Robert Altman
Screening Schedule
December 3, 2014 – January 17, 2015
Wednesday, December 3
7:00
The Delinquents. 1957. Screenplay by Altman. With Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller,
Rosemary Howard. Before his feature film career took off with MASH, Altman’s early
sponsored films and television work allowed him to develop his craft in a range of
traditional genres. Among them is this 1950s teensploitation picture in which a pretty
girl’s rebellion against bourgeois parents leads to recklessness and violence. DCP
presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 72 min.
The Perfect Crime. 1955. Screenplay by Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company.
With Leonard Belove, Owen Bush, Art Ellison. This noir-style public service film on
traffic safety opens with a double murder. Digital projection. Courtesy Wisconsin
Center for Film & Theater Research. 29 min.
Thursday, December 4
4:30
TELEVISION PROGRAM 1
“Survival” (from Combat!). 1963. Teleplay by John D. F. Black. With Vic Morrow,
Rick Jason, Pierre Jalbert. In what is generally considered the war series’s strongest
and most realistic episode, WWII American soldier Morrow wanders alone, burned and
shell-shocked, behind German lines. Courtesy ABC/Disney. 47 min.
“Nightmare in Chicago” (adapted from Kraft Suspense Theatre: Once Upon a
Savage Night). 1964. Teleplay by David Moessinger, based on a novel by William P.
McGivern. With Charles McGraw, Robert Ridgely, Ted Knight, Barbara Turner. Shot on
location in and around Chicago, this gritty crime thriller, much of it told from a serial
killer’s perspective, is the best of the director’s early flirtations with classic film noir. It
also features an early score by John Williams. - Courtesy Gary Huggins. 80 min.
7:30
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. 1982. Screenplay
by Ed Graczyk. With Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, Sudie Bond, Kathy Bates. A fan
club reunion at a fading soda-fountain shrine to James Dean on the anniversary of his
death becomes a meditation on gender, power, and female identity. As with other
stage adaptations made during his periods of retreat from Hollywood, Altman
challenges viewers to experience the interplay of visual storytelling and the spoken
word. As he often did, the director focuses on a strong cast of women, and Cher’s
stellar performance launched her screen career. Restored by UCLA Film & Television
Archive with funding provided by The Film Foundation and The Hollywood Foreign
Press Association. 109 min.
Pot au Feu. 1965. Cooking up a joint French-style. Digital video presentation courtesy
the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 4 min.
Introduced by Kathryn Reed Altman and David Gropman, Production Designer
Friday, December 5
4:30
TELEVISION PROGRAM 2
“Silent Thunder” (from Bonanza). 1960. Teleplay by John Furia, Jr. With Michael
Landon, Stella Stevens, Albert Salmi. In this episode of the long-running Western
series, Little Joe (Landon) saves a deaf farm girl from a sexual predator and teaches
her how to overcome alienation from her father. Digital video presentation courtesy
of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 50 min.
“All the President’s Women” (from Gun). 1997. Screenplay by Anne Rapp. With
Daryl Hannah, Sally Kellerman, Jennifer Tilly, Sean Young, Randy Quaid, Tina Lifford.
Bill Clinton’s presidency is the subtext for this sardonic mystery about a missing
weapon and the philandering country-club set. Courtesy Multicom Entertainment. 60
min.
8:00
The James Dean Story. 1957. Screenplay by Stewart Stern. Narrated by Martin
Gabel. Made shortly after the actor’s violent death, Altman’s first film about James
Dean is a noir eulogy capitalizing on interviews with close family and friends. The use
of landscape as a breeding ground for character would become an important, if
overlooked, motif in his work. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at
the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 81 min.
Modern Football. 1951. Produced by the Calvin Company. This industrial film reviews
national regulations governing high school football through the efforts of a would-be
gridiron hero. Look for the director himself as a press box extra. Digital projection.
Courtesy Gary Huggins. 26 min.
Introduced by Jennifer George, daughter of the film's co-producer George W.
George
Saturday, December 6
2:30
Corn’s-A-Poppin’. 1956. Directed by Robert Woodburn. Screenplay by Woodburn,
Altman. Altman cowrote this independent musical comedy, directed and performed by
colleagues from the Calvin Company in his hometown of Kansas City. This low-budget
affair, about a popcorn executive, the ensemble cast of the show he sponsors, and a
conniving competitor, is replete with the social satire and dramatic deadpan that would
become Altman’s trademark. Restored by the Northwest Chicago Film Society, with
funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation. 58 min. New York
Premiere. Introduced by Kyle Westphal, Vice President, Northwest Chicago
Film Society.
5:00
The Player. 1992. Screenplay by Michael Tolkin. With Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi,
Fred Ward, Cynthia Stevenson, Margery Bond. Tim Robbins stars in this waggish
Hollywood exposé as a studio executive whose attempt to track down a screenwriter
sending him hate mail results in an accidental murder and a sleazy web of lies. The
crime plot doubles as an indictment of a depraved industry, as satire melds with dark
comedy. A box-office success packed with star cameos and industry references, The
Player announced Altman’s return to Hollywood after independent projects throughout
the 1980s, but Altman never got too cozy: “As for Hollywood, they sell shoes and I
make gloves. So we really aren’t in the same business.” Courtesy Academy Film
Archive. 124 min.
8:00
Countdown. 1968. Screenplay by Loring Mandel, based on the novel The Pilgrim
Project, by Hank Searls. With James Caan, Robert Duvall, Joanna Moore, Barbara
Baxley, Charles Aidman. Altman’s first Hollywood feature follows two astronauts vying
to be the first American sent the moon, and charts the ripples in their family lives in
the days leading up the mission, expedited due to Soviet advancements. Anticipating
the first moon landing by a year, the crew conferred with NASA experts to replicate
the Apollo capsule in the Warner Bros. sound stages—with estimable results for the
time—and James Caan’s character takes his first steps on “the Moon” in the Mojave
Desert. Courtesy Warner Bros. 101 min.
The Sound of Bells. 1952. Screenplay by Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company.
With Keith Painton. Two Christmas eves bookend this primer on car dealing and
parable on kindness. Courtesy Gary Huggins. 22 min.
Sunday, December 7
1:30
The Delinquents. 1957. Screenplay by Altman. With Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller,
Rosemary Howard. Before his feature film career took off with MASH, Altman’s early
sponsored films and television work allowed him to develop his craft in a range of
traditional genres. Among them is this 1950s teensploitation picture in which a pretty
girl’s rebellion against bourgeois parents leads to recklessness and violence. DCP
presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 72 min.
The Perfect Crime. 1955. Screenplay by Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company.
With Leonard Belove, Owen Bush, Art Ellison. This noir-style public service film on
traffic safety opens with a double murder. Digital projection. Courtesy Wisconsin
Center for Film & Theater Research. 29 min.
4:30
TELEVISION PROGRAM 3
“The Young One” (from Alfred Hitchcock Presents). 1957. Teleplay by Sarrett
Rudley, from a story by Phillip Goodman, Sandy Sax. With Carol Lynley, Vince
Edwards, Stephen Joyce, Jeanette Nolan. A teenage girl (Lynley) uses sex and
violence to escape her home life in this dry run for the psychologically distressed
female characters both actress and director would revisit in later work. Courtesy
NBCUniversal. 30 min.
