Today, filmmaker Robert Altman died at the age of 81. Altman is one of cinema’s most important directors. Outspoken, passionate, and visionary, Altman’s fims-including “M*A*S*H,” “Nashville.” “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” “The Long Goodbye,” and “The Player”-are just some of the hallmark films Altman directed. Never willing to dance with the Hollywood system Altman was proud of all his work because he “never did a project that he did not create or develop” on his own. A strong, crticial voice of American misuse and abuse of power as well as social injustice. Altman famosuly used the backdrop of the Korean War in his anti-war black comedy film “M*A*S*H.” The film is as a thinly veiled metaphor of the Vietnam War and was a critical and commerical success.
Altman, a rare breed to begin with in filmmaking, will be sorely missed. He leaves a void that will be difficult to fill but he carved out a path that many of us who make films are happy to follow. As Tim Robbins-star of Altman’s “The Player”-told me: “Altman did it his way and did it the right way.”
Finally, Altman once said that “filmmaking was a chance to live many lifetimes.” With the body of work that Altman leaves behind he will indeed live many, many lifetimes.
