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| Nashville
Year: 1975
Classification: Drama
Actors/Actresses:
- Ned Beatty
- Karen Black
- Gary Busey
- Julie Christie
- Shelley Duvall
- Jeff Goldblum
- Scott Glenn
- Elliott Gould
- Lily Tomlin
- Allen Garfield
- Keith Carradine
- Ronee Blakley
Unforgettable
The first time I saw NASHVILLE I didn't pay much attention at first to what was going on in the first half because I was unfamiliar with Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue and meandering style. But once I got to the famous sequence at the Opry Queen--when Barbara Jean starts to break down in front of the audience--I began to realize the complexity and brilliance of what Altman was doing, and so rewound it and watched the whole thing again from the beginning.
This film is a masterpiece--it's one of the most profound statements regarding the myths of America ever put onto celluloid, and with the GODFATHER movies it stands as the highpoint of Hollywood's "Silver Age." There are so many fantastic and unforgettable performances that I couldn't name them all, but the three standouts are Tomlin as the almost unwillingly adulterous mother, Welles as the talentless hopeful, and Blakely as the most gifted and tragic of all the film's characters. Blakely's songs are actually terrific, and you may find youself crying during her climactic (and unforgettable) rendition of "My Idaho Home" at the poltical rally that closes the film. Worth seeing over and over again.
Robert Altman's great masterpiece of the American Experience
I recently rewatched this film for the first time in a long, long time, and was amazed at how much better it was than I remembered. Moreover, I remembered it as being very, very good. In this film, director Robert Altman tracks the interweavings of over twenty major characters over the course of a few days in Nashville. Some of the characters are major Country-Western performers, and others are mere wannabes. All is set against the background of a mysterious third party presidential candidate for the Replacement Party, whose cars and vans drive around the city, broadcasting his commonsensical yet superficial political messages.
Altman has always excelled more than anyother director with ensemble casts, and this is the greatest example of that in his career. No one cast member predominates. Ronee Blakley probably should have won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but was hurt by Lily Tomlin's also being nominated. Lily Tomlin and Henry Gibson's performances were both completely unexpected at the time, since both were considered television comedians and had been regulars on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. But truly, none of the cast members were weak, and most were exceptional. Keenan Wynn was superb as Mr. Green, whose wife is dying of cancer in the film. But the true star of the film is Altman, who is utterly masterful in the way he brings his characters into contact with one another, like a dance director choreographing an immense ballet. One becomes accustomed to seeing all the same faces in one scene or event after another, and for some odd recent it doesn't strike one as at all coincidental. I especially enjoyed seeing Jeff Goldblum's nonspeaking character The Tricycle Man popping up in scene after scene on his triwheel chopper that seems more a parody of EASY RIDER than an imitator.
The movie is laced with songs, and what makes them special is the fact that everyone did their own singing and most wrote the songs that they sang. Keith Carradine especially distinguished himself with two great songs, "I'm Easy, " which actually netted the Academy Award that year for best song, and the rousing closing number, "It Don't Bother Me." To be honest, while most of the singers are at least competent (except for the intentionally awful Sueleen Gay, heartbreakingly portrayed by the excellent Gwen Welles), few are truly first rate. The two great exceptions are Ronee Blakley, who manages an utterly stunning Loretta Lynn impersonation, and the improbably spectacular (in the context of the movie) Barbara Harris, whose unexpected rendition of "It Don't Worry Me" provides one of the movie's more amazing moments. Some real Nashville musicians turn up as well. In particular, Vassar Clements, considered by many to be the greatest country fiddler, turns up in a Nashville music club as himself.
The movie has many subtle things to say about celebrity and politics, and the ongoing confusion of the two (brought out powerfully by the ending, i
One of the 70's greatest films and that's saying a lot!
I am waiting for a better DVD version with more extras and 1:85 ratio 2:35 is too small for me. I do own the video and I have no idea how many times I have watched this movie. It's almost worn out. If you are looking for a movie about country music this isn't it. It's about the way we were living and what was going on in the world and our country in the 70's. Yes I am old enough to remember! It is a film that most people seem to really love or really hate. I love it! Great cast! I am a huge Lily Tomlin fan and she is is wonderful in this film, but so is the rest of the cast. The 70's had some of the greatest films ever made this is one of the best!
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