Requiem from a Recent Initiate

Robert Altman just died at the age of 81. I happened to just watch Nashville for the first time the week before Altman died and it really blew me away. It may not be for everyone. There is a LOT of music; there is a lot of characters without a unifying plot; and Altman's technique of recording sound so that the characters on the screen talk only slightly louder than the din of the surrounding crowd may befuddle the hard-of-hearing. But it is truly an artistic vision. If you love artsy movies and my disclaimers dont scare you away, then you may love it also. I have not seen many other of Altman's movies, besides Gosford Park, which I couldnt follow; and Short Cuts, which I was too young to appreciate. In any case, I no longer poo-poo the idea of watching Altman's last movie: A Prairie Home Companion. The concept of that movie struck me as strange and unappealing at first, but having seen Nashville, I think I can envision how Altman could make such material really interesting.