Line #40 Creator/RobertAltman


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robert_altman_6864.jpg]]
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3	-> ''"I don't think there's a filmmaker alive, or who ever lived, who's had a better shake than I've had. I've never been without a project and it's always been a project of my own choosing. So I don't know how much better it could be. I have not become a mogul, I don't build castles and I don't have a vast personal fortune, but I have been able to do what I've wanted to do and I've done it a lot."''
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5	Robert Bernard Altman (February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, who came to prominence in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era. He was the most prolific of that generation, the most political and critical director of his time, and the one who retained his independent spirit even when that era ended, and retained it until his final film. Altman developed a reputation as the industry maverick whose films were admired but little loved, but eventually he came to be regarded as one of America's greatest and most original film-makers.
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7	Born in Kansas City, Missouri to a prominent German-American family (his grandfather built a high-rise in downtown Kansas City called the Altman Building that stood for the better part of a century), he studied at Jesuit schools and at Wentworth Military Academy. During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Altman joined the United States Army Air Forces at the age of 18. He flew more than 50 bombing missions as a crewman on a B-24 Liberator with the 307th Bomb Group in Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. After the war, Altman drifted around, working as an extra, a publicist, industrial film-maker before directing his debut, the independently made ''The Delinquents'' made to cash-in on youth films after ''Film/RebelWithoutACause''. The film didn't attract notices but it provided Altman an entry into television where he worked for nearly ten years until his BreakthroughHit of ''Film/{{MASH}}''. The shifts in the industry and the society paved the way for greater experimentation in American films, and the late-blooming Altman grabbed his opportunity and went into one of the greatest productive periods by any directors in movie history, turning films like ''Film/TheLongGoodbye'', ''Film/{{Nashville}}'', ''Film/ThreeWomen'' which were seen as highly innovative for its camera-work, its use of sound and its narrative invention, borrowing from European films but infusing it with a distinctive American spirit and earthiness.
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9	One of his famous techniques was to film group scenes continuously with multiple cameras, forcing the actors to stay in character and sometimes to improvise action or dialogue because any moment of their performance could [[ThrowItIn end up in the film]]. He was notorious for his overlapping dialogue, multiple planes of action, and refusing to clarify and make his film accessible to see and hear for the public. Altman often insisted that his movies were [[RewatchBonus made to be seen more than once]] and indeed, his particular ensemble movie, called Altmanesque became the reference points for films like ''Film/{{Magnolia}}'' and ''Film/{{Crash}}''.
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11	A moviemaking maverick with little use for the Hollywood establishment, Altman went to France in TheEighties when funding dried up in America for his movies. In exile, he made filmed theatre, including the unusual one-man-chamber play ''Secret Honor'' and the early HBO miniseries ''Tanner '88''. He made his comeback in TheNineties with ''Short Cuts'' and ''The Player'' and made films in the mainstream for several years. He was still critical of American society and opposed to the policies of UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush. However, the public caught up to Altman's films and worldview to the extent that Altman (after being nominated for the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Director five times) was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2006. On receiving the Oscar, Altman stated that he had a heart transplant surgery in the last few months, {{Foreshadowing}} his death a few months later. His final film, ''Film/APrairieHomeCompanion'' was made with Creator/PaulThomasAnderson on standby to takeover, as a form of insurance, but Altman managed to finish it in time.
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13	Altman occasionally dabbled in songwriting as well, most notably in CountryMusic singer John Anderson's 1983 hit "Black Sheep" (co-written with singer-songwriter Danny Darst, who also appeared in supporting roles in some of Altman's films from TheNineties).
