with the exception of 'the sound of music' or 'the wizard of oz' or some other movie that my family watched every year, i think 'nashville' is the movie i've watched more than any other. it's my favorite movie, and i still remember seeing it for the first time in 1991. i was blown away, and watched it three days in a row. i remember at the time it seemed so prescient because of ross perot's bid for president, and the mid-seventies sense of political and social dread that hung over the film's proceedings seemed eerily like the times then as the gulf war was in full swing and clinton was yet to be elected. who knew it would get so much worse!

i think i'll go back and watch it again in the next few days as my own little memorial service for altman, who i do think is the best american director we've had, even if his movies were often uneven and confounding in one or more ways ('popeye,' anyone?). at the same time, uneven and confounding never precluded brilliant, and a case in point would be '3 women'. i can remember where and when i saw each altman film, and that one was at the castro in san francisco before it was available on video of any sort. altman's films are best seen on the big screen, and luckily, most revival houses (like the aero and the egyptian in l.a.) screen his films every few years.


r.i.p. robert altman