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Robert Altman — the name itself conjures images of yesteryear because it was he who carved a special niche as "one of the world’s greatest and most influential directors in film history." This maverick filmmaker, who died at 80, was also Hollywood’s most non-conformist artiste and his vast body of work gives ample evidence of this. Film critic Pauline Kael spoke of him as one "who can make film fireworks out of next to nothing." And Ms Kael was not known for dishing out accolades. Altman received five Oscar nominations in his long career but never an Oscar. He, however, won a Lifetime Oscar in 2006, the year of his death. But it is his M.A.S.H. that will stay etched as one of the greatest. Irreverent satires of all time. Made in 1970 M.A.S.H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital set up during the Korean war and has Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt) who arrive at the camp in a stolen car. But these two practical jokers are exemplary at their work. They are later joined by a third, Trapper John (Elliott Gould). They are the life of the unit and also play golf in the killing fields. Later, Sutherland and Gould became quite a renowned pair in the 1970s. Pitted against these brilliant surgeons is head nurse Margaret Houlaharn (Sally Kellerman), who isn’t happy with the prevalent lax law and disorder and joins forces with the religious but blundering Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) but are at the receiving end of the jokes. Mikes catch their love-making and are relayed to the whole camp. Then nurse Houlahan, nicknamed "Hot Lips," is exposed to the entire camp during her shower. There’s more to come like The Last Supper act in which Burns wants to commit suicide. The words is painless" still echo in my ear when first heard in 1971. Talk about nostalgia! Like Mike Nichols, The Graduate also made around the same period. I call it the Decade of Change (1965 to 1975) with major events like moon-landing, flower power, rejection of religion. Hollywood came closer to European cinema (than ever before) which always dealt with social and psychological problems whereas Hollywood fare was essentially escapist. Or where would one have an older woman (Ann Bancroft) and company partner of his dad, seduce a graduate (Dustin Hoffman). And what a seduction it is fuelled by Simon and Garfunkel’s soulful music. In 1971, Altman made MaCabe and Mrs Miller, an unusual Western set in a mining town where gambler John McCabe (Warren Beatty), along with British Cockney Constance Miller (Julie Christie) set up a brothel which does roaring business. But the agents from the Shaughenesy mining company are jealous of their business and coerce them into selling out but the pair refuses to fall in line. So bounty hunters are sent for. This 121-minute drama weaves around the two principal characters played by Beatty and Christie in their prime and in due time we learn that Mrs Miller is a heroin addict. It all builds up to a dramatic climax in which MaCabe is holed up in a chapel. It is violent and thought-provoking because as MaCabe lies dead in the snow Mrs Miller goes for her usual dose of heroin. Gosford Park is the third and last film we shall deal with. Altman calls it "a mild social satire" and like in most of his films he has an enormous cast. The Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith) and her maid Mary Mac Eachrem (Kelly MacDonald) travel to Gosford Park for a weekend. Along the way, they come across actor Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam) and American film producer Morris Welssman (Bob Balaban), who come up with the idea of shooting a film in England. It is Balaban, who initially approached Altman with the film idea. So, we then have a motley gathering of various strata of society but the constraints of time (yours) and space (mine) do not allow me to go into all that. Suffice it to say that the cast includes the rugged Alan Bates and the suave Helen Mirren and Kristin Scott-Thomas to name just a few. In familiar style, Altman does what he does best — weaves an absorbing drama of life’s foibles with delicious irony and tongue-in-cheek responses that would make a sailor blush. This is just one of the many strings to his many-faceted bow that makes Altman just one of his kind.
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