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16	!!Works directed by Robert Altman with their own trope pages include:
17	[[foldercontrol]]
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19	[[folder:TV series]]
20	* ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' (1957–58, 2 episodes)
21	* ''Series/{{Maverick}}'' (1960, 1 episode)
22	* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'' (1961–61, 8 episodes)
23	* ''Series/{{Lawman}}'' (1961, 1 episode)
24	* ''Series/PeterGunn'' (1961, 1 episode)
25	* ''Series/Route66'' (1961, 1 episode)
26	* ''Series/{{Combat}}'' (1962–63, 10 episodes)
27	* ''Series/KraftSuspenseTheatre'' (1963–64, 3 episodes)
28	* ''Series/{{Gun}}'' (1997, 1 episode; also executive producer)
29	[[/folder]]
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31	[[folder:Films]]
32	[[index]]
33	* ''Film/{{Countdown\|1967}}'' (1967)
34	* ''Film/ThatColdDayInThePark'' (1969)
35	* ''Film/{{MASH}}'' (1970)
36	* ''Film/BrewsterMcCloud'' (1970)
37	* ''Film/McCabeAndMrsMiller'' (1971)
38	* ''Film/{{Images}}'' (1972)
39	* ''Film/TheLongGoodbye'' (1973)
40	* ''Film/ThievesLikeUs'' (1974)
41	* ''Film/CaliforniaSplit'' (1974)
42	* ''Film/{{Nashville}}'' (1975)
43	* ''Film/ThreeWomen'' (1977)
44	* ''Film/{{A Wedding\|1978}}'' (1978)
45	* ''Film/{{Quintet}}'' (1979)
46	* ''Film/{{Popeye}}'' (1980)
47	* ''Film/{{Streamers}}'' (1983)
48	* ''Film/SecretHonor'' (1984)
49	* ''Theatre/FoolForLove'' (1985)
50	* ''Film/ThePlayer'' (1992)
51	* ''Film/ShortCuts'' (1993)
52	* ''Film/PretAPorter'' (1994)
53	* ''Film/KansasCity'' (1996)
54	* ''Film/TheGingerbreadMan'' (1998)
55	* ''Film/CookiesFortune'' (1999)
56	* ''Film/DrTAndTheWomen'' (2000)
57	* ''Film/GosfordPark'' (2001)
58	* ''Film/APrairieHomeCompanion'' (2006)
59	[[/index]]
60	[[/folder]]
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63	!!Other tropes associated with Robert Altman:
64	* AscendedExtra: Literally. A 22-year-old Altman was an extra in ''Film/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty1947''. His scene's about twenty minutes into the film, sitting at a bar behind Creator/DannyKaye, pouring a drink, blowing cigarette smoke through his nose, and mugging a little for the camera.
65	* AuteurLicense: Earned it after ''{{Film/MASH}}'' and surprisingly hung onto it for the remainder of his career, even after numerous box office failures. A major factor was that he knew how to stay on budget and film efficiently. He also had a strong reputation as an actor-friendly director, which led to big names willingly taking pay cuts so they could work with him.
66	* BenevolentBoss: Robert Altman appeared to be a NiceGuy in real life. He was an artist who wanted to make something against the Hollywood system but was also quite supportive of the people he worked with, particularly those on set.
67	* BigApplesauce: Unusually for an American director, he only made one film set in New York, ''Beyond Therapy'', and it was actually filmed in Paris. His 2004 miniseries ''Tanner on Tanner'' is also set in New York and is the only one shot there.
68	* BittersweetEnding: One of his trademarks, usually as the result of a character's death.
69	* BlackComedy: His comedies lean heavily in this direction, with ''Film/{{MASH}}'' being one of the first films of that type to become a big box office hit.
70	* ChronicallyKilledActor: Characters played by Creator/BertRemsen get brutally killed in three different Altman films (''Film/BrewsterMcCloud'', ''Film/McCabeAndMrsMiller'', ''Film/ThievesLikeUs'').
71	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of all kinds of American ideas, myths, and imagery in general.
72	** His genre films like ''Film/McCabeAndMrsMiller'' portrayed the most historically [[ShownTheirWork researched]] depiction of what TheWildWest was really like and the kind of characters that existed there.
