Robert Altman filmography

Robert Altman in 1983

Robert Altman was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era. His films are known for having satirical themes, unexpected quirks, with overlapping and improvised dialogue. He has deconstructed classic film genres like Westerns, crime dramas, musicals and classic whodunits. He has worked with frequent collaborators such as actors Shelley Duvall, Elliott Gould, René Auberjonois, Henry Gibson and Lily Tomlin. Over his career he received five Oscar nominations winning the Honorary Academy Award in 2005.

Altman made his directorial film debut with The Delinquents (1957) and gained his career breakthrough with war comedy M*A*S*H (1970) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. Robert then earned critical acclaim for western drama McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), the musical film Nashville (1975), and the psychological thriller 3 Women (1977). During this time he also directed a string of counter cultural genre films such as the black comedy Brewster McCloud (1970), the neo-noir The Long Goodbye (1973), the comedy-drama California Split (1974), the crime film Thieves Like Us (1974), the revisionist western Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976), and the satirical comedy-drama A Wedding (1978).

He then directed the musical comedy Popeye (1980) which was a financial success but received a mixed reception. The films which followed become more sporadic with a career fluctuations. Roger Ebert stated of Altman's career that he "insisted on expressing a distinct personal vision that made him the hottest director of the 1970s but not the 1980s".[1] During this time he directed the comedy-drama Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), the play adaptation Streamers (1983), and the historical drama Secret Honor (1984). He received a career resurgence earning Academy Award for Best Director nominations for the Hollywood mystery The Player (1992), the dark comedy Short Cuts (1993), and the murder mystery Gosford Park (2001). He also directed Vincent & Theo (1990), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), The Company (2003), and A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

Film

Features

Year Title Director Writer Producer
1948 Bodyguard No Story No
1957 The James Dean Story[a] Yes Yes Yes
The Delinquents Yes Yes Yes
1968 Countdown Yes No No
1969 That Cold Day in the Park Yes No No
1970 M*A*S*H Yes No No
Brewster McCloud Yes No No
1971 McCabe & Mrs. Miller Yes Yes No
1972 Images Yes Yes No
1973 The Long Goodbye Yes No No
1974 Thieves Like Us Yes Yes No
California Split Yes No Yes
1975 Nashville Yes No Yes
1976 Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or
Sitting Bull's History Lesson 		Yes Yes Yes
1977 3 Women Yes Yes Yes
1978 A Wedding Yes Yes Yes
1979 Quintet Yes Yes Yes
A Perfect Couple Yes Yes Yes
1980 HealtH Yes Yes Yes
Popeye Yes Yes No
1982 Come Back to the Five
and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean 		Yes No No
1983 Streamers Yes No Yes
1984 Secret Honor Yes No Yes
1985 Fool for Love Yes No No
1986 O.C. and Stiggs Yes No Yes
1987 Beyond Therapy Yes Yes No
1990 Vincent & Theo Yes No No
1992 The Player Yes No No
1993 Short Cuts Yes Yes No
1994 Prêt-à-Porter Yes Yes Yes
1996 Kansas City Yes Yes Yes
1998 The Gingerbread Man Yes No No
1999 Cookie's Fortune Yes No Yes
2000 Dr. T & the Women Yes No Yes
2001 Gosford Park Yes Idea Yes
2003 The Company Yes No Yes
2006 A Prairie Home Companion Yes No Yes
  1. ^ Also credited as editor

Producer only

Executive producer

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1947 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Man Drinking Uncredited
1948 Bodyguard
1970 Events Bob
1973 The Long Goodbye Ambulance Driver Uncredited
1981 Endless Love Hotel Manager

Short film

Year Title Director Writer Editor Notes
1950 Honeymoon for Harriet No Yes Yes
1952 The Sound of Bells Yes Yes No
King Basketball Yes Yes No
1954 The Dirty Look Yes Yes No
1955 The Perfect Crime Yes Yes No
Corn's-A-Poppin No Yes No
1956 The Magic Bond Yes Yes No
1964 The Party Yes No No
1965 The Katherine Reed Story Yes No No
1967 Pot au feu Yes No No Player
1987 Les Boréades Yes Yes Yes Segment of Aria