“Some of the People, Some of the Time” (from Route 66). 1961. Teleplay by
Stirling Silliphant. With Martin Milner, George Maharis, Keenan Wynn, Lois Nettleton,
Shirl Conway. In Wynn’s first performance for Altman, small town Pennsylvania is the
setting for the Corvette-driving series regulars’ encounter with a shady beauty contest
promoter. Courtesy Roxbury Entertainment. 60 min.
7:00
That Cold Day in the Park. 1969. Screenplay by Gillian Freeman, adapted from the
novel by Richard Miles. With Sandy Dennis, Michael Burns, Susanne Benton. In the
first of several Altman films exploring the interior world of unstable anti-heroines,
Sandy Dennis delivers an arresting performance as Frances, a wealthy young
“spinster” who shelters an apparently homeless and mute (and handsome) young man
on a rainy Vancouver day. When Frances discovers the truth about the mysterious
boy, she regains control by any means necessary, bringing this modern gothic
psychodrama to a climactic finish. Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, with
funding provided by The Film Foundation and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
113 min.
Speak Low. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. Burlesque star Lili St. Cyr makes herself
comfortable as Frances never could. Digital projection. Courtesy Jim McDonnell. 4 min.
Monday, December 8
4:30
The James Dean Story. 1957. Screenplay by Stewart Stern. Narrated by Martin
Gabel. Made shortly after the actor’s violent death, Altman’s first film about James
Dean is a noir eulogy capitalizing on interviews with close family and friends. The use
of landscape as a breeding ground for character would become an important, if
overlooked, motif in his work. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at
the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 81 min.
Modern Football. 1951. Produced by the Calvin Company. This industrial film reviews
national regulations governing high school football through the efforts of a would-be
gridiron hero. Look for the director himself as a press box extra. Digital projection.
Courtesy Gary Huggins. 26 min.
Introduced by Jennifer George, daughter of the film's co-producer George W.
George
8:00
MASH. 1970. Screenplay by Ring Lardner Jr., based on the novel by Richard Hooker.
With Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall,
Corey Fischer. Set in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War, MASH
chronicles the romantic escapades, after-hours tricks, and behind-the-battle-lines
sports adventures of three hedonistic surgeons. Altman debuted several of his nowsignature techniques—overlapping dialogue, tight close-ups, and rich performances by
an ensemble cast—creating a carefully constructed sense of chaos. This antiwar
dispatch earned an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Altman’s star
began to rise with the arc of the counterculture. 116 min.
Ebb Tide. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. Lili St. Cyr lounges seaside. Digital
projection. Courtesy Jim McDonnell. 4 min.
Tuesday, December 9
4:00
Countdown. 1968. Screenplay by Loring Mandel, based on the novel The Pilgrim
Project, by Hank Searls. With James Caan, Robert Duvall, Joanna Moore, Barbara
Baxley, Charles Aidman. Altman’s first Hollywood feature follows two astronauts vying
to be the first American sent the moon, and charts the ripples in their family lives in
the days leading up the mission, expedited due to Soviet advancements. Anticipating
the first moon landing by a year, the crew conferred with NASA experts to replicate
the Apollo capsule in the Warner Bros. sound stages—with estimable results for the
time—and James Caan’s character takes his first steps on “the Moon” in the Mojave
Desert. Courtesy Warner Bros. 101 min.
The Sound of Bells. 1952. Screenplay by Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company.
With Keith Painton. Two Christmas eves bookend this primer on car dealing and
parable on kindness. Courtesy Gary Huggins. 22 min.
7:00
Brewster McCloud. 1970. Screenplay by Doran William Cannon. With Bud Cort,
Shelley Duvall, Sally Kellerman, René Auberjonois, John Schuck. An introverted young
man hiding in the Houston Astrodome, under the protection of a guardian angel,
dreams of flying on artificial wings—until he is brought down to Earth by a sexual
encounter with a featherbrained girl. This Fellini-inspired comic allegory, an unlikely
follow-up to the success of MASH, was among the director’s favorites. 35mm print
courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 105 min.
Behind the Scenes of Brewster McCloud [excerpt]. 1970. Footage of the director
and crew working on mechanical flying effects in the Astrodome. Silent. Digital video
presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 5 min.
Wednesday, December 10
4:00
That Cold Day in the Park. 1969. Screenplay by Gillian Freeman, adapted from the
novel by Richard Miles. With Sandy Dennis, Michael Burns, Susanne Benton. In the
first of several Altman films exploring the interior world of unstable anti-heroines,
Sandy Dennis delivers an arresting performance as Frances, a wealthy young
“spinster” who shelters an apparently homeless and mute (and handsome) young man
on a rainy Vancouver day. When Frances discovers the truth about the mysterious
boy, she regains control by any means necessary, bringing this modern gothic
psychodrama to a climactic finish. Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, with
funding provided by The Film Foundation and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
113 min.
Speak Low. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. Burlesque star Lili St. Cyr makes herself
comfortable as Frances never could. Digital projection. Courtesy Jim McDonnell. 4 min.
7:00
McCabe and Mrs. Miller. 1971. Screenplay by Altman, Brian McKay. With Warren
Beatty, Julie Christie, René Auberjonois, Michael Murphy. The director’s anti-Western
taps into 1970s paranoia about the ruthlessness and long reach of corporate America.
In the unforgiving frontier wilderness of Washington State in 1902, Christie’s cynical
prostitute and Beatty’s hapless con man fall victim to deluded ambition, bravado, and
despair. 120 min.
Zinc Ointment. 1971. Directed by Marianne Dolan. Footage from the set of McCabe
and Mrs. Miller documents the complex production demands—and the good times—of
location work in adverse conditions. Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert
Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 9 min.
Thursday, December 11
4:00
Brewster McCloud. 1970. Screenplay by Doran William Cannon. With Bud Cort,
Shelley Duvall, Sally Kellerman, René Auberjonois, John Schuck. An introverted young
man hiding in the Houston Astrodome, under the protection of a guardian angel,
dreams of flying on artificial wings—until he is brought down to Earth by a sexual
encounter with a featherbrained girl. This Fellini-inspired comic allegory, an unlikely
follow-up to the success of MASH, was among the director’s favorites. 35mm print
courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive 105 min.
Behind the Scenes of Brewster McCloud [excerpt]. 1970. Footage of the director
and crew working on mechanical flying effects in the Astrodome. Silent. Digital video
presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 5 min.
7:30
Images. 1972. Screenplay by Altman. With Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi, Hugh
Millais, Cathryn Harrison, Susannah York. In a countryside cottage, a children’s book
author finds herself tormented by visions of a deceased lover, which she battles with
fantasies of bloody violence. Told entirely from the woman’s muddled perspective, this
elliptical tale registers like a fever dream, complete with dizzying cinematography and
an eerie score performed by Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta. While denying
the viewer the genre’s usual cathartic payoff, Altman’s take on the psychological
thriller—and his fragile and haunted heroine—is powerful nonetheless. Courtesy
Harvard Film Archive. 101 min.
Damages. 2001. Directed by Marianne Dolan. A home movie from the set of Images.
Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 9 min.
Friday, December 12
4:00
Gosford Park. 2001. Screenplay by Julian Fellowes. With Michael Gambon, Maggie
Smith, Helen Mirren, Kristen Scott Thomas, Ryan Phillippe, Clive Owen. The master of
the house invites distinguished guests for a weekend shooting party—and is murdered
in the dark of night. This English-manor whodunit, Altman’s most successful film since
MASH, boasts a knockout cast of British stage and screen talent. Julian Fellowes’s
cleverly layered script—pitting the babble of the landed against the gossip of the
servants’ quarters—won an Academy Award and served as a model for Fellowes’s
successful series Downton Abbey (2010–). 137 min.