73	** His movies deconstruct politics as a whole. With ''Tanner '88'' (an {{Creator/HBO}} {{mockumentary}} miniseries directed by Altman and written by [[ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}} Garry Trudeau]]) this is taken up to eleven, giving us an accurate look at the demands of a Presidential campaign.
74	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first few theatrical films[[note]]''The Delinquents'' (1956), ''The Creator/JamesDean Story'' (1957), ''Countdown'' (1968), and ''Film/ThatColdDayInThePark'' (1969)[[/note]] are fairly conventional with few of his signature touches. ''Film/{{MASH}}'' was his first attempt at comedy and introduced his familiar style. And of course, he didn't have much freedom to experiment in his industrial films or TV work.
75	* EitherOrTitle: ''Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson''
76	* EruditeStoner: His own persona was the more laid-back variety of this. His fondness for marijuana was well-known but he was adamant to point out that he never indulged while he was working on set.
77	* FanDisservice: He liked doing a variation on this where an attractive person appears nude but the context of their nudity is so uncomfortable it makes the situation non-erotic. Examples include Sally Kellerman in ''Film/{{MASH}}'', Gwen Welles in ''Film/{{Nashville}}'', Creator/MiaFarrow in ''A Wedding'', Creator/JulianneMoore in ''Film/ShortCuts'', and Creator/FarrahFawcett in ''Film/DrTAndTheWomen''.
78	* TheFilmOfThePlay: After the disappointing box office returns for ''Film/{{Popeye}}'', Altman started directing theatre, where he had more freedom and didn't need to answer to Hollywood money people. Realizing that filmed versions of plays were a good way to get back on the screen without spending much money and targeting a more selective audience, he spent the majority of TheEighties doing these, both theatrical and for television.
79	* GenreBusting: All his films, to the point that he invented his own genre of HyperlinkStory that later critics called the Altmanesque film. His earlier films, ''Film/TheLongGoodbye'' and ''Film/McCabeAndMrsMiller'', deconstructed FilmNoir and TheWestern itself.
80	* GenreRoulette: Altman never did a straight genre movie [[note]]''The Delinquents'' (Teen Drama) can be counted as EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, and ''Film/ThatColdDayInThePark'' (PsychologicalThriller) and ''O.C. & Stiggs'' (Teen Comedy) were probably the closest he came in his main career, but they still have enough of his SignatureStyle to be recognizable[[/note]] and never stuck to one genre. In his career, he's done everything from noir to westerns to gangster movies, political satire, thrillers, science-fiction, Victorian period fiction, and musicals. He even did a ballet movie with ''The Company''.
81	* GrayAndGreyMorality: What his movies are famous for. While there are out and out villains in some of his movies, in most cases, Altman shows that nearly all his characters have shades of good and bad within them, and even characters who come off as coarse prove to be unexpectedly brave in other respects. Good people can behave in selfish, unthinking ways, while the JerkassHasAPoint.
82	* HumansAreBastards: Altman loved people in real life. In his movies however, you would likely come across a character in each film who has committed adultery, showed selfishness, or had some kind of jerkass tendencies. This trope is ultimately downplayed however as he would still [[GrayAndGreyMorality show sympathy to even his most unlikable characters]].
83	* HyperlinkStory: ''Film/BrewsterMcCloud'', ''Film/{{MASH}}'', ''Film/ShortCuts'', ''Film/{{Nashville}}'', ''Health'', ''Film/GosfordPark'', ''Kansas City'', ''Film/APrairieHomeCompanion'', ''Film/CookiesFortune'' and his TV Miniseries ''Tanner' 88''.
84	* {{Improv}}: If you're in a Robert Altman movie, you better be prepared to make up most, if not all of your lines.
85	* LeFilmArtistique: Not as many as his reputation would lead you to believe, but ''Film/{{Images}}'', ''Film/ThreeWomen'' and ''{{Film/Quintet}}'' all qualify.
