TRIBUTE TO ROBERT ALTMAN

Pity the poor members of AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences). Every year at this time, when they get their new Oscar ballots, they not only have to decide on the best nominee in each category, they also have to ask themselves if someone especially deserving has been unjustly passed over too many times already. 

As viewers, we know this scenario all too well. A wonderful accomplishment in the current year is overlooked so that someone else on the list can get what is really a “lifetime achievement award.” We know it happens and we all understand why. Someone who should have received an Oscar ages ago didn’t, and now the members of AMPAS decide to make the person whole while they still can.

And so, we will be standing and loudly applauding, if, as we expect, the Oscar for Best Director goes to Robert Altman this year, even though our own choice for 2001 would be Ron Howard. 

Robert Altman has been nominated for Best Director four times. In 1970, he was nominated for MASH. (He lost to Franklin J. Schaffner, the director of PATTON.) In 1975, he was nominated for NASHVILLE. (He lost to Milos Forman, the director of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST.) In 1992, he was nominated for PLAYER. (He lost to Clint Eastwood, the director of UNFORGIVEN.) In 1993, he was nominated for SHORT CUTS. (He lost to Stephen Spielberg, the director of SCHINDLER’S LIST.) 

Astute readers of this site will know that there is only one contest here that we would really disagree with: as the years go by, it becomes increasingly obvious that ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST is more a “product of its time” than an enduring classic, whereas NASHVILLE gets better & better every time you see it. (We have the advantage of having seen Gary Sinese’s terrific turn as Randall Patrick McMurphy in the recent Steppenwolf Theater Company’s revival of CUCKOO’S NEST, which cemented our view on this topic.)

All that said, Altman’s importance goes far beyond his own directorial efforts. Altman was and continues to be a true innovator who created a new whole style of ensemble filmmaking. Altman (& his collaborators) build complete cinematic worlds filled with huge casts of fascinating, interlocking characters. He is the godfather of all the films now appropriately called “Altmanesque,” such as AVALON, BOOGIE NIGHTS, CHOOSE ME, DINNER RUSH, LONE STAR, & PULP FICTION. 

And so, even though GOSFORD PARK is not at the top of this master’s list, it’s much better than most of what was released in 2001, & therefore an appropriate occasion to celebrate Altman’s genuine accomplishments.

For the record, FILMS FOR TWO welcomes this opportunity to name our own all-time favorite Altman films, as follows: