2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Robert Altman is a director who went down in history as the most famous creator of American auteur cinema. Throughout his life, this man in his films laughed at the "dream factory", its hackneyed clichés and plots. Drama, musical, western - it is difficult to name a genre in which the master did not have time to contribute. What is known about this talented man and the pictures he took?
Robert Altman: star biography
The future director was born in Kansas City, located in the US state of Missouri, it happened in February 1925. Robert Altman does not come from a cinematic dynasty; his parents were an insurance agent and a housewife. The boy was sent to a Catholic school, but he tried to spend as little time as possible doing his homework. As a teenager, one of his main hobbies was music, Robert was well versed in modern bands. However, a career as a musician was never his goal.
Becoming a high school graduate, Robert Altman did not know what profession to choose. He received a diploma from the Wentworth Military Academy, worked for some time as a pilot's assistant, he even had a chance to take part in World War II. Then the guy entered the University of Missouri, choosing the Faculty of Engineering, but soon became disillusioned with his studies.
From writer to director
Abandoning his decision to become an engineer, Robert Altman moved to sunny California and started writing short stories. Of course, for some time no one was interested in the fruits of his creative activity, but then luck nevertheless smiled at the young man. They bought the story "The Bodyguard" from him, the plot of which in 1948 served as the basis for the painting of the same name.
Altman, inspired by his first major achievement, is determined to become part of the magical world of cinema. For some time, the guy spent as a director of the Calvin Company in Kansas, shooting industrial videos and learning the secrets of the filming process in practice. For the first time, they started talking about the young man after the release of his documentary “Offenders”, dedicated to juvenile delinquents, but then the fame turned out to be fleeting. Finally believing in his talent, Robert returned to California.
Breakthrough movie
Alfred Hitchcock is a man with whom Robert Altman collaborated for some time. The films he made during those years were for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series. However, the novice director wanted something more, he dreamed of workingon one's own. The master's wish came true in 1969, when he presented the drama "MESH" to the public.
The central characters of the picture were doctors who worked in a mobile hospital. Doctors become participants in the Korean War, but the horrors they experience do not make them lose their humanity and stop helping people. Donald Sutherland, who had already become a star at that time, brilliantly played the main role. The picture has collected a huge amount at the box office, and its creator has acquired star status.
Best Film Projects
Robert Altman is a director whose films are not intended for a wide range of audiences. Some fall in love with his paintings at first sight, others refuse to view after a few minutes. Western "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" - the first tape, with which the maestro demonstrated his unwillingness to "play by the rules." The protagonist of the picture is not at all a brave defender of the weak, as people used to see cowboys in the movies. The central character is a scoundrel who creates a brothel in the village, and then dies because of his own stupidity.
Robert Altman's comedy "The Wedding" is also considered a kind of challenge that the director threw to the Hollywood world. The main characters of the picture are representatives of two different families who were forced to get together by the wedding of children. The ceremony is in jeopardy due to the death of an elderly grandmother. However, the relatives decide to continue the festivities without informing about the death of the old woman.
The film "Player" - anotherAltman's mockery of the Hollywood world. The central character of the tape is a Hollywood producer who receives threats from a screenwriter whose creation he rejected. Fearing for his life, the producer takes the life of the enemy, and then makes every effort to avoid criminal liability. The “happy ending” makes the biggest impression on viewers.
Death
Altman is a man who has always been described by close people as a workaholic who doesn't know how to rest. No wonder the director literally died on set. His last work is the tragicomic musical "Companions", this work was completed by the maestro shortly before his death. Robert passed away in November 2006, having managed to celebrate his 80th birthday. Doctors named leukemia as the cause of death of this talented person.
Altman's son Michael claims his father was happy throughout his life. After all, he allowed himself to shoot such pictures as he liked, not paying attention to the opinions of others.
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