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Summary: DVD bait -- why not yet?
Review: Nashville is Altman's masterpiece, and arguably the best film of the 1970s. This is American film at it's best -- imaginative, in control, revealing, addressing the mundane (sorry, C&W music and its industry are just that) and the sublime (well, can we any longer think of politics as sublime? ). In any case, Nashville is the real thing. I walk through the arcades, looking at racks of pure drivel released in DVD format, matter I'd be embarrassed to have on my bookshelf anywhere near my select collection of DVDs (12, and growing, so far). And I wonder why is it that the industry doesn't see room for pressing a DVD version of Nashville, immediately! Even if it doesn't sell like the latest Adam Sandler hit, it will do nicely -- there are people of taste and thought out there! (And when some industry exec acts upon this humble plea, how about also a Region 1 DVD pressing of Truffaut's classic, "Jules et Jim"?)
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Summary: A Perfect Masterpiece
Review: Both a comedy and a drama at the same time, Nashville shows the stories of twenty-four separate individuals in one day(or two). Good songs(especially Carradine's "I'm Easy") and a wonderful ensemble cast. One of Altman's most brilliant pieces, and one of the best films of all time. It's almost impossible not to enjoy this film.
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Summary: MAD'S review for "Nashville"
Review: Robert Altman is a master of films focusing dealing with numerous characters. This may not be his masterpiece, but "Nashville" is one of those films that must be seen. Although it's popularity is not as high as it should be (due to its lack of availability), the film ranks as important as any other from the 1970s.
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Summary: Perfect for those lonely nights
Review: If you ever need to live in a bomb shelter underground for an extended period of time and you only have room for five movies, makes sure Nashville is among them. Does anyone know where I can get the soundtrack?
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Summary: Altman's Masterpiece and the Finest Film of the Seventies.
Review: This classic Robert Altman film is the best film from the 1970's, probably the most exciting decade for American filmmaking. This is the quintessential Altman film, probably the most perfect expression of his famous style of filmmaking. When one hears a summary of the film, it sounds like a backstage look at the C&W music industry (and indeed it is), but it is so much more than that. It's a complex tapestry of American life at a particular moment in time, the Post-Woodstock, Pre-Reagan America. Altman has made a film that both celebrates America, but also laments that something is going wrong with our country. It shows our nation, warts and all. This is one of the few American films that comes to mind when I think of a bona fide art film. Brilliant, brilliant moviemaking.
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Summary: Simply the greatest film of all time.
Review: I'd never been so deeply touched by a film till I saw "Nashville".It awakened me to the possibilities of what can be achieved in the medium.Its greatness lies in its observant study of two dozen or so odd characters who float in and around the country music industry.It has humor going for it too, which is more than I can say for most other epics depicting American life. Altman has a way of making everything seem totally natural in his films, like no other contemporary filmmaker can.Thats why I've been so attracted to his movies, and why I've worshiped at his alter for years.
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Summary: Brilliant Film Marred by Problematic Video Transfer
Review: Ditto to all the praise given by other reviews, but I'm surprised that so few commented on the truly awful video transfer currently circulating. It runs the gamut of flaws, from a noticably faded first reel, to careless pan-and-scan throughout. Most damaging, I believe, is the nearly complete loss of Altman's original multi-track sound. What's left is muddy and oftentimes indistinct, with the only hints of the film's original audio glory turning up during some of the musical sequences, in which the sudden increase in depth and clarity is startling and ultimately disconcerting. As this video is, I consider it little more at a reference print that only faintly hints at the print that I saw upon it's initial theatrical release. Shame on you, Paramount! If only you gave the same care to your older backlog that you give to (instantly forgotten) self-appointed "blockbusters" like Eddie Murphey's "The Nutty Professor", you might remove some of the tarnish and graffiti that's obliterating the once glowing "Paramount Studios" logo.
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Summary: One of the Greatest
Review: I am a proud film enthusiast and a not-so-proud lurker of these pages, but a film such as Nashville demands attention. I was an Altman fan before watching it, but that is not to say I was fully prepared for what this film had to offer. Like any great movie (and most of Altman's), Nashville made me want to get out and live my life. Nashville showed me that a movie can excite someone though directorial technique and strong character development. The audience gets a true payoff for the care and sympathy they show the characters (I know no characters better than those in Nashville).This film simply sets my standard for greatness.
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Summary: MY THIRD FAVOURITE FILM.
Review: I've watched this great piece of cinema,seven times.And still every time I watch it,it makes me proud to be a film enthusiast,a Nashvillian,and an American.Altman is one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century,and this film,will prove it.So,if you should ever see this fine piece of American cinema,at your video store,salute it before you rent it.Because,it deserves one.
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Summary: Unforgettable
Review: The first time I saw NASHVILLE I didn't pay much attention at first to what was going on in the first half because I was unfamiliar with Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue and meandering style. But once I got to the famous sequence at the Opry Queen--when Barbara Jean starts to break down in front of the audience--I began to realize the complexity and brilliance of what Altman was doing, and so rewound it and watched the whole thing again from the beginning. This film is a masterpiece--it's one of the most profound statements regarding the myths of America ever put onto celluloid, and with the GODFATHER movies it stands as the highpoint of Hollywood's "Silver Age." There are so many fantastic and unforgettable performances that I couldn't name them all, but the three standouts are Tomlin as the almost unwillingly adulterous mother, Welles as the talentless hopeful, and Blakely as the most gifted and tragic of all the film's characters. Blakely's songs are actually terrific, and you may find youself crying during her climactic (and unforgettable) rendition of "My Idaho Home" at the poltical rally that closes the film. Worth seeing over and over again.
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