7:00
The Long Goodbye. 1973. Screenplay by Leigh Brackett, based on novel by
Raymond Chandler. With Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark
Rydell, Henry Gibson. After toying with film noir in his early film and television work,
Altman made his major contribution to the genre with this sun-drenched, Technicolor
Raymond Chandler adaptation. Gould’s chain-smoking Philip Marlowe is like a
mumbling Rip Van Winkle awaking 30 years out of date in 1970s Los Angeles.
Ceaseless, arbitrary camera movement creates a sense of uneasy voyeurism, and a
jazzy John Williams/Johnny Mercer title song plays over and over as an inescapable,
fatalistic motif. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 112 min.
The Party. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. With Robert Fortier. Altman used his
home, family, and friends in this jukebox short set to Herb Alpert’s “Bittersweet
Samba.” Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA
Film & Television Archive. 4 min.
Saturday, December 13
1:30
Christmas Eve. 1947. Directed by Edward L. Marin. Screenplay by Laurence Stallings,
from a story by Stallings, Richard H. Landau, Altman. With George Raft, George Brent,
Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, Ann Harding. A lonely old woman in danger of losing
her fortune calls for a reunion with her three adopted sons, whose less-thanexemplary lives are revealed in flashback. The film’s odd ensemble of characters and
star-heavy cast anticipate later Altman. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman
Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 90 min.
4:00
Images. 1972. Screenplay by Altman. With Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi, Hugh
Millais, Cathryn Harrison, Susannah York. In a countryside cottage, a children’s book
author finds herself tormented by visions of a deceased lover, which she battles with
fantasies of bloody violence. Told entirely from the woman’s muddled perspective, this
elliptical tale registers like a fever dream, complete with dizzying cinematography and
an eerie score performed by Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta. While denying
the viewer the genre’s usual cathartic payoff, Altman’s take on the psychological
thriller—and his fragile and haunted heroine—is powerful nonetheless. Courtesy
Harvard Film Archive. 101 min.
Damages. 2001. Directed by Marianne Dolan. A home movie from the set of Images.
Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 9 min.
7:30
Thieves like Us. 1974. Screenplay by Altman, Joan Tewkesbury, Calder Willingham.
With Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Louise Fletcher.
Depression-era Mississippi becomes a textured, vivid character in this portrayal of
chain-gang escapees who blunder through another spree of bank hold-ups. When
Bowie (Carradine) is injured, he is nursed back to health by the sweet and simple
Keechie (Duvall), beginning a tender but doomed romance. From the New Deal
speeches and 1930s radio programs that comprise the diagetic score to the ubiquitous
Coca-Cola bottles, Thieves like Us presents a poetic regional portrait. Courtesy Park
Circus. 124 min.
Sunday, December 14
1:30
Bodyguard. 1948. Directed by Richard Fleischer. Screenplay by Fred Niblo, Jr., Harry
Essex, from a story by Altman, George W. George. With Lawrence Tierney, Priscilla
Lane, Philip Reed, Steve Brodie. Suspended from the force, insubordinate tough guy
Tierney is hired to protect a wealthy meatpacking heiress and then framed for murder.
There is a hint of parody in Altman’s B-grade film noir story that would become a
signature of later work. Courtesy Warner Bros. 62 min.
3:30
The Long Goodbye. 1973. Screenplay by Leigh Brackett, based on novel by
Raymond Chandler. With Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark
Rydell, Henry Gibson. After toying with film noir in his early film and television work,
Altman made his major contribution to the genre with this sun-drenched, Technicolor
Raymond Chandler adaptation. Gould’s chain-smoking Philip Marlowe is like a
mumbling Rip Van Winkle awaking 30 years out of date in 1970s Los Angeles.
Ceaseless, arbitrary camera movement creates a sense of uneasy voyeurism, and a
jazzy John Williams/Johnny Mercer title song plays over and over as an inescapable,
fatalistic motif. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 112 min.
The Party. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. With Robert Fortier. Altman used his
home, family, and friends in this jukebox short set to Herb Alpert’s “Bittersweet
Samba.” Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA
Film & Television Archive. 4 min.
6:30
California Split. 1974. Screenplay by Joseph Walsh. With George Segal, Elliott Gould,
Ann Prentiss, Gwen Welles. Set against the gambling subculture of racetracks and
casinos, this character study of a freewheeling habitué (Gould) and a rabidly
codependent businessman (Segal) is the director’s most successful early experiment in
blending scripted dialogue and improvisation, aided by new eight-track technology.
The film was shot in sequence, and the matter-of-fact existentialism of its ending was
decided on the set when Altman suddenly discarded the remaining script pages.
Courtesy Sony Pictures Releasing and Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. 108 min.
Tuesday, December 16
4:00
California Split. 1974. Screenplay by Joseph Walsh. With George Segal, Elliott Gould,
Ann Prentiss, Gwen Welles. Set against the gambling subculture of racetracks and
casinos, this character study of a freewheeling habitué (Gould) and a rabidly
codependent businessman (Segal) is the director’s most successful early experiment in
blending scripted dialogue and improvisation, aided by new eight-track technology.
The film was shot in sequence, and the matter-of-fact existentialism of its ending was
decided on the set when Altman suddenly discarded the remaining script pages.
Courtesy Sony Pictures Releasing and Swank Motion Pictures. 108 min.
7:00
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson. 1976. Screenplay
by Alan Rudolph, Altman, suggested by the play Indians, by Arthur Kopit. With Paul
Newman, Joel Grey, Burt Lancaster, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin McCarthy, Harvey Keitel.
After Nashville, this is Altman’s second Bicentennial-inspired reflection on America told
as a show-business story. Restaging history proves impossible when Newman’s Buffalo
Bill hires the real Chief Sitting Bull for his Wild West Pageant. Courtesy Harvard Film
Archive. 123 min. Introduced by Joel Grey.
Wednesday, December 17
4:00
A Prairie Home Companion. 2006. Screenplay by Garrison Keillor. With Meryl
Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline. In the last of
Altman’s backstage stories, performers of a popular radio show facing cancellation
rally for its final broadcast, as sinister and angelic figures hover. The director’s final
film is a meditation on death and a fittingly nostalgic tribute to the ensemble character
of his work. 105 min.
A Honeymoon for Harriet. 1950. Directed by Maurice Prather. Screenplay by Robert
Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company. With Lotus Corelli, James Lantz. In this
comedy, sponsored by International Harvester, a country wife discovers that new farm
equipment is a higher priority than she is. Digital projection. Courtesy Wisconsin
Center for Film & Theater Research. 21 min.
7:15
3 Women. 1977. Screenplay by Altman. With Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice
Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson. Wide-eyed Pinky, newly employed at a geriatric
center, latches on to a fellow nurse, the chatty and self-styled sophisticate Millie
Lammoreaux. When the pair become roommates, Pinky’s idolization quickly irritates
Millie until an act of desperation gives way to a sinister reversal of roles. Spacek and
Duvall each brilliantly deliver their own portrait of modern loneliness, played out to the
muted colors of the Southern California desert, in this strange and gripping
psychodrama. Digital projection. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. 124 min.
Girl Talk. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. Bobby Troup serenades a high-class styling
session. Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA
Film & Television Archive. 4 min. Introduced by Gerald Busby, composer
Thursday, December 18
4:00
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson. 1976. Screenplay
by Alan Rudolph, Altman, suggested by the play Indians, by Arthur Kopit. With Paul
Newman, Joel Grey, Burt Lancaster, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin McCarthy, Harvey Keitel.
