Altman slams the U.S.

[Glenn X]

In a recent interview in the London Times, filmmaker Robert ("M.A.S.H.," "Gosford Park") Altman slams President Bush and America's war on terrorism.<br /><br />The full interview can be found at:<br /><a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,62-2002032543,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,62-2002032543,00.html</a><br /><br />However, the salient portion of it is this:<br /><br /><<Although Gosford Park takes a largely dispassionate stance on class, Altman has long been considered a left-of-centre voice since coming to prominence during the halcyon days of the American New Wave with such counter-culture classics as MASH. However, aside from tapping into generalised social themes, his films have rarely made concrete political statements. <br /><br />“I am a political person,” Altman says, “but I don’t have to put a strong debate into a film. This present government in America I just find disgusting, the idea that George Bush could run a baseball team successfully — he can’t even speak! I just find him an embarrassment. I was over here when the election was on and I couldn’t believe it — and I’m 76 years old. Then when the Supreme Court came in and turned out to be a totally political animal, the last shred of any naivety that was left in me has gone. When I see an American flag flying, it’s a joke.” <br /><br />An enraged Altman suddenly checks himself, aware that he is on sensitive ground in our post-September 11 world. But, controversially, he thinks that Hollywood may have inspired the World Trade Centre attacks. “We gave them the ideas — it was a movie,” he fumes. “We should be ashamed of ourselves.” <br /><br />Altman also disagrees with bombing Afghanistan, even though he flew B-24 bombers in the South Pacific during the Second World War. “I don’t think there was a moral choice then,” he argues. “But this thing we’re involved in now — these people don’t even have a country, and maybe that’s the problem.” <br /><br />Hacking cough aside, Altman is clearly intent on working behind the camera until the big director upstairs yells “Cut!”. He already has a feature about espionage legend Mata Hari scheduled for early next year and hopes to get another film rolling this spring. Would he shoot in Britain again? “Oh, I’m looking into that right this second,” Altman says with a grin. “It was the best experience of my life, with actors and with crews — the whole process. If you asked would I live in London the rest of my life, yeah, I’d be very happy to stay here. There’s nothing in America that I would miss at all.”>>

[Om]

( * bites tongue * )<br /><br />I think I'l just choose to dismiss Mr Altman as an old fool. Not for his bitterman views -- he's entitled to them -- but for the fact that he is apparently tone deaf in matters of tact, moral equivalence, perspective and sense of the moment.<br /><br />Stick to film, Bob; there, you get to reshoot flubbed takes.

[Glenn X]

In my opinion, Altman has lost perspective and a sense of the moment as a filmmaker, too.<br /><br />Have you seen any of this guy's recent work?<br /><br />I remember being forced to sit through his excruciatingly long and dull recent efforts, like "Ready to Wear" and "Kansas City," while at film school.<br /><br />The guy has totally lost it, especially over the past decade or so. He's basically made 3 good films in his entire career: "M.A.S.H," "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" and "Nashville." Everything else he's done has been plodding, pretentious, self-absorbed garbage.