Producer

Documentary short

Year Title Director Writer Editor
1951 Modern Football Yes Yes Yes
1953 The Last Mile Yes Yes No
How To Run a Filling Station Yes Yes No
Modern Baseball No No Yes
1954 Better Football Yes Yes No
The Builders Yes Yes No

Television

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1953 Pulse of the City Yes Yes No Episode "The Case of Capt. Denning"
1957–58 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Yes No No Episodes "The Young One" and "Together"
1958 M Squad Yes No No Episode "Lover's Lane Killing"
1959 Hawaiian Eye Yes No No Episode "Three Tickets to Lani"
1958–59 The Millionaire Yes Yes No 13 episodes
Whirlybirds Yes No No 20 episodes
1959–60 Sugarfoot Yes No No 2 episodes
1959–60 Troubleshooters Yes Yes No 14 episodes
U.S. Marshal Yes No No 15 episodes
1960 The Gale Storm Show Yes No No Episode "It's Magic"
Bronco Yes No No Episode "The Mustangers"
Maverick Yes Yes No Episode "Bolt from the Blue"
1960–61 The Roaring 20's Yes No No 9 episodes
Bonanza Yes No No 8 episodes
1961 Lawman Yes No No Episode "The Robbery"
Surfside 6 Yes No No Episode "Thieves Among Honor"
Peter Gunn Yes No No Episode "The Murder Bond"
Route 66 Yes No No Episode "Some of the People, Some of the Time"
1961–62 Bus Stop Yes Yes No 8 episodes
1962 Cain's Hundred Yes No No Episode "The Left Side of Canada"
Kraft Television Theatre Yes No No 3 episodes
The Gallant Men Yes No No Episode "Pilot"
Rattlesnake in a Cooler Yes No Executive Television film
Precious Blood Yes No Executive Television film
1962–63 Combat! Yes Yes Yes 10 episodes
1963–64 Kraft Suspense Theatre Yes Yes Yes 3 episodes
1964 Nightmare in Chicago Yes No Yes Television film
1965 The Long, Hot Summer Yes No No Episode "The Long, Hot Summer"
1968 Premiere Yes Yes Yes Episode "Walk in the Sky"
1977 Saturday Night Live Yes No No Episode "Sissy Spacek/Richard Baskin" (Segment "Sissy's Role")
1985 The Laundromat Yes No No Television film
1987 Basements Yes No Yes Television film
1988 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Yes No Yes Television film
Tanner '88 Yes No Executive Miniseries
1993–97 Great Performances Yes Yes Yes 3 episodes
1993 Gun Yes No Executive Episode "All the President's Women"
2004 Tanner on Tanner Yes No Executive 4 episodes

Theatre

Year Title Author Venue Ref.
1952 Hope Is the Thing with Feathers Richard Harrity Resident Theatre, Kansas City
1981 2 By South Frank South Los Angeles Actors' Theater
St. Clement's Theater, New York City
1982 Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean Ed Graczyk Martin Beck Theater, Broadway [2]
1983 The Rake's Progress Igor Stravinsky University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1987 Opéra de Lille, Lille
1992 McTeague William Bolcom Lyric Opera of Chicago, World premiere
2004 A Wedding
2006 Resurrection Blues Arthur Miller Old Vic Theatre, London

Music video

Year Title Artist
1966 "Girl Talk" Bobby Troup
"The Party" Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
"Speak Low" Lili St. Cyr
"Ebb Tide"