After Nashville, this is Altman’s second Bicentennial-inspired reflection on America told
as a show-business story. Restaging history proves impossible when Newman’s Buffalo
Bill hires the real Chief Sitting Bull for his Wild West Pageant. Courtesy Harvard Film
Archive. 123 min.
7:00
A Wedding. 1978. Screenplay by Altman, John Considine, Allan Nicholls, Patricia
Resnick, based on a story by Altman, Considine. With Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Amy
Stryker, Mia Farrow, Dennis Christopher, Lillian Gish, Desi Arnaz, Jr. The society
wedding of “Muffin” Brenner and Dino Sloan Corelli goes from fiasco to farce in this
comedy of manners. Altman purportedly set out to double the 24-person cast count
from Nashville, giving himself ample subjects on both sides of the family—including
Lillian Gish, as the bed-ridden matriarch—for the revelation of secrets throughout the
day. No taboos are spared as secret pregnancies, radical politics, and drug habits
come to the fore in this delightful free-for-all. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. 125
min.
“Dinah Goes to a Wedding” [excerpt] (from Dinah!). 1978. Dinah Shore
interviews Altman on the set of A Wedding. Courtesy Retro Video, Inc. 10 min.
Friday, December 19
4:30
Quintet. 1979. Screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt. With Paul Newman, Bibi
Andersson, Vittorio Gassman, Fernando Rey. The prestigious international cast of this
end-of-the-world sci-fi drama—shot on the grounds of the recently closed Expo ’67 in
Montreal—is an indication of its art-film aspirations. An admirer of Ingmar Bergman,
Altman would later joke about this film as one of his least successful efforts. Courtesy
Twentieth Century Fox. 118 min.
7:30
Nashville. 1975. Screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury. With Ronee Blakley, Henry Gibson,
Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Barbara Harris. From the music capital of the nation,
Altman delivers a kaleidoscopic portrait of 1970s America in one of his career
highlights. The intersecting lives of two dozen characters—music stars of all stripes,
tone-deaf wannabe, underhanded politico, insufferable reporter—deliver a disaffected
view of show business and its close cousin, electoral politics. Featuring original songs
performed live by members of the cast, Nashville got to the heart of American life in
all its madcap glory, becoming an instant, freewheeling classic. Courtesy Paramount
Pictures. 159 min.
Saturday, December 20
4:00
3 Women. 1977. Screenplay by Altman. With Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice
Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson. Wide-eyed Pinky, newly employed at a geriatric
center, latches on to a fellow nurse, the chatty and self-styled sophisticate Millie
Lammoreaux. When the pair become roommates, Pinky’s idolization quickly irritates
Millie until an act of desperation gives way to a sinister reversal of roles. Spacek and
Duvall each brilliantly deliver their own portrait of modern loneliness, played out to the
muted colors of the Southern California desert, in this strange and gripping
psychodrama. Digital projection. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. 124 min.
Girl Talk. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. Bobby Troup serenades a high-class styling
session. Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA
Film & Television Archive. 4 min.
7:30
A Perfect Couple. 1979. Screenplay by Altman, Alan F. Nicholls. With Paul Dooley,
Marta Heflin, Tito Vandis. In the year that Blake Edwards’s bawdy sex comedy 10 stole
the box office, Altman’s surprisingly good-natured riff on romantic comedy was largely
neglected. A dating-weary middle-aged businessman from a staunchly Greek family
takes up with a younger Bohemian musician in a traveling rock band, eventually
choosing a life of uncertainty over loneliness. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. 110
min.
The Kathryn Reed Story. 1965. The director’s home-movie valentine to his wife.
Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 15 min.
Sunday, December 21
2:00
A Wedding. 1978. Screenplay by Altman, John Considine, Allan Nicholls, Patricia
Resnick, based on a story by Altman, Considine. With Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Amy
Stryker, Mia Farrow, Dennis Christopher, Lillian Gish, Desi Arnaz, Jr. The society
wedding of “Muffin” Brenner and Dino Sloan Corelli goes from fiasco to farce in this
comedy of manners. Altman purportedly set out to double the 24-person cast count
from Nashville, giving himself ample subjects on both sides of the family—including
Lillian Gish, as the bed-ridden matriarch—for the revelation of secrets throughout the
day. No taboos are spared as secret pregnancies, radical politics, and drug habits
come to the fore in this delightful free-for-all. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox .125
min.
“Dinah Goes to a Wedding” [excerpt] (from Dinah!). 1978. Dinah Shore
interviews Altman on the set of A Wedding. Courtesy Retro Video, Inc. 10 min.
5:15
HealtH. 1980. Screenplay by Altman, Paul Dooley, Frank Barhydt. With Carol Burnett,
Glenda Jackson, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Alfre Woodard. Described as a “mess,
but a glorious one” by The New York Times and “the world’s worst movie” by President
Reagan, Altman’s most illusive feature is a free-form satire of the American political
convention process. The director referenced 1950s presidential candidates Adlai
Stevenson (Jackson) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (Bacall) in conceiving his lead
characters. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox . 105 min.
Go to Health. 1980. Directed by Bill Tannen. With Dick Cavett, Henry Gibson, Carol
Burnett. A rarely seen pseudo-documentary with Cavett interviewing the HealtH cast
on set. Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA
Film & Television Archive. 14 min.
Monday, December 22
4:00
Quintet. 1979. Screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt. With Paul Newman, Bibi
Andersson, Vittorio Gassman, Fernando Rey. The prestigious international cast of this
end-of-the-world sci-fi drama—shot on the grounds of the recently closed Expo ’67 in
Montreal—is an indication of its art-film aspirations. An admirer of Ingmar Bergman,
Altman would later joke about this film as one of his least successful efforts. Courtesy
Twentieth Century Fox . 118 min.
7:00
Popeye. 1980. Screenplay by Jules Feiffer. With Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray
Walston, Paul Dooley. After a notorious five months on location on the rocky coast of
Malta, Altman’s big-budget comic-strip musical was a critical disaster that set his
career back for a decade—despite its box-office success. The breezy, off-kilter whimsy
of Feiffer’s script is matched by Wolf Kroeger’s exceptional production design and
Harry Nilsson’s subtly influential score. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman
Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 114 min.
Tuesday, December 23
4:00
A Perfect Couple. 1979. Screenplay by Altman, Alan F. Nicholls. With Paul Dooley,
Marta Heflin, Tito Vandis. In the year that Blake Edwards’s bawdy sex comedy 10 stole
the box office, Altman’s surprisingly good-natured riff on romantic comedy was largely
neglected. A dating-weary middle-aged businessman from a staunchly Greek family
takes up with a younger Bohemian musician in a traveling rock band, eventually
choosing a life of uncertainty over loneliness. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. 110
min.
The Kathryn Reed Story. 1965. The director’s home-movie valentine to his wife.
Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 15 min.
7:00
The Player. 1992. Screenplay by Michael Tolkin. With Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi,
Fred Ward, Cynthia Stevenson, Margery Bond. Tim Robbins stars in this waggish
Hollywood exposé as a studio executive whose attempt to track down a screenwriter
sending him hate mail results in an accidental murder and a sleazy web of lies. The
crime plot doubles as an indictment of a depraved industry, as satire melds with dark
comedy. A box-office success packed with star cameos and industry references, The
Player announced Altman’s return to Hollywood after independent projects throughout
the 1980s, but Altman never got too cozy: “As for Hollywood, they sell shoes and I
make gloves. So we really aren’t in the same business.” Courtesy Academy Film
Archive. 124 min.
