March 05, 2006
A Robert Altman Weekend, pt. 3
Even the truly unfortunate Best Picture upset couldn't diminish the afterglow of Robert Altman's Oscar speech this evening; he validated the entire ceremony, and then some.
I sincerely hope he - and we - get those those additional four decades he's counting on.
My viewing schedule this weeekend has come to an unexpected end, thanks to Netflix delays. Buffalo Bill And The Indians will be arriving on Tuesday, preceeded by Popeye, and then followed at some point by Dr. T And The Women. I may have time to watch and write about them over the course of the week, but I have my doubts. I've got midterms, a script to rewrite and some editing to do; and then on Thursday it's time to head down to Austin for SXSW...where, of course, the first film I'll see is the North American Premiere of A Prairie Home Companion. I doubt Altman will be there, but if he is, I'll...well, I don't know what I'll do. Take a picture?
One way or another, I'll definitely be writing about that.
A word on Popeye, the one film I'd selected for the weekend that I'd already seen. It was, in fact, the first Altman film I ever saw. I was five, maybe six, and I watched it one day in my kindergarten class room, on one of those rare afternoons when we got to watch a movie instead of learning to read or whatever it was we did (I remember all the recesses, but none of the classes, and I already knew how to read by then anyway - but I digress).
I don't know that I knew quite what to make of it (I remember being confused by the live action Popeye's aversion to spinach, which wasn't the case in the cartoons) but I'm pretty sure I loved it; and even if I didn't, it certainly made an impression on me, specifically the climax with the octopus and the final musical number with the singing skeleton. Ten years or so down the line found me going over to my friend Ben's house after school and watching it again. It was one of those infrequent experiences, frequently provoked by films, where time bends and you find yourself occupying two spots in your life at the same moment. Every frame was just as I remembered; and this time, I knew I loved it.
Posted by David Lowery at March 5, 2006 09:43 PM
Comments
yes, it WAS the highlight of the evening....
i loved streep and tomlin's intro.
Posted by: frank at March 6, 2006 09:42 AM