Unrealized projects

Year Title and description Ref.
1960s Death, Where is Thy Sting-a-ling-ling?, retitled from The Chicken and the Hawk [3][4][5]
1970s The Extra, a film about Hollywood bit players starring Lily Tomlin [6]
92 in the Shade [7]
North Dallas Forty [8]
A film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Breakfast of Champions written by Alan Rudolph starring Burt Lancaster [9]
Ragtime [9][10][11]
The Y.I.G. Epoxy, a film adaptation of Robert Grossbach's novel Easy and Hard Ways Out written by Alan Rudolph starring Peter Falk, Sterling Hayden and Henry Gibson [12][11]
1980s Vicksburg, a drama set during the American Civil War [13]
A film adaptation of James McLure's one-act play Lone Star starring Sigourney Weaver [14][15]
A film adaptation of Marsha Norman's play The Holdup [16]
A film adaptation of Jim Leonard, Jr.'s two-act play The Diviners starring William Hurt [16][17]
A film adaptation of Thomas Berger's novel The Feud written by Jim Leonard, Jr. [18]
Biarritz, a film set in a European hotel for wealthy vacationers written by Robert Harders starring Jon Voight [19][20][7]
A film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel Across the River and Into the Trees written by Robert Harders starring Roy Scheider and Julie Christie [20][21][7]
Heat [22][7]
Nashville 12, a sequel to Nashville written by Robert Harders set twelve years later [21][7]
Rossini! Rossini! [23]
1990s A film adaptation of Tony Kushner's two-part play Angels in America [24][25]
Cork, a film written by Harry Belafonte about subject of blackface and minstrel shows set in the era of Amos 'n' Andy [26][27][28]
Mata Hari, a biopic written by David Williamson based on the life of Danish entertainer Mata Hari [25]
The Singing Detective starring Dustin Hoffman [29]
Stamp and Deliver, a "modern-day postal Western" [30]
More Short Cuts, a sequel to Short Cuts written by Anne Rapp [31]
2000s A film adaptation of Artie Shaw's unpublished autobiography The Education of Albie Snow starring Johnny Depp [32][33]
Voltage, a film adaptation of Robert Grossbach's novel A Shortage of Engineers starring Liv Tyler, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Steve Buscemi, Joaquin Phoenix, William H. Macy, Tony Shalhoub, Harry Belafonte, Elliott Gould and Taye Diggs [34][35][36]
Gambit [37]
The Widow Claire, a "period romance" set during World War II starring Winona Rider, Jake Gyllenhaal and Matthew McConaughey [38]
Paint, a film set in the New York art gallery scene starring Salma Hayek, James Franco and Glenn Close [39][40]
An Unfinished Life [41]
A film adaptation of Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" written by Andrew Davies [40]
It's Always Now, a sequel to The Long Goodbye based on an unpublished Raymond Chandler story [42]
A fictionalized film version based on S. R. Bindler's 1997 documentary Hands on a Hardbody written by Stephen Harrigan starring Hilary Swank, Meryl Streep, Billy Bob Thornton, Jack Black, Jack White, Chris Rock, Dwayne Johnson, Lily Tomlin and Tommy Lee Jones [43][44][28]