Wednesday, December 24
2:00
A Prairie Home Companion. 2006. Screenplay by Garrison Keillor. With Meryl
Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline. In the last of
Altman’s backstage stories, performers of a popular radio show facing cancellation
rally for its final broadcast, as sinister and angelic figures hover. The director’s final
film is a meditation on death and a fittingly nostalgic tribute to the ensemble character
of his work. 105 min.
A Honeymoon for Harriet. 1950. Directed by Maurice Prather. Screenplay by Robert
Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company. With Lotus Corelli, James Lantz. In this
comedy, sponsored by International Harvester, a country wife discovers that new farm
equipment is a higher priority than she is. Digital projection. Courtesy Wisconsin
Center for Film & Theater Research. 21 min.
Friday, December 26
1:00
Thieves like Us. 1974. Screenplay by Altman, Joan Tewkesbury, Calder Willingham.
With Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Louise Fletcher.
Depression-era Mississippi becomes a textured, vivid character in this portrayal of
chain-gang escapees who blunder through another spree of bank hold-ups. When
Bowie (Carradine) is injured, he is nursed back to health by the sweet and simple
Keechie (Duvall), beginning a tender but doomed romance. From the New Deal
speeches and 1930s radio programs that comprise the diagetic score to the ubiquitous
Coca-Cola bottles, Thieves like Us presents a poetic regional portrait. Courtesy Park
Circus. 124 min.
4:00
Popeye. 1980. Screenplay by Jules Feiffer. With Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray
Walston, Paul Dooley. After a notorious five months on location on the rocky coast of
Malta, Altman’s big-budget comic-strip musical was a critical disaster that set his
career back for a decade—despite its box-office success. The breezy, off-kilter whimsy
of Feiffer’s script is matched by Wolf Kroeger’s exceptional production design and
Harry Nilsson’s subtly influential score. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman
Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 114 min.
7:00
Streamers. 1983. Screenplay by David Rabe, from his play. With Matthew Modine,
Michael Wright, Mitchell Lichtenstein, David Alan Grier. Altman’s powerful adaptation
of Rabe’s play revolves around four soldiers awaiting deployment to Vietnam.
Suspicions of homosexuality spark heated words and antics in the barracks, as
tensions and fears play out over the course of a frenzied evening. The claustrophobic
one-room set stands in for postwar American society, where everything from highways
to the draft brought people of different backgrounds together more than ever before—
not always with harmonious results. 118 min.
Saturday, December 27
4:00
HealtH. 1980. Screenplay by Altman, Paul Dooley, Frank Barhydt. With Carol Burnett,
Glenda Jackson, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Alfre Woodard. Described as a “mess,
but a glorious one” by The New York Times and “the world’s worst movie” by President
Reagan, Altman’s most illusive feature is a free-form satire of the American political
convention process. The director referenced 1950s presidential candidates Adlai
Stevenson (Jackson) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (Bacall) in conceiving his lead
characters. Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox. 105 min.
Go to Health. 1980. Directed by Bill Tannen. With Dick Cavett, Henry Gibson, Carol
Burnett. A rarely seen pseudo-documentary with Cavett interviewing the HealtH cast
on set. Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA
Film & Television Archive. 14 min.
7:30
Secret Honor. 1984. Screenplay by Donald Freed, Arnold M. Stone, based on
their play. With Philip Baker Hall. The restless surveillance of Altman’s camera is key
to this effective adaptation of Hall’s ferocious one-man stage portrayal of disgraced
ex-president Nixon. His fictionalized railing against exile from the seat of power has
been likened to the director’s volatile feelings of estrangement from Hollywood in the
1980s. 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive. 90 min.
The Magic Bond. 1956. Screenplay by Altman. With Joe Adelman, Owen Bush,
Kermit Echols, James Lantz, Keith Painton. Produced by the Calvin Company. A
promotional short for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Episodic lessons challenge apathy
and neglect at a time when generational shifts were beginning to threaten traditional
values. Digital projection. Courtesy Prelinger Archives. 28 min.
Sunday, December 28
2:00
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. 1982. Screenplay
by Ed Graczyk. With Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, Sudie Bond, Kathy Bates. A fan
club reunion at a fading soda-fountain shrine to James Dean on the anniversary of his
death becomes a meditation on gender, power, and female identity. As with other
stage adaptations made during his periods of retreat from Hollywood, Altman
challenges viewers to experience the interplay of visual storytelling and the spoken
word. As he often did, the director focuses on a strong cast of women, and Cher’s
stellar performance launched her screen career. Restored by UCLA Film & Television
Archive with funding provided by The Film Foundation and The Hollywood Foreign
Press Association. 109 min.
Pot au Feu. 1965. Cooking up a joint French-style. Digital video presentation courtesy
the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 4 min.
5:00
O.C. & Stiggs. 1987. Screenplay by Ted Mann, Donald Cantrell. With Daniel H.
Jenkins, Neill Barry, Paul Dooley, Jane Curtin, Martin Mull, Dennis Hopper, Melvin Van
Peebles. Thirty years after The Delinquents, the director revisits teensploitation with a
film loosely based on characters from National Lampoon magazine. With male leads
lacking the endearing chemistry of Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland in MASH, a
project with comparatively irreverent and raucous situations, the film earns its place in
the Altman canon as a meditation on distinctly American landscapes of wealth and
consumption. Courtesy Park Circus. 109 min.
Monday, December 29
4:00
Streamers. 1983. Screenplay by David Rabe, from his play. With Matthew Modine,
Michael Wright, Mitchell Lichtenstein, David Alan Grier. Altman’s powerful adaptation
of Rabe’s play revolves around four soldiers awaiting deployment to Vietnam.
Suspicions of homosexuality spark heated words and antics in the barracks, as
tensions and fears play out over the course of a frenzied evening. The claustrophobic
one-room set stands in for postwar American society, where everything from highways
to the draft brought people of different backgrounds together more than ever before—
not always with harmonious results. 118 min.
7:00
Fool for Love. 1985. Screenplay by Sam Shepard, from his play. With Shepard, Kim
Basinger, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid. In a rundown desert motel in the
American West, themes of incest and child abuse are touched upon when a cowboy
(Shepard) attempts to reunite with a woman he claims is his sister. The visual
elements of the film’s numerous flashbacks, executed with ceaselessly fluid camera
movements across its sets and the surrounding landscape, become as meaningful an
experience as the scripted narrative. Courtesy George Eastman House. 106 min.
Tuesday, December 30
4:00
Secret Honor. 1984. Screenplay by Donald Freed, Arnold M. Stone, based on their
play. With Philip Baker Hall. The restless surveillance of Altman’s camera is key to this
effective adaptation of Hall’s ferocious one-man stage portrayal of disgraced expresident Nixon. His fictionalized railing against exile from the seat of power has been
likened to the director’s volatile feelings of estrangement from Hollywood in the 1980s.
35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 90 min.
The Magic Bond. 1956. Screenplay by Altman. With Joe Adelman, Owen Bush,
Kermit Echols, James Lantz, Keith Painton. Produced by the Calvin Company. A
promotional short for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Episodic lessons challenge apathy
and neglect at a time when generational shifts were beginning to threaten traditional
values. Digital projection. Courtesy Prelinger Archives. 28 min.