86	* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles: ''Film/TheLongGoodbye'', ''Film/CaliforniaSplit'', ''Film/ThePlayer'' and ''Film/ShortCuts'' all take place there, and all have a cynical view of life in the city.
87	* MeaningfulName: ''Altman'' means "old man" in German. He was 80 when ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was shot, making him one of the oldest people to ever direct a major studio film.
88	* {{Mockumentary}}: ''Tanner '88'' is a mock presidential campaign documentary starring Jack Tanner (Michael Murphy) who goes on a campaign trail complete with logos, entourage, hangers-on. What makes this unique is that Altman inserts Tanner into the actual presidential campaign of 1988-89, showing Tanner participating alongside actual Democrat and Republican candidates.
89	* MythologyGag: The song "Let's Begin Again", which he wrote the lyrics for in TheForties as part of a planned musical, crops up in ''[=HealtH=]'' and ''Film/ThePlayer'' (where it's sung at a karaoke bar).
90	* NameAndName: ''Film/McCabeAndMrsMiller'', ''O.C. & Stiggs'', ''Vincent & Theo''.
91	* NewSoundAlbum: He directed both the Broadway production and TheFilmOfThePlay of Ed Graczyk's ''Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'', which started a new phase of his career in TheEighties. Since directing plays precluded him from his signature use of improv and last-second script changes, and plays generally don't have many characters, it marked a huge stylistic shift for him.
92	* NumberOfObjectsTitle: ''Film/ThreeWomen''.
93	* OutlawCouple: ''Film/ThievesLikeUs''.
94	* ProductionPosse: He discovered (and brought to fame) Creator/ShelleyDuvall, and would often cast her in the 1970s.
95	* RealPersonCameo: Altman made this trope into an art form. One of the themes of his movies is the blurring between real life and fiction, as a result of the rise of mass media and celebrity culture which has affected everything.
96	** One can see this in ''Nashville'', where Creator/ElliottGould and Creator/JulieChristie cameo and the fictional characters recognize them from the movies. He took this even further with ''Tanner '88'', his HBO mockumentary which had cameos from all kinds of political figures, famous and obscure, playing themselves and interacting with Jack.
97	** ''The Player'' set in Hollywood is a who's who of early '90s cinema and ''Tanner on Tanner'' his 2004 sequel (set during the John Kerry campaign) has cameos by Creator/MartinScorsese, Creator/SteveBuscemi in addition to other political figures.
98	* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Famous for averting this trope, usually with overlapping dialogue and some improvisation.
99	* RewatchBonus: A patron saint of this trope. His films have so many little subtleties you won't pick up on the first viewing, not to mention some instances of FridgeBrilliance that you'll only get ''after'' you see the film.
100	* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Very much on the Enlightenment side. His films were critical and satirical of a lot of American mores, genres, and myths. His movies spend a great deal of time showing how politics work, what drives group and society behavior, the tensions behind marriages, businesses, and friendships. A good example is to compare ''Gosford Park'' with ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' (created by the former film's screenwriter Julian Fellowes). Altman's film is far more critical and subversive of the upper classes than the TV Show.
101	* SignatureStyle: Plenty of characters, frequent use of panning and zooming, overlapping dialogue, ambient sound as a prominent part of the audio mix, GreyAndGrayMorality, deconstructions of American ideas (myths, industries, politics, and genres), deeper focus on atmosphere and character, and episodic plots with plenty of NarrativeFiligree, to name the most obvious things. There are also many individual motifs he was fond of that show up in most of his films, like shooting scenes through a window or having a character speak with a cigarette or pipe in their mouth.
102	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Many films of his can lean more towards the cynical end of the scale, but some of them such as ''Film/{{Popeye}}'', ''Film/ThePerfectCouple'' and even his last film, ''Film/APrairieHomeCompanion'' lean more on the idealistic and sentimental side.
103	* SlidingScaleOfPlotVersusCharacters: His films focused more on atmosphere and character.
104	* WorldBuilding: There is a lot of atmosphere in his films.

Context Creator / RobertAltman