The Cinema of Robert Altman: Hollywood Maverick (Directors' Cuts)

In a controversial and tumultuous filmmaking career that spanned nearly fifty years, Robert Altman mocked, subverted, or otherwise refashioned Hollywood narrative and genre conventions. Altman's idiosyncratic vision and propensity for formal experimentation resulted in an uneven body of work: some rank failures and intriguing near-misses, as well as a number of great films that are among the most influential works of New American Cinema. While Altman always professed to have nothing authoritative to say about the state of contemporary society, this volume surveys all of his major films in their sociohistorical context to reposition the director as a trenchant satirist and social critic of postmodern America, depicted as a lonely wasteland of fraudulent spectacle, exploitative social relations, and unfulfilled solitaries in search of elusive community. In a controversial and tumultuous filmmaking career that spanned nearly fifty years, Robert Altman mocked, subverted or otherwise refashioned Hollywood narrative and genre conventions. Altman's idiosyncratic artistic vision and his propensity for formal experimentation resulted in an uneven body of work: some rank failures and intriguing near-misses, but also a substantial number of great films that are among the most accomplished and influential works of the New American Cinema. While Altman always professed to have nothing authoritative to say about the state of contemporary society, this volume surveys all of his films in their socio-historical contexts to argue for a reassessment of Robert Altman as a trenchant satirist and social critic of postmodern America: a lonely wasteland of fraudulent spectacle, exploitative social relations, and unfulfilled solitaries in search of elusive community 1. Three Dream Films: Explorations Of Female Identity -- 2. Experiments In Genre Revision -- 3. Large Canvases -- 4. Falling From Grace -- 5. In The Wilderness -- 6. Return To Form -- 7. Final Phase: More Large Canvases And Minor Works. Robert Niemi. Includes Filmography (pages 202-212), Bibliographical References (pages 213-222) And Index. Contents Acknowledgements Preface Introduction 1. Three Dream Films: Explorations of Female Identity 2. Experiments in Genre Revision 3. Large Canvases 4. Falling from Grace 5. In the Wilderness 6. Return to Form 7. Final Phase: More Large Canvases and Minor Works Coda Filmography Bibliography Index