7:00
Vincent and Theo. 1990. Screenplay by Julian Mitchell. With Tim Roth, Paul Rhys,
Johanna ter Steege. Altman's foray into the period biopic follows Vincent van Gogh
and Theo, his art-dealer brother who supported him financially and emotionally. The
onscreen bond between by Tim Roth and Paul Rhys gives depth to this otherwise
familiar topic, with each man stifled by bourgeois values in his own way. This portrait
of an uncompromising artist rejected by the Academy elicits comparison to Altman
himself, who spent the 1980s in the margins. The director’s fate changed more quickly
than his subject’s; the following year, Altman returned to Hollywood success with The
Player. Courtesy Park Circus. 133 min.
Wednesday, December 31
4:00
Aria. 1987. Great Britain. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, Charles Sturridge, Jean-Luc
Godard, Julien Temple, Bruce Beresford, Altman, Franc Roddam, Ken Russell, Derek
Jarman, Bill Bryden. With Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Theresa Russell, Buck Henry,
Bridget Fonda. Produced during his exile in Paris, “Les Boréades,” Altman’s episode in
this anthology film of opera “greatest hits,” is set in a French madhouse—and is
markedly less ambitious than those of his international colleagues. Courtesy Lightyear
Entertainment. 90 min.
Thursday, January 1
4:00
O.C. & Stiggs. 1987. Screenplay by Ted Mann, Donald Cantrell. With Daniel H.
Jenkins, Neill Barry, Paul Dooley, Jane Curtin, Martin Mull, Dennis Hopper, Melvin
Van Peebles. Thirty years after The Delinquents, the director revisits teensploitation
with a film loosely based on characters from National Lampoon magazine. With male
leads lacking the endearing chemistry of Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland in
MASH, a project with comparatively irreverent and raucous situations, the film earns
its place in the Altman canon as a meditation on distinctly American landscapes of
wealth and consumption. Courtesy Park Circus. 109 min.
7:00
Beyond Therapy. 1987. Screenplay by Altman, Christopher Durang, from the play
by Durang. With Glenda Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Julie Hagerty, Tom Conti,
Christopher Guest. In this romantic farce, a liberal adaptation of Durang’s absurdist
stage play about sex and psychiatry, a blind date between a lovelorn young woman
and a bisexual young man triggers a series of raucous encounters between rival
lovers. Set in New York but shot in Paris, the film lacks the crucial sense of place
that typically grounds the director’s work. Courtesy Lakeshore Entertainment. 93 min
Friday, January 2
4:00
Fool for Love. 1985. Screenplay by Sam Shepard, from his play. With Shepard, Kim
Basinger, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid. In a rundown desert motel in the
American West, themes of incest and child abuse are touched upon when a cowboy
(Shepard) attempts to reunite with a woman he claims is his sister. The visual
elements of the film’s numerous flashbacks, executed with ceaselessly fluid camera
movements across its sets and the surrounding landscape, become as meaningful an
experience as the scripted narrative. Courtesy George Eastman House. 106 min.
7:00
McCabe and Mrs. Miller. 1971. Screenplay by Altman, Brian McKay. With Warren
Beatty, Julie Christie, René Auberjonois, Michael Murphy. The director’s anti -Western
taps into 1970s paranoia about the ruthlessness and long reach of corporate
America. In the unforgiving frontier wilderness of Washington state in 1902,
Christie’s cynical prostitute and Beatty’s hapless con man fall victim to deluded
ambition, bravado, and despair. 120 min.
Zinc Ointment. 1971. Directed by Marianne Dolan. Footage from the set of McCabe
and Mrs. Miller documents the complex production demands—and the good times—of
location work in adverse conditions. Digital video presentation courtesy the Robert
Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 9 min.
Saturday, January 3
4:00
Vincent and Theo. 1990. Screenplay by Julian Mitchell. With Tim Roth, Paul Rhys,
Johanna ter Steege. Altman’s foray into the period biopic follows Vincent van Gogh
and Theo, his art-dealer brother who supported him financially and emotionally. The
onscreen bond between Tim Roth and Paul Rhys gives depth to this otherwise
familiar topic, with each man stifled by bourgeois values in his own way. This
portrait of an uncompromising artist rejected by the Academy elicits comparison to
Altman himself, who spent the 1980s in the margins. The director’s fate changed
more quickly than his subject’s; the following year, Altman returned to Hollywood
success with The Player. Courtesy Park Circus. 133 min.
7:00
Short Cuts. 1993. Screenplay by Frank Barhydt, Altman. With Julianne Moore,
Matthew Modine, Fred Ward, Lily Tomlin, Tim Robbins, Tom Waits, Jack Lemmon,
Robert Downey, Jr., Anne Archer. This ambitious Raymond Carver adaptation
weaves together nine of the author’s stories, and with 22 principal characters, it
features Altman’s most impressive ensemble cast. Set against the unstable
landscape of Los Angeles, the messy personal lives of ordinary residents intersect
and collide. Jazz vocals by singer Annie Ross provide unifying commentary. 35mm
print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television. 187 min.
Sunday, January 4
2:00
5:00
Beyond Therapy. 1987. Screenplay by Altman, Christopher Durang, from the play
by Durang. With Glenda Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Julie Hagerty, Tom Conti,
Christopher Guest. In this romantic farce, a liberal adaptation of Durang’s absurdist
stage play about sex and psychiatry, a blind date between a lovelorn young woman
and a bisexual young man triggers a series of raucous encounters between rival
lovers. Set in New York but shot in Paris, the film lacks the crucial sense of place
that typically grounds the director’s work. Courtesy Lakeshore Entertainment. 93 min
Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear). 1994. Screenplay by Altman, Barbara Shulgasser.
With Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger, Anouk Aimée,
Sally Kellerman. This sprawling comedy, shot during Fashion Week in Paris, is a
disorderly series of vignettes documenting the preening acolytes of high-fashion
runway shows, featuring cameos from real-life designers and celebrities. Taking on
an insular world foreign to him, Altman exerts his usual arsenal of absurdist humor
and satire. The distributor anglicized the title for U.S. release in the belief that
American audiences would be baffled by the French phrase. 35mm print courtesy the
Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 132 min.
The Model’s Handbook. 1956. Screenplay by Eileen Ford, Jerry Ford. With Dorian
Leigh. This promotional film provided how-tos for aspiring models and a behind-thescenes look at the Ford Modeling Agency, for whom it was made. Altman intended
the film as the first of a weekly series, but the project never took off. Digital
projection. Courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. 13 min.
Monday, January 5
4:00
Robert Altman’s Jazz 34. 1997. With James Carter, Joshua Redman, Craig Handy,
David Murray, Russell Malone, Harry Belafonte. This improvisational jam session in
the spirit of 1930s Kansas City swing, filmed on the set of Altman’s 1996 theatrical
feature Kansas City, includes a re-creation of the legendary Coleman Hawkins-Lester
Young “battle of the saxes.” 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at
the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 72 min.
7:00
Kansas City. 1996. Screenplay Frank Barhydt, Altman. With Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Steve Buscemi. Inspired by 1930s gangster
films and Altman’s childhood memories of Kansas City, this jazz-infused crime drama
is centered on the kidnapping of a politically connected socialite and the dangerous
negotiations with a black mob leader that follow. Leigh’s performance, modeled on
blonde Hollywood icon Jean Harlow, proved controversial for some critics. 35mm
print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
116 min.
