Altman, who turned 81 in February, received a lifetime achievement award at Sunday evening?s Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Brilliant acting, precisely defined characters, and (extensively rehearsed) spontaneity are the key components of Altman's enormous, loosely knit "needlepoint" canvases on film. After working for magazines and radio early in his career, Altman soon set up his first production company, which made films commissioned by industrial firms. It was this production company that produced Altman's first big screen movie in 1957.
Shortly after, Altman distinguished himself with his documentary ?The James Dean Story?, receiving a number of commissions from various television channels to direct episodes in serials as a result. Altman continued to make movies at the same time, although these pictures did not meet with much success. In 1970, Altman was assigned charge of ?M.A.S.H.?, a film that more than 15 directors had already rejected. The black comedy about a mobile US army hospital during the Korean War finally earned Altman professional and popular recognition.
The films that Altman made afterward were also well received. ?Nashville?, set against the scene of a country music show, uncovers the roles assumed by people yearning to become stars. ?The Player? is a witty and ironic portrait of the Hollywood dream factory and the behind-the-scenes world of its motion pictures studios. ?Short Cuts? tells the interwoven stories of ordinary couples in suburban Los Angeles, including tales of emotional deprivation, maddening jealousy, petty revenge and murder. Gosford Park is a stylish and multi-level portrait of the prudish attitudes and sexual and class conflicts in British aristocracy in a sardonic social comedy topped with a murder mystery.
Altman is often criticized for "breaking a butterfly on the wheel", but that is indeed the essence of his most powerful films. Altman offers lushly interwoven frescos of small-scale worlds with big screen tools by focusing on characters? weaknesses and frailties.
Altman's latest film, ?A Prairie Home Companion?, premiered in February at the Berlin Festival, and will soon open in cinemas in Hungary.
Source: port.hu
