Robert Altman names his favourite movies of all time
Countless filmmakers have helped to sculpt the landscape of American cinema ever since the dawn of the 20th century, with early pioneers such as Buster Keaton, John Ford and Howard Hawks providing a solid foundation for progress, leaving the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Sam Peckinpah and Steven Spielberg to build on their legacy. In such a conversation, however, it is difficult to ignore the efforts of Robert Altman, a filmmaker who embodies the heart and soul of the national spirit.
Responsible for helming some of the greatest movies of the 1970s, Altman’s career began two decades earlier, creating countless short films before making his feature debut with The James Dean Story in 1957, a tribute to the titular actor who tragically passed away two years prior. Endless TV directorial jobs followed, heading up episodes for such TV programmes as Bonanza with Lorne Greene and The Roaring 20’s with Dorothy Provine.
It wasn’t until 1967 that Altman would get the chance to create another feature film, helming the underwhelming sci-fi Countdown before his career would hit the big-time with the releases of That Cold Day in the Park and M*A*S*H in 1969 and 1970, respectively. The films would kickstart a remarkable decade for the director, who would find the time to release McCabe & Mrs. Miller in 1971, The Long Goodbye in 1973, Nashville in 1975 and 3 Women in 1977, among many others.
Though many will name the films of Altman among their all-time favourites, the director remained tight-lipped about his own inspirations, though did once reveal some of his personal influences in an interview that appears in the book You Gotta See This, by Cindy Pearlman.
Revealing two films that he holds dear, Altman starts: “I love Brief Encounter. I was nineteen or twenty when I saw it for the first time. What I got out of it was that older women who wear sensible shoes are also attractive. Very attractive. The film had a big impression on me”.
Aside from the director’s curious comment about “older women who wear sensible shoes,” the essence of his response was that he is a firm fan of the 1945 classic Brief Encounter by the British director David Lean. Starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, Lean’s three-time Oscar-nominated movie tells the story of a woman who meets an enticing stranger at a railway station and is tempted to cheat on her husband.
This isn’t the only film that Altman mentioned either, adding: “I also love Persona. I love the personalities in it, and I’ve emulated them in a few films”.
Altman’s second choice is a seminal piece of European cinema, Ingmar Bergman’s complex character drama Persona. Released in 1966, the film, which stars Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, tells the story of a nurse who is put in charge of a mute actor and slowly finds their personalities are starting to steadily meld together.