Tuesday, January 6
4:00
Short Cuts. 1993. Screenplay by Frank Barhydt, Altman. With Julianne Moore,
Matthew Modine, Fred Ward, Lily Tomlin, Tim Robbins, Tom Waits, Jack Lemmon,
Robert Downey, Jr., Anne Archer. This ambitious Raymond Carver adaptation
weaves together nine of the author’s stories, and with 22 principal characters, it
features Altman’s most impressive ensemble cast. Set against the unstable
landscape of Los Angeles, the messy personal lives of ordinary residents intersect
and collide. Jazz vocals by singer Annie Ross provide unifying commentary. 35mm
print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
187 min.
8:00
The Gingerbread Man. 1998. Screenplay by Al Hayes, based on a story by John
Grisham. With Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey, Jr., Robert
Duvall. Altman’s aspirations for a fiery creative collision with John Grisham were
likely thwarted by the resulting film, but the bedroom-to-courtroom intrigue is
heightened by the director’s rich development of detail—including glimpses into
Savannah, Georgia’s economic disparities and the evolving weather phenomena that
punctuate the moody narrative. Cinematography by the esteemed Changwei Gu and
a score by electronic composer Mark Isham also figure among the film’s strengths.
35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 115 min.
Wednesday, January 7
4:00
Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear). 1994. Screenplay by Altman, Barbara Shulgasser.
With Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger, Anouk Aimée,
Sally Kellerman. This sprawling comedy, shot during Fashion Week in Paris, is a
disorderly series of vignettes documenting the preening acolytes of high-fashion
runway shows, featuring cameos from real-life designers and celebrities. Taking on
an insular world foreign to him, Altman exerts his usual arsenal of absurdist humor
and satire. The distributor anglicized the title for U.S. release in the belief that
American audiences would be baffled by the French phrase. 35mm print courtesy the
Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 132 min.
The Model’s Handbook. 1956. Screenplay by Eileen Ford, Jerry Ford. With Dorian
Leigh. This promotional film provided how-tos for aspiring models and a behind-thescenes look at the Ford Modeling Agency, for whom it was made. Altman intended
the film as the first of a weekly series, but the project never took off. Digital
projection. Courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. 13 min.
7:00
Cookie’s Fortune. 1999. Screenplay by Anne Rapp. With Glenn Close, Julianne
Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O’Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, Patricia Neal. When Miss Jewel
Mae “Cookie” Orcutt—played, in a rare screen appearance, by Patricia Neal—ends
her tired, widowed life, it causes a stir in Holly Springs, Mississippi. The reactions
and recourses of her eccentric family and friends unfold slowly—much like the pace
of the small Southern town—which makes for a delightful film, thanks to the
strength of the cast. Courtesy Focus Features. 118 min.
Thursday, January 8
4:00
Kansas City. 1996. Screenplay Frank Barhydt, Altman. With Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Steve Buscemi. Inspired by 1930s gangster
films and Altman’s childhood memories of Kansas City, this jazz-infused crime drama
is centered on the kidnapping of a politically connected socialite and the dangerous
negotiations with a black mob leader that follow. Leigh’s performance, modeled on
blonde Hollywood icon Jean Harlow, proved controversial for some critics. 35mm
print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 116
min.
7:00
Dr. T & the Women. 2000. Screenplay Anne Rapp. With Richard Gere, Helen Hunt,
Farrah Fawcett, Kate Hudson, Laura Dern. Much like a beleaguered Fellini
protagonist, Gere’s wealthy Texas gynecologist is at the center of a woman’s world.
When the effects of his wife’s mental illness, a pending divorce, sexually awakened
daughters, a budding affair, and the unwanted attention of his patients merge, the
doctor’s life spins out of control. Courtesy Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. 122 min.
Friday, January 9
4:00
The Gingerbread Man. 1998. Screenplay by Al Hayes, based on a story by John
Grisham. With Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey, Jr., Robert
Duvall. Altman’s aspirations for a fiery creative collision with John Grisham were
likely thwarted by the resulting film, but the bedroom-to-courtroom intrigue is
heightened by the director’s rich development of detail—including glimpses into
Savannah, Georgia’s economic disparities and the evolving weather phenomena that
punctuate the moody narrative. Cinematography by the esteemed Changwei Gu and
a score by electronic composer Mark Isham also figure among the film’s strengths.
35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television
Archive. 115 min.
7:00
Gosford Park. 2001. Screenplay by Julian Fellowes. With Michael Gambon, Maggie
Smith, Helen Mirren, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ryan Phillippe, Clive Owen. The master
of the house invites distinguished guests for a weekend shooting party—and is
murdered in the dark of night. This English-manor whodunit, Altman’s most
successful film since MASH, boasts a knockout cast of British stage and screen
talent. Julian Fellowes’s cleverly layered script—pitting the babble of the landed
against the gossip of the servants’ quarters—won an Academy Award and served as
a model for Fellowes’s successful series Downton Abbey (2010–).
137 min.
Saturday, January 10
4:00
MASH. 1970. Screenplay by Ring Lardner Jr., based on the novel by Richard Hooker.
With Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall,
Corey Fischer. Set in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War, MASH
chronicles the romantic escapades, after-hours tricks, and behind-the-battle-lines
sports adventures of three hedonistic surgeons. Altman debuted several of his nowsignature techniques—overlapping dialogue, tight close-ups, and rich performances
by an ensemble cast—creating a carefully constructed sense of chaos. This antiwar
dispatch earned an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Altman’s star
began to rise with the arc of the counterculture. 116 min.
Ebb Tide. 1966. Produced for Color-Sonic. Lili St. Cyr lounges seaside. Digital
projection. Courtesy Jim McDonnell. 4 min.
7:00
The Company. 2003. Screenplay by Barbara Turner, based on a story by Turner
and Neve Campbell. With Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco. The travails
of an ambitious ballerina (Campbell, who also coproduced the film) serve as the
foreground for this portrait of the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, filmed over the course of
a year and featuring real Joffrey dancers. The Company is a film about the creative
process itself, aptly rendering the painstaking discipline, tireless work, and personal
sacrifice demanded of the dancers, and the transcendent result that is collective
performance. These challenges parallel those Altman faced over four decades as a
filmmaker; Roger Ebert declared it “the closest that Robert Altman has come to
making an autobiographical film.” 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection
at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 112 min.
Sunday, January 11
2:00
TELEVISION PROGRAM 4: BASEMENTS
The Dumb Waiter 1987. Screenplay by Harold Pinter. With John Travolta, Tom
Conti. Altman’s adaptation of the playwright’s early “Comedies of Menace” was
originally broadcast as the first half of a Pinter double-bill titled Basements. Two
British hitmen wait in the kitchen of an old mansion for an unseen employer to
provide their next assignment. 60 min.
The Room. 1987. With Linda Hunt, Annie Lennox, Julian Sands, Donald Pleasance.
In the second half, an adaptation of Pinter’s first play, paranoia and violence result
when a series of unwanted visitors intrude on an eccentric woman’s claustrophobic
living space. 49 min.
Digital video presentations courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive.
5:00
TELEVISION PROGRAM 5
The Laundromat. 1985. Screenplay by Marsha Norman. With Carol Burnett, Amy
Madigan, Michael Wright. In this character study, loneliness binds two women during
a late-night encounter, despite differences of age and class. 60 min.
Precious Blood. 1982. Screenplay by Frank South. With Guy Boyd, Alfre Woodard.
The mystery of how two disconnected lives intertwine is gradually revealed in a
series of monologues that Altman originally brought to the stage. 60 min.
Digital video presentations courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film &
Television Archive.
