Robert Altman
"The James Dean Story"
Year: 1957
A documentary about the life and death of James Dean, made just two years after the actor's death.
(Photo: AP)
"M*A*S*H"
Year: 1970
Stars: Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould and Sally Kellerman
Awards: Nominated for an Oscar
The movie about a mobile surgical unit in the Korean War that spawned the wildly successful TV series.
(Photo: AP)
"McCabe & Mrs. Miller"
Year: 1971
Stars: Warren Beatty and Julie Christie
Awards: He didn't get any awards but Julie Christie was nominated for an Oscar.
Gambler and madame become business partners in the Old West.
(Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution)
"The Long Goodbye"
Year: 1973
Stars: Elliot Gould
Private eye Philip Marlowe is transplanted to the '70s in this screen adaptation of a novel by Raymond Chandler.
(Photo: United Artists Films)
"Thieves Like Us"
Year: 1974
Stars: Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Louise Fletcher and Tom Skerritt
Awards: Nominated as best picture by the National Board of Review
An escaped convict gets involved with an inexperienced farmer's daughter
(Photo: United Artists Films)
"Nashville"
Year: 1975
Stars: Keith Carradine, Ned Beatty, Shelley Duvall, Henry Gibson, Jeff Goldblum, Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakley and Julie Christie
Awards: The song "I'm Easy," written and performed by Keith Carradine, won the Oscar for original song. Nominations went to Altman as director and as a producer, since the movie was in the running for best picture. Lily Tomlin and Ronee Blakley were both up for Oscars in the supporting actress category.
Intertwining stories illustrate how politics and the world of entertainment become entangled in one another.
(Photo: )
"A Wedding"
Year: 1978
Stars: Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Mia Farrow, Lillian Gish, Desi Arnaz Jr., Dina Merrill and Lauren Hutton
Awards: Carol Burnett was nominated for a Golden Globe.
The Corellis and the Brenners gather to watch their families unite, and the reception quickly becomes an exercise in chaos.
(Photo: Lionsgate)
"Popeye"
Year: 1980
Stars: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall and Ray Walston
A box-office flop, but an interesting musical take on the cartoon character and his beloved Olive Oyl.
(Photo: Paramount Pictures)
"Come Back To The 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean"
Year: 1982
Stars: Sandy Dennis, Cher and Karen Black
Members of a '50s James Dean fan club have a reunion in the '70s. Except for two movies she made in the '60s as half of Sonny and Cher, this movie marked Cher's big-screen debut as an actress.
(Photo: Cinecom International Films)
"Short Cuts"
Year: 1993
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Andie MacDowell, Julianne Moore, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Robbins, Madeleine Stowe, Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher
Awards: Altman won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and the trophy for best director at the Independent Spirit Film Awards.
As its title implies, this film is composed of nine different stories in L.A. woven together to make a whole, united by a poem written by Raymond Carver.
(Photo: ine Line Features)
"Kansas City"
Year: 1996
Stars: Harry Belafonte, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Steve Buscemi
Awards: The New York Film Critics Circle gave Harry Belafonte its award for best supporting actor.
A gangster film set in the 1930s in (where else?) Kansas City.
(Photo: Fine Line Features)
"Cookie's Fortune"
Year: 1999
Stars: Glenn Close, Liv Tyler, Julianne Moore and Charles S. Dutton
Awards: Julianne Moore won as best supporting actress from the National Board of Review.
When an older woman kills herself in a sleepy southern town, the incident escalates to a murder case as one of the surviving relatives can't bear the idea of suicide in the family.
(Photo: October Films)
"Dr. T and the Women"
Year: 2000
Stars: Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Kate Hudson, Shelley Long, Laura Dern and Liv Tyler.
A gynecologist with a thriving practice finds himself in a situation that tests his faith and sense of reality.
(Photo: Artisan Entertainment)
"Gosford Park"
Year: 2001
Stars: Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles Dance, Helen Mirren, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Clive Owen and Emily Watson.
Awards: Altman was nominated for an Academy Award but the only Oscar for "Gosford Park" went to Julian Fellowes for his screenplay. Altman did, however, win honors from the American Film Institute, the film critics' groups in both New York and Los Angeles, and the National Society of Film Critics. He also won the Golden Globe.
In this story set in the English countryside in 1932, the manners and values of the aristocracy and the people who serve it are tested in the face of sudden death and secrets that are revealed.
(Photo: USA Films)
"A Prairie Home Companion"
Year: 2006
Stars: Garrison Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Lily Tomlin, John C. Reilly, Kevin Kline and Woody Harrelson.
Awards: In 2005, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences presented Altman with an honorary award "in recognition of a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form, and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike."
Behind the scenes and behind the microphones at a Midwest radio show, there are doings both comedic and dramatic as the troupe performs its final show.
(Photo: Picturehouse)