So much has been written in the past 50 years about McCabe and Mrs. Miller’s status as an anti-Western that its subversive take on the great American genre now seems like an afterthought. After all, Robert Altman’s restless sense of reinvention — his dismantling of the Western’s dusty romance, weathered machismo and propulsive action — is far easier to accept in the postmodern, … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Remembering Sally Kellerman
The news that Sally Kellerman, who will forever be remembered for her Oscar-nominated role as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, died Thursday brought back memories of a lunch I shared with her back in 1995. She was about to star as Mame Dennis in the musical Mame at the then-called Jupiter Theatre, long before Milton Maltz came on the scene. Her … [Read more...]
In its Blu-ray debut, ‘Popeye’ continues to age artfully, if manically
It’s been 40 years since Popeye paddled its way onto cinemas, but instead of making a splash, it is generally believed to have sunk upon impact. Not every prominent critic ragged on Robert Altman’s adaptation of the iconic E.C. Segar comics character. Siskel and Ebert both pointed their thumbs skyward. But Los Angeles’ snarky Stinkers Bad Movie Awards channeled the critics’ … [Read more...]