Death of a Legend

I know, I know, this blog is devoted to politics. But I wanted to note the passing of Robert Altman, one of the greatest American filmmakers of our time or any time. He made spectacular movies for more than 40 years. When you saw one of his movies, you knew who the author of the film was immediately. In another life, I wanted to be either Robert Altman or Stanley Kubrick.

Unlike a lot of filmmakers, Altman churned out one movie after another, spending little time worrying about some of the technical blips that would infuriate other directors. In his most productive periods, he would sometimes release three or four movies in a two-year span. Along the way, he made a few movies that looked a bit too rough (Buffalo Bill & the Indians, Pret-a-Porter). But he made some of the best American films I ever saw, like Brewster McCloud, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park.

Altman kept making wonderful movies literally right up until his death. It's somewhat fitting that his last movie was A Prairie Home Companion, which I recommend to anyone, whether you like Garrison Keillor or not. A wonderful movie about life, death, and lots of other things, too.

Altman made one explicitly political movie, Secret Honor, with the underappreciated Phillip Baker Hall playing Richard Nixon. It's quite theatrical, the way a lot of his movies were at the time, but it's also an impassioned look at a complex man. I never saw Tanner '88, though perhaps I will now.

The world won't be the same without him. Rest in peace, Robert.