Nashville

( 3 )

Overview

Following 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal and critique of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon Haven Hamilton Henry Gibson and his fragile star protegée Barbara Jean Ronee Blakley; Tom Keith Carradine, a self-absorbed rock star who woos lonely married gospel singer Linnea Reese Lily Tomlin; Sueleen Gay...
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Overview

Following 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal and critique of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon Haven Hamilton Henry Gibson and his fragile star protegée Barbara Jean Ronee Blakley; Tom Keith Carradine, a self-absorbed rock star who woos lonely married gospel singer Linnea Reese Lily Tomlin; Sueleen Gay Gwen Welles, a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig; Albuquerque Barbara Harris, a runaway wife with dreams of stardom; nightclub owner Lady Pearl Barbara Baxley, who reminisces about "those Kennedy boys"; single-minded groupie L.A. Joan Shelley Duvall; vapid BBC commentator Opal Geraldine Chaplin; and campaign guru John Triplette Michael Murphy, who is trying to organize a concert rally for the unseen but always heard populist presidential candidate-cum-demagogue Hal Phillip Walker. Everything comes to a head during a climactic concert at Nashville's replica of the Parthenon temple, as the entertainment-hungry audience is momentarily woken out of its stupor by unexpected violence, only to be lulled into a restorative sing-along to "It Don't Worry Me."
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Rachel Saltz
Robert Altman's bicentennial epic Nashville -- a tragicomic meditation on entertainment, politics, and the American Dream -- is one of the best movies of the 1970s and a landmark of American cinema. Like a country-music La Ronde, Nashville is an ensemble work, its 24 principal characters interlocking in an elaborate web. Among the many memorable creations are Henry Gibson's comically self-serving Haven Hamilton, Lily Tomlin's heart-tugging gospel singer and, especially, Ronee Blakely's Barbara Jean, a Loretta Lynn-ish star whose pure-mountain voice and fragile psyche give the film a tragic authenticity. Many of the performances were improvised, with actors sometimes writing their own dialogue or songs, and scenes often feel exuberantly loose. Still, Altman exercises a masterful control of the story, which builds to a knowing, frightening finale. Perhaps the greatest of Altman's '70s films which included McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, The Long Goodbye, Nashville remains an enduring masterpiece of Watergate-era disillusionment.
All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola
Following 24 characters in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complex, critical portrait of the twin national obsessions with celebrity and power. Culminating Altman's experiments in loose, multi-character narrative structure; mobile wide-screen composition; and layered sound design, the film seamlessly interweaves many stories and moods, even within a single shot, creating a mosaic of "America" on the cusp of the Bicentennial. The improvisational acting enhances the casual feel of events, as does the dense mix of songs, dialogue, and background noise (like the campaign loudspeakers spewing populist bromides). Amid this random ambiance, characters consistently act out of base self-interest, intimating that these are the skewed values of contemporary America. Combining his somber social commentary with a lightly musical and comic atmosphere, punctuated by 27 songs by various cast members, Altman reveals how the worship of entertainment precludes personal relationships and political awareness, even as the film itself seeks to amuse. Critics, especially Pauline Kael, greeted the film as an incisive masterwork, predicting that Nashville would be a blockbuster like Altman's MASH (1970). While not a flop, it did not live up to those financial expectations, as audiences increasingly turned to such lighter diversions as the 1975 blockbuster Jaws. Nashville received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Lily Tomlin's adulterous gospel singer and Ronee Blakely's fragile star, but Joan Tewkesbury's screenplay was ignored; Keith Carradine's seductively folksy "I'm Easy" won the Best Song statuette. With its technical invention, narrative intricacy, provocative insights, and command of entertainment, Nashville still stands as one of Hollywood's most remarkable achievements; Paul Thomas Anderson's multi-character tapestries, Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999), reveal just a small measure of its influence.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 1/1/1998
  • UPC: 097360882131
  • Original Release: 1975

    • Rating:

  • Source: Paramount
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Master Henry Gibson Haven Hamilton
Barbara Baxley Lady Pearl
Ned Beatty Delbert Reese
Karen Black Connie White
Ronee Blakely Barbara Jean
Lily Tomlin Linnea Reese
Keith Carradine Tom Frank
Geraldine Chaplin Opal
Robert DoQui Wade
Shelley Duvall L.A. Joan
Allen Garfield Barnett
David Arkin Norman Chauffeur
Scott Glenn Pfc. Glenn Kelly
Jeff Goldblum Tricycle Man
Barbara Harris Albuquerque
David Hayward Kenny Fraiser
Michael Murphy Triplette
Cristina Raines Mary
Bert Remsen Star
Timothy Brown Tommy Brown
Gwen Welles Sueleen Gay
Keenan Wynn Mr. Green
Richard Baskin Piano Player
James Dan Calvert Jimmy Reese
Donna Denton Donna Reese
Merle Kilgore Bar Owner
Carol McGinnis Jewel
Sheila Bailey Smokey Mountain Laurel
Patti Bryant Smokey Mountein Laurel
Jonnie Barnett Himself
Vassar Clements Himself
Sue Barton Herself
Misty Mountain Boys Misty Mountain Boys
Susan Anspach
Julie Christie Herself
Elliott Gould Himself
Lauren Hutton
Allan Nicholls Bill
David Peel Bud Hamilton
Dave Peel Bud Hamilton
Howard K. Smith Himself
Technical Credits
Robert Altman Director, Producer
Richard Baskin Score Composer, Musical Direction/Supervision
Scott Bushnell Associate Producer, Costumes/Costume Designer
Keith Carradine Score Composer
Bob Eggenweiler Associate Producer
Dennis M. Hill Editor
Sid Levin Editor
Paul Lohmann Cinematographer
Chris McLaughlin Sound/Sound Designer
Richard Portman Sound/Sound Designer
Martin Starger Producer
Joan Tewkesbury Screenwriter
Tommy Thompson Makeup
Jim Webb Sound/Sound Designer
Jerry Weintraub Producer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 3 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Probably Altman's best

    In NASHVILLE, Robert Altman brought many of the strategies he had used on M*A*S*H and earlier films to their fruition. He uses the sound brilliantly, the overlapping conversations. He maintains about a dozen plot threads, bringing most of them together in the climax at the Partnenon, a huge, slightly ridiculous structure located in the center of Nashville's largest city park. He doesn't try to explain everything, leaving us with pieces to put together, but he provides sufficient information.

    My regret is that he didn't use the flexibility of the d.v.d. medium to give us the six- or eight-hour version that he first wanted to release. Perhaps an Altman scholar will get the rights to all the film & piece the longer versions together.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Nashville

    I bought this DVD just for myself. I don't think this is a great movie but for some reason I just like it

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Overated, but interesting...

    Altman's finest this one ain't. The dialogue is sharp and overlapping, the characters are unique and well acted, and the cinematography is beautiful. These are all hallmarks of a great Robert Altman film, but the pacing is terrible! It's a long, slow jog to an underwhelming climax. Not to mention, as a Nashville resident, this film could've taken place in any city. It was as if he threw a dart at a map of the U.S., and when it landed on Nashville, he decided to put in a country music undertone for flavor. M*A*S*H and McCabe and Mrs. Miller far a superior films, not to mention some of his later day efforts. I've seen this movie 3 times and have tried and tried to appreciate it as a seminal work in his career, but I just can't. That being said, it was key to inspiring the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and David Fincher, so it can't be all that bad, just uneventful...

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews