28 Movies Directed by Robert Altman

Brewster McCloud

Brewster McCloud

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1971-08-18

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

105 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

(2861 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Fullplot:

Brewster is an owlish, intellectual boy who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome. He has a dream: to take flight within the confines of the stadium. Brewster tells those he trusts of his dream, but displays a unique way of treating others who do not fit within his plans. When the fateful day arrives, and he enters the dome with his fanciful construction of bird wings, Brewster is surrounded by the police. Will he be caught before he attempts to fly?

MASH

MASH

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1970-03-01

Languages:

English, Japanese, Korean

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

116 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (52071 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Richard Hooker (from the novel by)

Ring Lardner Jr. (screenplay)

Fullplot:

The personnel at the 4077 MASH unit deal with the horrors of the Korean War and the stresses faced in surgery by whatever means. The tone at the MASH is established by recent arrivals, surgeons Captains 'Hawkeye' Pierce, 'Duke' Forrest, and 'Trapper' John McIntyre - the latter who Hawkeye knows he's met somewhere, but Trapper who won't divulge where - whose antics can be best described as non-regulation, and in the negative words of one of their fellow MASH-ers: unmilitary. The unit's commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake, doesn't care about this behavior as long as it doesn't affect him, and as long as they do their job and do it well, which they do. Their behavior does extremely bother fellow surgeon, Major Frank Burns, and recently arrived head nurse, Major Margaret Houlihan, who obtains the nickname 'Hot Lips' based on information they glean about her through underhanded means. Beyond their battles with Frank and Hot Lips, Hawkeye, Duke and/or Trapper help unit dentist Painless with a personal crisis, try to figure out if Hot Lips is a true blond, travel to Japan for a work and what they hope is a recreational trip, and hope to win big on a football bet against another unit in which they on the surface are the underdogs.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1971-06-24

Languages:

English, Cantonese

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

120 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (14819 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

DramaWestern

Cast:

Writer:

Edmund Naughton (novel)

Robert Altman (screenplay)

Brian McKay (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Set in winter in the Old West. Charismatic but dumb John McCabe arrives in a young Pacific Northwest town to set up a whorehouse/tavern. The shrewd Mrs. Miller, a professional madam, arrives soon after construction begins. She offers to use her experience to help McCabe run his business, while sharing in the profits. The whorehouse thrives and McCabe and Mrs. Miller draw closer, despite their conflicting intelligences and philosophies. Soon, however, the mining deposits in the town attract the attention of a major corporation, which wants to buy out McCabe along with the rest. He refuses, and his decision has major repercussions for him, Mrs. Miller, and the town.

Images

Images

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1972-12-18

Languages:

English, French

Countries:

UK, USA

Runtime:

101 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (2770 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Robert Altman

Susannah York (book)

Fullplot:

Like Polanski's heroine in Repulsion, Susannah York's character is one that is seemingly haunted by memories of undisclosed magnitude. These memories are perhaps rooted in some sort of past sexual turmoil that causes York's character to see men as inherently the same.

The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1973-03-07

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

112 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (16663 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Leigh Brackett (screenplay)

Raymond Chandler (novel)

Fullplot:

In the middle of the night, private eye Philip Marlowe drives his friend Terry Lennox to the Mexican border. When Marlowe returns home police are waiting for him and learns that Terry's wife Sylvia has been killed. He's arrested as an accessory but released after a few days and is told the case is closed since Terry Lennox has seemingly committed suicide in Mexico. Marlowe is visited by mobster Marty Augustine who wants to know what happened to the $350,000 Lennox was supposed to deliver for him. Meanwhile, Marlowe is hired by Eileen Wade to find her husband Roger who has a habit of disappearing when he wants to dry out but she can't find him in any any of his usual haunts. He finds him at Dr. Veringer's clinic and brings him. It soon becomes obvious to Marlowe that Terry's death, the Wades and Augustine are all somehow interconnected. Figuring out just what those connections are however will be anything but easy.

California Split

California Split

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1974-08-07

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

108 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (3312 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Fullplot:

A down on his luck gambler links up with free spirit Elliot Gould at first to have some fun on, but then gets into debt when Gould takes an unscheduled trip to Tijuana. As a final act of desperation, he pawns most of his possessions and goes to Reno for the poker game of a lifetime. A film set mainly in casinos and races, as the two win and lose (but mainly win), get robbed, and get blind drunk.

Thieves Like Us

Thieves Like Us

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1974-02-11

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

123 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.1 (3025 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Calder Willingham (screenplay)

Joan Tewkesbury (screenplay)

Robert Altman (screenplay)

Edward Anderson (novel)

Fullplot:

Two convicts break out of Mississippi State Penitentiary in 1936 to join a third on a long spree of bank robbing, their special talent and claim to fame. The youngest of the three falls in love along the way with a girl met at their hideout, the older man is a happy professional criminal with a romance of his own, the third is a fast lover and hard drinker fond of his work. The young lovers begin to move out of the sphere in which they have met, a last robbery in Yazoo City goes badly and puts paid to the gang once and for all as a profitable venture, but isn't the end of the story quite yet, as all three are wanted and notorious men with altogether different points of view on the situation they are faced with.

Nashville

Nashville

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1975-09-21

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

159 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.8 (16195 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

DramaMusic

Fullplot:

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1976-06-24

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

123 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

6.2 (2863 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Arthur Kopit (play)

Alan Rudolph (screen story and screenplay)

Robert Altman (screen story and screenplay)

Fullplot:

Buffalo Bill plans to put on his own Wild West sideshow, and Chief Sitting Bull has agreed to appear in it. However, Sitting Bull has his own hidden agenda, involving the President and General Custer.

3 Women

3 Women

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1977-05-25

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

124 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

7.9 (8372 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

Drama

Fullplot:

Pinky is an awkward adolescent who starts work at a spa in the California desert. She becomes overly attached to fellow spa attendant, Millie when she becomes Millie's room-mate. Mille is a lonely outcast who desperately tries to win attention with constant up-beat chatter. They hang out at a bar owned by a strange pregnant artist and her has-been cowboy husband. After two emotional crises, the three woman steal and trade personalities until they settle into a new family unit that seems to give each woman what she was searching for.

A Wedding

A Wedding

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1978-08-29

Languages:

English, Italian

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

125 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

7.1 (2365 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Cast:

Writer:

John Considine (screenplay)

Patricia Resnick (screenplay)

Allan F. Nicholls (screenplay)

Robert Altman (screenplay)

Robert Altman (from a story by)

John Considine (from a story by)

Fullplot:

Muffin's wedding to Dino Corelli is to be a big affair. Except the aging priest isn't too sure of the ceremony, only the families actually turn up as the Corelli Italian connection is suspect, security guards watch the gifts rather over-zealously, and Dino's grandma expires in bed just as the reception starts. Could be quite an occasion.

Popeye

Popeye

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1980-12-12

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

114 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

5.2 (22440 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Jules Feiffer (screenplay)

E.C. Segar (based on characters by)

Fullplot:

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1983-05-04

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

109 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (2796 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Cast:

Writer:

Ed Graczyk (play)

Ed Graczyk (screenplay)

Fullplot:

The Disciples of James Dean meet up on the anniversary of his death and mull over their lives in the present and in flashback, revealing the truth behind their complicated lives. Who is the mysterious Joanne and what's the real story behind Mona's son, James Dean Junior ?

Streamers

Streamers

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1984-04-04

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (1364 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

David Rabe (play)

David Rabe (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Four young recruits about to be sent to Vietnam confront their prejudicial feelings toward one another when it's learned one of them is homosexual.

Secret Honor

Secret Honor

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1986-01-29

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

90 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.5 (1883 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Donald Freed (play)

Arnold M. Stone (play)

Donald Freed (screenplay)

Arnold M. Stone (screenplay)

Fullplot:

In this speculative one-man drama, we see former President Richard Milhous Nixon alone in his study, dictating his thoughts into a tape recorder. His only company are a four-screen closed-circuit TV setup, the portraits on the walls, a bottle of Chivas Regal - and a loaded pistol. At times addressing an imaginary judge in a court of public opinion, at other times speaking to an aide named Roberto, and sometimes just talking to himself, the former chief executive reflects, in a series of meandering monologues, on his humble Quaker upbringing, his school days, his family and a political career that reached all the way to the White House. Nixon rails at his treatment by the likes of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the "goddam Kennedys," J. Edgar Hoover, Henry Kissinger, Jews, liberals, the media, "East Coast shits," among others, as he leads up to the "true" reasons for the Watergate scandal that resulted in his resignation - an act he regards as one of "secret honor."