References

  1. ^ "Siskel and Ebert on Robert Altman". Youtube. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982, Broadway)". Playbill. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  3. ^ Total Film (June 1, 2004). "The Total Film Interview - Robert Altman". GamesRadar+. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  4. ^ Lincoln, Kevin (November 12, 2015). "The BFG Author Roald Dahl Also Wrote the James Bond Movie You Only Live Twice, and Hated It". Vulture. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "'They get hold of it and do what they like': Why Roald Dahl often felt chewed up and spit out by Hollywood". Vancouver Sun. August 5, 2016.
  6. ^ "Unproduced and Unfinished Films A Through K: An Ongoing Film Comment Project". Film Comment. No. May-June 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e McGilligan, Patrick (1989). Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff: A Biography of the Great American Director. St. Martin's Press. p. 545-546. ISBN 978-0312304676.
  8. ^ "AFI|Catalog - North Dallas Forty". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  9. ^ a b Gussow, Mel (February 24, 1976). "Altman Goes by the Book— His Way". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Higham, Charles (September 26, 1976). "How 'Ragtime Led to Discord". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Arnold, Gary (May 8, 1977). "Filmmaker Robert Altman - Back in the Swim". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "Unproduced and Unfinished Films L Through Z: An Ongoing Film Comment Project". Film Comment. No. May-June 2012.
  13. ^ Dawson, Nick (2009). Being Hal Ashby: The Life of a Hollywood Rebel. University Press of Kentucky. p. 225-226. ISBN 978-0813139197.
  14. ^ "At The Movies; by Chris Chase; For Sigourney Weaver, heady taste of success". The New York Times. February 27, 1981.
  15. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (July 11, 1981). "ROBERT ALTMAN SELLS STUDIO FOR $2.3 MILLION". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Kent, Leticia (October 11, 1981). "ROBERT ALTMAN TURNS TO THE STAGE". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  17. ^ Shoger, Scott (June 13, 2012). "Jim Leonard talks 'The Diviners' and beyond". NUVO. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  18. ^ "AFI|Catalog - The Feud". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  19. ^ Tremblay, Anne (January 20, 1985). "ALTMAN MAKES A CABLE FILM ABROAD". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (June 14, 1985). "AT THE MOVIES". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Gabler, Neal (June 5, 2015). "Why Robert Altman's brilliant 'Nashville' never had a sequel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  22. ^ Ryan, Desmond (March 16, 1986). "RON HOWARD DISCOVERS THE PRICE OF VERISIMILITUDE". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  23. ^ Klady, Leonard (February 26, 1989). "Rossini Rocks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  24. ^ Lahr, John (November 15, 1992). "Beyond Nelly". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Frook, John Evan (December 5, 1993). "RKO, Altman pact on new 'Mata Hari'". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  26. ^ Lee, Felicia R. (October 4, 1993). "SPEAKING HIS PIECE: BELAFONTE REFLECTS ON RACIAL ISSUES". News & Record. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  27. ^ Gates, Henry Jr. (August 18, 1996). "Belafonte's Balancing Act". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Goldstein, Gregg (February 21, 2007). "Altman memorial tribute is a hit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  29. ^ James, Caryn (October 26, 2003). "FILM; Singing Off-Key for Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  30. ^ Craughwell, Kathleen (May 26, 1996). "Maybe There's a Role for Johnny Carson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  31. ^ Blue, Mary (April 11, 1998). "The Art of Making the Impossible Look Easy". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  32. ^ Teachout, Terry (May 21, 2000). "MUSIC; A Jazz Icon Who Spent Half a Life in Jazz". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  33. ^ Teachout, Terry (May 27, 2000). "Artie Shaw still looms large at 90". Deseret News. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  34. ^ Green, Willow (January 16, 2002). "Robert Altman Shocker". Empire. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  35. ^ Archerd, Army (January 22, 2002). "Altman focusing on 'Voltage,' not Oscars". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  36. ^ Dunkley, Cathy (February 22, 2002). "'Voltage' may be on the fritz". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  37. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 5, 2011). "A 14-Year 'Gambit' Finally Provides a Big Payoff for Producer Mike Lobell". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  38. ^ Susman, Gary (July 8, 2003). "Winona Ryder will costar with Sean Connery". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  39. ^ Friedman, Roger (November 4, 2003). "Salma Hayek Will Paint the Town With Altman". Fox News. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  40. ^ a b Green, Willow (October 13, 2005). "Altman Races Tortoise And Hare". Empire. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  41. ^ Holleran, Scott (April 11, 2006). "Close-Up: Lasse Hallstrom on 'An Unfinished Life'". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  42. ^ Fear, David (October 12–18, 2006). "Ace in the hole". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  43. ^ Thompson, Anne (October 6, 2006). "All 'Hands' on for Altman project". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  44. ^ Lyman, Rick (November 26, 2006). "At Altman's Death, Much Left Undone". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.