Monday, January 12
1:30
Tanner ’88 (episodes 1–2). 1988. Teleplay by Garry Trudeau. With Michael
Murphy, Cynthia Nixon, Pamela Reed. Altman considered this cinéma-vérité-style
HBO cable series, which follows a fictional Democratic presidential candidate on the
real-life 1988 campaign trail, his most creative accomplishment.
“The Dark Horse.” Congressman Jack Tanner gears up for the New Hampshire
Primary. 60 min.
“For Real.” With an entourage of reporters in tow, the campaign tour begins with
an assassination attempt in Nashville. 32 min.
Program 92 min. Courtesy Sandcastle5
7:00
Cookie’s Fortune. 1999. Screenplay by Anne Rapp. With Glenn Close, Julianne
Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O’Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, Patricia Neal. When Miss Jewel
Mae “Cookie” Orcutt—played, in a rare screen appearance, by Patricia Neal—ends
her tired, widowed life, it causes a stir in Holly Springs, Mississippi. The reactions
and recourses of her eccentric family and friends unfold slowly—much like the pace
of the small Southern town—which makes for a delightful film, thanks to the
strength of the cast. Courtesy Focus Features. 118 min.
Tuesday, January 13
1:30
Tanner ’88 (episodes 3–5). 1988. Teleplay by Garry Trudeau. With Michael
Murphy, Cynthia Nixon, Pamela Reed, Cleavon Little, Rebecca De Mornay. Altman
increasingly added chance into the show’s scripts and improvisation into the filming
proces.
“The Night of the Twinkies.” Tanner’s old friendship with a civil rights minister is
compromised by his overeager staff. 32 min.
“Moonwalker and Bookbag.” The candidate is arrested at an anti-Apartheid rally.
31 min.
“Bagels with Bruce.” Troubled by unsolicited policy initiatives by his daughter,
Tanner receives advice about the media and self-control from congressman Bruce
Babbitt. 31 min.
Program 94 min. Courtesy Sandcastle5
7:00
Dr. T & the Women. 2000. Screenplay Anne Rapp. With Richard Gere, Helen Hunt,
Farrah Fawcett, Kate Hudson, Laura Dern. Much like a beleaguered Fellini
protagonist, Gere’s wealthy Texas gynecologist is at the center of a woman’s world.
When the effects of his wife’s mental illness, a pending divorce, sexually awakened
daughters, a budding affair, and the unwanted attention of his patients merge, the
doctor’s life spins out of control. Courtesy Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. 122 min.
Wednesday, January 14
1:30
7:00
Tanner ’88 (episodes 6–8). 1988. Teleplay by Garry Trudeau. With Michael
Murphy, Cynthia Nixon, Pamela Reed, Linda Ellerbee. The false sense of authenticity
achieved by the director and Doonesbury cartoonist Trudeau became a model for the
reality-TV programming that dominates much of cable today.
“Child’s Play.” Hoping to improve his celebrity profile, Tanner travels to Los
Angeles. 31 min.
“The Great Escape.” A television debate with Jesse Jackson proves to be an
explosive highlight of the campaign. 32 min.
“The Girlfriend Factor.” Drugs policy and revelations about his romantic life
preface Tanner’s disturbing visit to a low-income neighborhood in Detroit.
32 min.
Program 95 min. Courtesy Sandcastle5
The Company. 2003. Screenplay by Barbara Turner, based on a story by Turner
and Neve Campbell. With Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco. The travails
of an ambitious ballerina (Campbell, who also coproduced the film) serve as the
foreground for this portrait of the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, filmed over the course of
a year and featuring real Joffrey dancers. The Company is a film about the creative
process itself, aptly rendering the painstaking discipline, tireless work, and personal
sacrifice demanded of the dancers, and the transcendent result that is collective
performance. These challenges parallel those Altman faced over four decades as a
filmmaker; Roger Ebert declared it “the closest that Robert Altman has come to
making an autobiographical film.” 35mm print courtesy the Robert Altman Collection
at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 112 min.
Thursday, January 15
1:30
Tanner ’88 (episodes 9–11). 1988. Teleplay by Garry Trudeau. With Michael
Murphy, Cynthia Nixon, Pamela Reed. The series was a career high for Murphy,
whose history as an Altman performer spanned 40 years.
“Something Borrowed, Something New.” Things heat up with wedding plans, a
family visit, and a provocative cabinet list. 32 min.
“The Boiler Room.” With his campaign losing ground, Tanner makes last-ditch
efforts to challenge Michael Dukakis.
32 min.
“The Reality Check.” Tanner ponders his future as a third-party candidate. 31 min.
Program 95 min. Courtesy Sandcastle5
7:00
Tanner on Tanner. 2004. Teleplay by Garry Trudeau. With Michael Murphy, Cynthia
Nixon, Pamela Reed, Aasif Mandvi. This four-part sequel to Tanner ’88 is a satire on
documentary filmmaking, shot during the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Now an ambitious filmmaker enjoying privileged status as the daughter of a failed
presidential candidate, Alex (Nixon) is forced to choose between her integrity and
her father’s political future. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Michael Moore, Charlie Rose,
and Martin Scorsese all appear as themselves. Courtesy Sandcastle5. 109 min.
Friday, January 16
4:00
TELEVISION PROGRAM 6
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. 1988. Screenplay by Herman Wouk. With Eric
Bogosian, Jeff Daniels, Brad Davis, Peter Gallagher. Altman’s final military drama —
and the last of his stage adaptations—is a remake of Wouk’s model trial drama about
ambition and loyalty following a mutinous incident at sea. Digital video presentations
courtesy the Robert Altman Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 100 min.
7:00
Nashville. 1975. Screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury. With Ronee Blakley, Henry
Gibson, Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Barbara Harris. From the music capital of the
nation, Altman delivers a kaleidoscopic portrait of 1970s America in one of his career
highlights. The intersecting lives of two dozen characters—music stars of all stripes,
tone-deaf wannabe, underhanded politico, insufferable reporter—deliver a
disaffected view of show business and its close cousin, electoral politics. Featuring
original songs performed live by members of the cast, Nashville got to the heart of
American life in all its madcap glory, becoming an instant, freewheeling classic.
Courtesy Paramount Pictures. 159 min.
Saturday, January 17
4:00
TELEVISION PROGRAM 7
“Together” (from Alfred Hitchcock Presents). 1958. Teleplay by Robert C.
Dennis. With Joseph Cotton, Christine White, Sam Buffington. This melodrama about a
murderer trapped with his victim might be viewed as a rehearsal for the self-imposed
containment of a President confronting his misdemeanors in Altman’s Secret Honor.
Courtesy NBCUniversal. 30 min.
“A Lion Walks Among Us” (from Bus Stop). 1961. Teleplay by Ellis Kadison, from
the novel The Judgment, by Tom Wicker. With Fabian, Diane Foster, Richard
Anderson, Philip Abbott. The director’s presentation of pop star Fabian as a
psychopathic murderer was so provocative in its day that it led to a Congressional
Investigation of violence in broadcast television. 60 min.
7:00
Altman. 2014. USA/Canada. Directed by Ron Mann. Screenplay by Len Blum. With
Paul Thomas Anderson, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Elliott Gould, Julianne Moore,
Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy. Mann’s heartfelt documentary, produced for the
EPIX cable network, explores definitions of “Altmanesque” using the testimony of
collaborators, film and television excerpts, home movies, and Altman’s own words.
Courtesy Sphinx Productions. 95 min.