Robert Altman Has Died

Brian Rose · November 21, 2006

Granted, he wasn't a cinematographer, but we've lost an icon today-a master of filmmaking and of story telling, one who produced some of the finest images I can recall ever seeing on the screen. I'm at a loss. God, I'll miss him and his wonderful films!

Brian Rose

Arni Heimir · November 21, 2006

Granted, he wasn't a cinematographer, but we've lost an icon today-a master of filmmaking and of story telling, one who produced some of the finest images I can recall ever seeing on the screen. I'm at a loss. God, I'll miss him and his wonderful films!
Brian Rose

Brian, he was 81 year old. He underwent a heart transplant. I think that he enjoyed a rich and rewarding life. I think it was his time to go. I doubt anyone in his state of health would have wanted to live indefinately.

But true, an icon has passed. It is time for a new generation of filmmakers to take his place.

Brian Rose · November 21, 2006

I don't think age or health is relevant here. Yes he was fairly old, yes he had a long career, and lived to see his work recognized for what it is (sheer genius), but that does not make his death any less painful. The fact is there will be no more Robert Altman films. No one could do an ensemble film like he could. No one could interweave stories quite like him (compare "Crash" to his film "Short Cuts" to see what I mean). We've lost a true giant of the cinema today. He could have been forty, he could have been a hundred, it is still a tragedy, because we've lost someone who is utterly irreplaceable.

Brian Rose

Kevin Masuda · November 21, 2006

Hollywood, and the world has lost another true great filmmaker.

Kev

Paul Bruening · November 21, 2006

I loved his stuff.

Nathan Milford · November 21, 2006

I loved his stuff.

That about sums it up. People can go on and on waxing poetic giving faux eulogies... but that's all there is that needs to be said.

November 22, 2006

Granted, he wasn't a cinematographer,

Actually, I'm pretty positive that Altman could light a movie himself. If you read his memoirs, he was humiliated by an old Hollywood studio hack DP when he started doing TV. He felt so powerless and restricted by not knowing what a camera could do that he started hanging out with John Alonzo (who was at that point still an actor) and spent many years mastering still photography. Once he returned to directing he knew about focal length, minimum depth of field, light, processing, etc enough to appreciatiate what could and couldn't be achieved by his DPs. I very much doubt that using Chemtone on NASHVILLE was entirely the idea of an otherwise conservative cameraman like Paul Lohmann. And who seriously would let Vilmos Zsigmond flash McCabe and Mrs Miller with a photographic process that could easily have production terminated by the completion bond company? Altman also had Andrew Dunn shooting in low light on GOSFORD PARK because he knew he could.

I'm mega bummed about Altman's passing. He was a true master filmmaker who appreciated EVERY facet of filmmaking. His effortless control and choreography of an ensemble picture is entirely unmatched by any living director.

Jason Maeda · November 22, 2006

he was better with sound than anything else.

jk :ph34r:

Edited November 22, 2006 by jasonkollias

Jon-Hebert Barto · November 22, 2006

He made good films...and kept making them right up till his death. Never "retired". I love that in an artist...

Bye, Altman.

Arni Heimir · November 22, 2006

He made good films...and kept making them right up till his death. Never "retired". I love that in an artist...
Bye, Altman.

I think the reason why he was truly an great director was because he trusted the talent. He didn't micro manage like so many tend to do. I like that although he worked with huge stars, his films weren't star driven. I love his so much, the I am one of the few who enjoyed "Pret-a-proter. (spelling)"

Brian Rose · November 22, 2006

Tim,

You are absolutely right in what you said about Mr. Altman. I supposed I was trying to find a way to frame the story for this message, board, since he was not a cinematographer proper, but a film director. I thought it important just to get the news out. In hindsight, I should have reworded it, based on what I (and others) knew about the extent of his involvement in the filmmaking process.

Best,

Brian Rose

James Steven Beverly · November 22, 2006

He may be gone, but we still have his work. The test of greatness is what you have let behind after your death. Robert Altman left behind a body of work that most filmmakers can only wish for. He changed the way films were made and brought a style unlke anything before and only imitated sence. We may mourn the loss of the man and lament that which might have been but thank God he was put here in the first place. He will be remembered with Kubrik, Hitchcock, Cassevettes, Capra, Ford, Hawks, Chaplin, Wells, Griffith, DeMille, Huston and the handful of others who have achieved inmotallity in their work. Film students will study M*A*S*H* and The Player along side Citizen Kane and Vertigo. Not a bad gift to leave the world.

Marco Leavitt · November 22, 2006

The guy lasted so long and made so many great movies I had started to take it for granted that we would be enjoying new films from him forever. For me his passing is nothing short of a shock. He has a special importance for me, because I remember coming across "Nashville" on late night television when I was a child, and it was the first time I realized that movies could be something other than the slick formula product that Hollywood excells at. I really credit him with sparking a desire in me to seek out more interesting movies. I can honestly say that without his work I wouldn't be who I am today, and I am seriously bummed that he's no longer with us. God bless the cantankerous old bastard.