Fool for Love

Fool for Love

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1986-05-14

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

106 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

5.9 (1528 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Sam Shepard (play)

Sam Shepard (screenplay)

Fullplot:

May is waiting for her boyfriend in a run-down American motel, when an old flame turns up and threatens to undermine her efforts and drag her back into the life that she was running away from. The situation soon turns complicated.

Aria

Aria

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1988-07-01

Languages:

Italian, French, German, English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

90 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

5.8 (2057 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Robert Altman (segment)

Bruce Beresford (segment)

Don Boyd (segment)

Bill Bryden (segment)

Derek Jarman (segment)

Franc Roddam (segment)

Nicolas Roeg (segment)

Ken Russell (segment)

Charles Sturridge (segment)

Julien Temple (segment)

Fullplot:

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound (Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner), and is an interpretation of the particular aria.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1988-05-08

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

100 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

(389 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

DramaWar

Fullplot:

A full-length adaptation, originally staged as a play, of the court-martial segment from the novel "The Caine Mutiny".

The Player

The Player

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1992-05-08

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

124 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (39161 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Cast:

Writer:

Michael Tolkin (screenplay)

Michael Tolkin (novel)

Fullplot:

A studio script screener gets on the bad side of a writer by not accepting his script. The writer is sending him threatening postcards. The screener tries to identify the writer in order to pay him off so he'll be left alone, and then in a case of mistaken identity gone awry, he accidentally gives the writer solid ammunition for blackmail. This plot is written on a backdrop of sleazy Hollywood deals and several subplots involving the politics of the industry.

Short Cuts

Short Cuts

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1993-10-01

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

187 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (33226 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Cast:

Writer:

Raymond Carver (writings)

Robert Altman (screenplay)

Frank Barhydt (screenplay)

Fullplot:

While helicopters overhead spray against a Medfly infestation a group of Los Angeles lives intersect, some casually, some to more lasting effect. Whilst they go out to concerts and jazz clubs and even have their pools cleaned, they also lie, drink, and cheat. Death itself seems never to be far away, even on a fishing trip.

Ready to Wear

Ready to Wear

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1994-12-25

Languages:

English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

133 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

(12024 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Fullplot:

A fashion show in Paris draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors, photographers. Lots of unconnected stories which all revolve around this show, and an all-star cast.

Kansas City

Kansas City

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1996-08-16

Languages:

English

Countries:

France, USA

Runtime:

116 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.3 (3413 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Fullplot:

Robert Altman's jazz-scored film explores themes of love, crime, race, and politics in 1930s Kansas City. When Blondie O'Hara's husband, a petty thief, is captured by Seldom Seen and held at the Hey Hey Club, she launches a desperate plan to release him. She kidnaps the wife of a powerful local politician in an attempt to blackmail him into using his connections to free Johnny. Despite this being election time, he risks exposure by putting the political machine into action to free Johnny and thereby save his wife. Mrs. Stilton, meanwhile, has befriended Blondie and is impressed by her love and devotion to Johnny, especially in contrast to her own loveless marriage.

Cookie's Fortune

Cookie's Fortune

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1999-04-02

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

(10897 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Fullplot:

Cookie's Fortune unfolds over an eventful Easter weekend in the small town of Holly Springs, Mississippi. The town residents are peaceful, kind folk -- with the exception of Camille Dixon -- a pushy theatre director with an incredibly shy younger sister, Cora, whose estranged daughter Emma has just returned to town. On the heels of her latest play, Camille is shocked to discover that her Aunt Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt has committed suicide. Terrified at the thought of how this will tarnish the family name, she eats the suicide note to make it look like a burglary. This set-up leads the police to one main suspect, Willis Richland, who also happens to be Cookie's best friend. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn't commit the crime, an outside investigator isn't so sure. As Easter Sunday and opening night of the play arrive, the truth comes out, revealing more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Dr. T and the Women

Dr. T and the Women

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2000-10-13

Languages:

English, German, Spanish

Countries:

