Couldn't find a thread blahbity blah blah.
Anyone who's seen this or Short Cuts knows that Altman is a master who can juggle multiple story threads throughout a film and make it look effortless and simple. But upon my latest re-watch, I realize he does the same thing with individual scenes. Every ensemble scene in this film is a set-piece of the highest order, from the traffic jam to the party where Elliot Gould shows up. For me, these are every bit as entertaining and watchable as any Indiana Jones action sequence. There's a quiet hilarity and tragedy to Ned Beatty trying to watch a pot boil while he answers a phone call from his wife's lover.
This and Dogville are my go to 4th of July movies. Where Dogville represents what I feel about America at my most cynical and negative, Nashville represents what I tend to think the rest of the time. Of course it's satirical and makes fun of the way show business and politics are pretty much the same thing, but it's also defensive against those who are narrow-minded enough to reduce it to soundbites and one-sided stories.
First time I saw it, I was incredibly impressed at what an epic and expansive and plotless kind of film it was, and how it was still able to be entertaining. Every subsequent viewing has revealed it to be funnier and more impressive, and now it's definitely among my favorite movies of all time.
Anyone who's seen this or Short Cuts knows that Altman is a master who can juggle multiple story threads throughout a film and make it look effortless and simple. But upon my latest re-watch, I realize he does the same thing with individual scenes. Every ensemble scene in this film is a set-piece of the highest order, from the traffic jam to the party where Elliot Gould shows up. For me, these are every bit as entertaining and watchable as any Indiana Jones action sequence. There's a quiet hilarity and tragedy to Ned Beatty trying to watch a pot boil while he answers a phone call from his wife's lover.
This and Dogville are my go to 4th of July movies. Where Dogville represents what I feel about America at my most cynical and negative, Nashville represents what I tend to think the rest of the time. Of course it's satirical and makes fun of the way show business and politics are pretty much the same thing, but it's also defensive against those who are narrow-minded enough to reduce it to soundbites and one-sided stories.
First time I saw it, I was incredibly impressed at what an epic and expansive and plotless kind of film it was, and how it was still able to be entertaining. Every subsequent viewing has revealed it to be funnier and more impressive, and now it's definitely among my favorite movies of all time.
