sewn into the latter's costume).

Mixing in post-production presented another problem. Despite the studio tech available to them, most theatres at the time were not equipped to handle surround or even plain stereo. Generally the only films exhibited with such mixes were musicals, concert films, or event films like Irwin Allen's 'Disaster' films & their ilk, which played in specially equipped theatres (hence the somewhat infamous story about the distribution of Ladies & Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones, wherein exhibitors were supplied with portable PA equipment with the film print for a proper aural experience). Therefore background noise--particularly location sounds like in Nashville--didn't have much thought put into its recording since it wouldn't have a prominent place in the mono presentation many would hear the film in upon release.

Now that we are fully ensconced in the surround era, a lot of older films are being remixed for 5.1 & beyond (such as the Criterion edition of Nashville, which is 5.1 only), so these flaws are becoming more apparent.

thanks, that's a lot of interesting facts!

I guess the alternative would have been to dub it all, and that would ofc not have suited the style

California Split. saw a gorgeous 35mm print of this in my favorite theater in the world the other day. amazing experience. i'm completely obsessed with Altman's constantly moving, roving camera. i liked the movie as it went on but wasn't first tier, reminded me of Cassavetes' Husbands and Faces, grown men getting drunk and silly. Really cruel playing that prank on the cross-dressing man, that sucked. anyway like i said for most of it i was just enjoying seeing thru Altman's wandering eyes, was slight otherwise, until that shot of George Segal sitting at an empty bar looking completely dejected in the background, the camera slowly pushing in on him as Elliot Gould hoots and hollers in the foreground. a stunning shot, and of course what follows- "this doesn't mean anything" - but that shot made the movie. feel lucky I got to see this movie for the first time under ideal circumstances. i can't believe it's out of print.

Like it much better than Husbands, but yes, they come from the same place.

Oh yeah for sure

I haven’t seen Husbands in ages but Altman’s roving camera automatically makes his so much better

man, Images. what a boring dull dud

It's certainly no The Emoji Movie, I'll give you that.

Hocus pocus wasn't his strength.

But imagine his version of Hocus Pocus w/Shelly Duvall, Sally Kellerman, and Sissy Spaceman!

SPACEK. Stupid phone.

her nickname iirc

Pronounced spah-CHEH-mun

and Buffalo Bill, oh boy. imdb says it was shot in 2:35 but the DVD I watched looked like How the West Was Won. it's a total mess, boring but not as much as Images. waste of a decent ensemble and a good idea. but one of the last scenes really struck me: Newman is up at night raving drunk in his pajamas talking at Sitting Bull, going on about how he "was born to be white. God meant it" and that "I'm white and you're red so we can tell the difference." cut to a wide shot where Sitting Bull has vanished, Newman has been screaming at no one, and he just sits there completely dejected. Sitting Bull reappears but that shot is remarkable - too bad it's buried at the end of a lousy movie.

It's certainly no The Emoji Movie, I'll give you that.

― But people get sick on earth in their human form (Old Lunch)

I mean, what is?

I'm loving that Sissy Spaceman autocorrect

So I was looking at the new 'Movie Issue' of Airbnb Magazine at Walmart yesterday and they had an article on this: https://popeyemalta.com

https://popeyemalta.com/assets/galleries/13/weddings-malta-popeye-village-3.jpg

running low now, so......

Cookie's Fortune or Dr. T and the Women?

I have yet to see the former but I'd definitely recommend the former.

Realizing that, although I own the lot, Gingerbread Man is the only Altman I've seen from that run between Short Cuts and Dr. T. Really need to get on that and see what all the vociferous hype for Prêt-à-Porter is about already. So much hype!

Looking at the website for the Popeye village in Malta posted upthread , really tickled by this paragraph:

Later, be part of a cast and become movie stars for one day by staring in an actual movie. From plotting the scenes, to rehearsals, to costume-picking and the actual filming, you and your friends will have a blast and taste the life of your Hollywood idols. At the end of the stay, you will visit our cinema to experience the Premier of your very own movie. Copies of this epic thriller can be purchased after the preview! Please be aware that ample chuckles and numerous shots are a guarantee

Sounds like making an Altman movie.

Been a long time, and I was probably still going to them with "new Altman film!" in mind, but I don't remember liking any of Dr. T, Prêt-à-Porter, or Cookie's Fortune. Gingerbread Man was better, I think.

Kansas City?

I feel like I've never heard anything more laudatory about that stretch of films than 'it was okay'. Gingerbread Man was okay. Dr. T has the rare distinction of featuring a close-up scene of childbirth in a mainstream movie, so that's something.

I remember Cookie's Fortune being okay

hahaha everyone I've talked to about Dr. T and the Women totally hated it, I'm more curious now, I might rent both tmrw

watched Kansas City recently and was pretty bored, I think maybe even Images is better

I don't remember hating Dr. T. In point of fact, I don't remember much of anything about Dr. T.

But it's okay, everything he did after was very good-to-great so he went out on a high note, at least.

A Perfect Couple is the obvious template for PTA's Punch-Drunk Love, better in some ways, still half-baked

Quintet... ugh

The band Marta Heflin's a part of in APC is such a peculiar invention.

I have fond-adjacent memories of Quintet the one time I screened it. And of knowing even then I never had to watch it again.

Jack Tanner returns in Scorsese's new Dylan doc!

I was into the first ~half hour of Quintet, but it lost me when the wife was blown up. Before that I thought well, the problem is the ridiculous costumes, too baroque and fantasy inspired compared to the stark sets. Newman's outfit makes sense. But then once the game got going I was totally out of it and confused. The staging reminded me of his play films, not in a good way, it feels totally artificial. And the sets are cool, I feel like if he didn't use so many wide shots the atmosphere wouldn't have evaporated.

I liked seeing the comedic but also somewhat realistic medical emergencies in M*A*S*H and its acknowledgement of the performers over the loudspeaker at the end, but it was such a straight guy film

It kind of invented the Gross-Out Comedy.

Really? I think of it more as a slacker comedy

seems much more cynical than that to me

It’s a good thing you have a nice body otherwise we would get rid of you quick

Don’t stick me

Keep it clean

I can tie that for you

Ok let’s have the big stitches for closing up the chest

Larger needle, knocko

does anybody know if this is an officer or an enlisted man?

he’s an enlisted man

make the stitches big

oh come off it major! You put me right off my fresh fried lobster, do:you realize that?

Really? I think of it more as a slacker comedy

― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Saturday, April 25, 2020 11:20 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Actually you're right. I was mixing up Gross-Out and Slob Comedy, the latter of which eventually became Slacker Comedy. The Gross-Out elements of M*A*S*H are there, but not exactly played for laughs.

I've probably brought this up a ton of times here, but it's really interesting watching the first several episodes of the TV series, because they were really biting the Altman's style--lots of underlit scenes, tracking zooms, overlapping dialog, I think they were doing more location stuff too--before finding their own groove.

M*A*S*H isn't even Altman's best film of 1970.

Correct

Since we're all quarantined and Brewster McCloud has come up, might I interest you in the insane story of the guy who played the fat security guard in said film?: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/houston-babylon-dean-goss-houstons-jackie-gleason-houstons-bluebeard-or-both-6743586