Robert Altman

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Robert Altman

#501 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:20 pm

knives wrote:
Wed Jul 29, 2020 9:31 am
Finally got to Beyond Therapy and I'm in love. Generally farce doesn't work for me, but it manages to be just insane enough with the central pair underplaying things so much despite being the most mad that I had to get lost in it. Goldblum in particular is great just doing his thing in the most Goldblum way I've ever seen. It's like the missing link between John Waters and Almodovar.
I’ll co-sign knives’ glee. This is an intelligent exercise where Goldblum and Hagerty’s eccentric personas are pitched at the de-romanticized, repelling tones that they would come off as in real life, outside of their typical movies that disguise their idiosyncrasies as safe and cute. And through doing this with genuine curiosity and respect for the weird in us all, Altman frames them as two of the most interesting and hilarious perfs ever, allowing them to become ‘naturally’ endearing the way I see strange friends in my personal life and perhaps the way some of my friends see me. This engagement includes blunt exposure and laughter ‘at’ their strangeness that is civil in its own way because it's in a compromised acclimation to their terms. The therapy sessions are also absolute gold with Altman intentionally going the polar opposite route of what anyone should expect in therapy- even back in the psychoanalytic-dominant 80s. I particularly loved how the characters (Hagerty often) have sound psychological revelations that are stunted by their therapists!

In a sense this is like a screwball comedy shot into reality, its inclusive details totally absurd and exaggerated but shed of the verbal artifice and getting at something strikingly familiar in the process. Of course it descends into farce plenty- especially in the end, so it's anything but "literal realism"- but the juxtaposition between the zany and the austere technique and ordinary settings help remind us that the world is inherently a strange place filled with strange people, and whether we go to the movies or look down the street- this is what it is. Still, I can see why critics hated this, because the bizarre behavior isn't translated in effortfully composed dialogue and staggered delivery, and characters aren't developed in traditional ways that include us in their growth or deliberate exposure between the couple. This is more like what would happen if you peered over at the peculiar couple at the table next to you at a restaurant, and then followed them into their own movie.

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Forrest Taft
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:34 pm
Location: Stavanger, Norway

Re: Robert Altman

#502 Post by Forrest Taft » Thu Apr 14, 2022 9:13 am

Maybe old news to some, but I recently purchased the US blu of Ron Mann's Altman, the 2014 documentary, and the disc includes early Atlman-shorts The Party, The Katherine Reed Story and Poat au feu as extras. Pretty cool.

Also, I've pretty much given up hope of ever seeing Altman's 80s TV-work getting released on disc, but I see now that most of it is on youtube. Rattlesnake in a Cooler, The Laundromat, The Dumb Waiter and The Room are all there, leaving Precious Blood as the only filmed play unavailable for viewing (though the filmed musical performances Black and Blue and The Real McTeague also seem unavailable). Nightmare in Chicago is also there, another one which has never been released on disc. Quality is atrocious on all of these, obviously.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: Robert Altman

#503 Post by senseabove » Tue Mar 05, 2024 4:47 pm

California Split has ostensibly had a "new 4k restoration" that's screening at the Paris in NYC and the Egyptian in LA later this month...

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Robert Altman

#504 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:10 pm

senseabove wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2024 4:47 pm
California Split has ostensibly had a "new 4k restoration" that's screening at the Paris in NYC and the Egyptian in LA later this month...
I'll be very curious as to which cut has been restored

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Robert Altman

#505 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:34 pm

It should be the original cut (which FWIW is actually streamable). There's an article that goes into this and Michael may have covered it in his posts about the cancelled Indicator release, but it's a case where it all comes down to the language of the license and whether it left room for interpretation as technology and distribution evolved - as-is, the license is applicable to streaming and theatrical screenings, but the one unfortunate exception is purchasing (and I guess renting) a physical copy for home viewing.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Robert Altman

#506 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:20 pm

Oh yeah, I'm aware. I've watched it three times in the last year through streaming, in addition to actively following all posts here involving its physical media tragedy. But I was not aware the 4K resto had been announced concurrently to that old news, so I'm still excited at the prospect of seeing it uncut theatrically.

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