USA, Germany

Runtime:

122 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

4.6 (15100 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Fullplot:

Dr. Sullivan Travis "Dr. T." is a wealthy Dallas gynecologist for some of the wealthiest women in Texas who finds his idealist life beginning to fall apart starting when his wife, Kate, suffers a nervous breakdown and is committed to the state mental hospital. Dr. T's eldest daughter, Dee Dee, is planning to go through with her approaching wedding despite the secret that she's a lesbian and is romantically involved with Marilyn, the maid of honor. Dr T's youngest daughter, Connie, is a conspiracy theorist freak who has her own agenda to everything, while Dr. T's loyal secretary, Carolyn, has romantic feelings for him, which are not mutual. Dr. T's sister-in-law, Peggy, meddles in every situation she stumbles into, while one woman, Bree, a golf instructor, is the only one who offers him any comfort and salvation.

Dr. T and the Women

Dr. T and the Women

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2000-10-13

Languages:

English, German, Spanish

Countries:

USA, Germany

Runtime:

122 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

4.6 (15078 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Fullplot:

Dr. Sullivan Travis "Dr. T." is a wealthy Dallas gynecologist for some of the wealthiest women in Texas who finds his idealist life beginning to fall apart starting when his wife, Kate, suffers a nervous breakdown and is committed to the state mental hospital. Dr. T's eldest daughter, Dee Dee, is planning to go through with her approaching wedding despite the secret that she's a lesbian and is romantically involved with Marilyn, the maid of honor. Dr T's youngest daughter, Connie, is a conspiracy theorist freak who has her own agenda to everything, while Dr. T's loyal secretary, Carolyn, has romantic feelings for him, which are not mutual. Dr. T's sister-in-law, Peggy, meddles in every situation she stumbles into, while one woman, Bree, a golf instructor, is the only one who offers him any comfort and salvation.

Gosford Park

Gosford Park

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2002-01-18

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, USA, Italy

Runtime:

137 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (62159 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Genres:

DramaMystery

Cast:

Writer:

Robert Altman (idea)

Julian Fellowes

Bob Balaban (idea)

Fullplot:

Set in the 1930s, the story takes place in an old-fashioned English country house where a weekend shooting party is underway. The story centers on the McCordle family, particularly the man of the house, William McCordle. Getting on in years, William has become benefactor to many of his relatives and friends. As the weekend goes on, secrets are revealed, and it seems everyone, above stairs and below, wants a piece of William and his money, but how far will they go to get it?

The Company

The Company

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2004-05-20

Languages:

English

Countries:

Germany, USA

Runtime:

112 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.4 (5306 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Neve Campbell (story)

Barbara Turner (story)

Barbara Turner (screenplay)

Fullplot:

An inside look at the world of ballet. With the complete cooperation of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Altman follows the stories of the dancers, whose professional and personal lives grow impossibly close, as they cope with the demands of a life in the ballet. Campbell plays a gifted but conflicted company member on the verge of becoming a principal dancer at a fictional Chicago troupe, with McDowell the company's co-founder and artistic director, considered one of America's most exciting choreographers. Franco plays Campbell's boyfriend and one of the few characters not involved in the world of dance.

A Prairie Home Companion

A Prairie Home Companion

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2006-06-09

Languages:

English, Norwegian

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

105 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (19096 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Altman

Cast:

Writer:

Garrison Keillor (screenplay)

Garrison Keillor (story)

Ken LaZebnik (story)

Fullplot:

"A Prairie Home Companion", hosted by humorist Garrison Keillor, is a down home radio variety show recorded and performed live in front of an audience in a theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. A show from another era, "A Prairie Home Companion" has been canceled. The regulars are performing on the last show, including Dusty & Lefty, singing/guitar playing cowboys with a risquè sense of humor, and the Johnson Girls, a sister singing duo of Rhonda and Yolanda who have a penchant for talking over each other. As the show goes on, the regulars, backstage, talk about their lives in relation to the show. Other goings-on include Yolanda and others trying to convince her shy somber daughter, Lola, to sing on this last show. As all this goes on, a mysterious woman in a white trench coat who is on a mission wanders around the theater, while the show's dim security guard, Guy Noir, who usually has nothing to do security-wise, follows.

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