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Henry Gibson,
Henry Gibson,
Barbara Baxley,
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Robert Altman,
Robert Altman
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: Paramount
: Drama, Independent, Politics and Social Issues
: 160 min.
: English
: English
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Following 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) and his fragile star protegée Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley); Tom (Keith Carradine), a self-absorbed rock star who woos lonely married gospel singer Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin); Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles), a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig; Albuquerque (Barbara Harris), a runaway wife with dreams of stardom; nightclub owner Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley), who reminisces about "those Kennedy boys"; single-minded groupie L.A. Joan (Shelley Duvall); vapid BBC commentator Opal (Geraldine Chaplin); and campaign guru John Triplette (Michael Murphy), who is trying to organize a concert rally for the unseen but always heard populist presidential candidate-cum-demagogue Hal Phillip Walker. Everything comes to a head during a climactic concert at Nashville's replica of the Parthenon temple, as the entertainment-hungry audience is momentarily woken out of its stupor by unexpected violence, only to be lulled into a restorative sing-along to "It Don't Worry Me." ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
Short Cuts
Later Altman pastiche does for/to L.A. what he did for/to Nashville
The Last Picture Show
Peter Bogdanovich's seminal 70's multi-character classic also captured the zeitgeist of a country in a transitional malaise
Tender Mercies
Smaller-scale and lower in key romantic drama about a hard luck country singer
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| Sublime Altman
by chaosmind
January 24, 2006 - 9:25 PM PST
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0 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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This is one of the greatest and most idiosyncratic films ever made. A film-student's dream, this is probably not your best first introduction to Robert Altman, just as the Battleship Potemkin is probably not the best first movie for a film-student to see.
See The Player, then see Short Cuts. Well, isn't that pompous? Isn't that like saying you low-brows would be better off reading *about* John Cage or Frank Zappa then actually experiencing their work? Uh, yeah. Altman did really get nearly performance-art-type performances from his players... he always was about natural performances...
Nashville goes deeper... it really is about the human interactions. There's a serial-killer/we-all-kill-the-heroes-we-love theme here, and yes, its disturbing, but Altman has never been about easy answers... |
| It Don't Worry Me
by randomcha
November 21, 2005 - 7:04 AM PST
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2 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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Seeing the film this time around, it suddenly occured to me how much "A Mighty Wind" appropriated "Nashville." In an affectionate, amusing way.
I love Barbara Harris and Karen Black, especially, but Henry Gibson is also very funny. Politically, this movie hasn't aged a day. It'd make a great (if quite long) double bill with "Network."
By the way, the commentary track by Altman is superb and well worth a listen. |
| Seeds of genius, but no flower yet...
by sfspaz
January 20, 2004 - 1:20 PM PST
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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Altman's auteur genius peeks through the clouds in this early film, but doesn't quite shine as brightly as some of his other notable works.
A talented ensemble cast (surprise) fills the movie with enough charming and insightful moments as to make the film worthwhile, but the film is plagued by the sense of never quite reaching fruition, even in the film's long-awaited climax.
The interweavings of his huge cast of characters is enough to keep the viewer engaged, but in contrast to some of his later films (Short Cuts, Gosford Park) the intensity and sense of vitality is not quite as prominent. Altman, of course, seems wholly unable to make a film without inspired moments, and despite its general meandering pace, this film is no exception. Lily Tomlin is fascinating as the emotionally torn but resilient housewife on the verge on an affair, Ronee Blakely is engaging as the country star only barely keeping things together, Shelley Duval shines as the girl in search of love, wherever she can find it, and Keith Carradine excellently captures the callous rock star encapable of thinking of anything but himself.
The lack of hard plot, while not a stumbling block in many of his other films, somehow weakens the strength of this film , not because it dims Altman's astute social observations and anecdotes, but because there's just not enough to keep the viewer deeply engaged in his characters. Musical numbers, as mentioned, crop up often, and despite being humorous and expository, tend to run on a bit longer than one would like.
Gorgeous and engaging, but probably one for the "pre-seminal work" category.
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