Robert Altman’s Quirky ‘Popeye’ Boasts a Can Full of Geniuses
Robert Altman's busy, mobile style perfectly captures and mirrors E.C. Segar's rowdy, rambunctious Popeye comic.
robert altman
20 Films That Went From Bombs to Beloved
Not every cinematic bomb remains forgettable. Sometimes, a failure is just a gemstone in disguise that will only reveal itself well past the release date.
Absurdism and Power: Robert Altman’s ‘Brewster McCloud’ in Today’s America
As in the America of the 1970s -- with its political corruption, war, economic straits, and fatalism -- Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud resonates loudly in these times. Shall we join the circus freaks dancing on the grave of an absurd and unjust society?
In Two Minds: Robert Altman’s ‘Images’ Essays the Terrors of Schizophrenia
Altman's Images is a complex, haunting and always disturbing film about the slow realization that one's sanity is a stake.
Tom Waits: Preacher on a Pale Horse
A guide to nine songs for the faithful, the faithless, and the searchers.
The 100 Essential Directors Part 1: Chantal Akerman – Bernardo Bertolucci
Neurotic New Yorkers, Queer Mavericks, Swedish close-ups and the art of putting a microphone on every person on set are but a few of the themes explored in PopMatters' first group of ten essential directors, Chantal Akerman through Bernardo Bertolucci. Please note that any perceived omissions were likely on purpose...
America’s Dirty Secrets Revealed in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts
Altman spent his entire career amplifying the hidden comedy in America’s soul. Short Cuts is his most sweeping and relatable sketch of the country caught off-guard.
How About Some Noah Baumbach, Paul Thomas Anderson, Robert Altman and Akira Kurosawa for the Holidays?
If you ever wonder why certain elements get tossed into a movie, remember: beauty never needs to be justified. These and other thoughts on recent Blu-ray releases.
Robert Altman, the Blackguard of American Elections
At times it feels as if Altman is forcing us to drink drain cleaner in order for us to feel the gut wrenching pain of the farce that American democracy has become.
On Robert Altman’s Subversive Anti-western, ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’
McCabe & Mrs. Miller toys with and subverts western tropes and traditions while flat out refusing to fall into others.
The Power of Bullshit in ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’
In McCabe & Mrs. Miller, the 1971 western directed by Robert Altman, bullshit seems like the stuff empires are built on, but as we quickly come to find out, it can also turn to quicksand.