Nashville

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Following 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) and his fragile star protegee Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley); Tom (Keith Carradine), a self-absorbed rock star who woos lonely married gospel singer Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin); Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles), a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig; Albuquerque (Barbara Harris), a runaway wife with dreams of stardom; nightclub owner Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley), who reminisces about "those Kennedy boys"; single-minded groupie L.A. Joan (Shelley Duvall); vapid BBC commentator Opal (Geraldine Chaplin); and campaign guru John Triplette (Michael Murphy), who is trying to organize a concert rally for the unseen but always heard populist presidential candidate-cum-demagogue Hal Phillip Walker. Everything comes to a head during a climactic concert at Nashville's replica of the Parthenon temple, as the entertainment-hungry audience is momentarily woken out of its stupor by unexpected violence, only to be lulled into a restorative sing-along to "It Don't Worry Me." ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • Exclusive interview with director Robert Altman
  • Commentary by Robert Altman
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Widescreen version enhanced for 16x9
  • Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround
  • English subtitles
  • Interactive menus
  • Scene selection

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Song - 1975 (Keith Carradine)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1975 (Robert Altman)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1975 (Robert Altman)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1975 (Ronee Blakely, Lily Tomlin)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Soundtrack - 1975 (Jim Webb, William Sawyer, Chris McLaughlin, Richard Portman)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1975 (Robert Altman)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Original Song - 1975 (Keith Carradine)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1975 (Robert Altman)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1975 (Henry Gibson)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic - 1975 (Ronee Blakely, Barbara Harris, Lily Tomlin, Geraldine Chaplin)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1975
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1975 (Joan Tewkesbury)
•     Nominated New Star of the Year - Female - 1975 (Ronee Blakely, Lily Tomlin)

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1991

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1975 (Joan Tewkesbury)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Director - 1975 (Robert Altman)
•     Won Best Picture - 1975
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1975 (Ronee Blakely)

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Director - 1975 (Robert Altman)
•     Won Best Picture - 1975
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 1975 (Henry Gibson)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1975 (Lily Tomlin)

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Director - 1975 (Robert Altman)
•     Won Best Picture - 1975
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1975 (Lily Tomlin)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Henry Gibson - Haven Hamilton
       Barbara Baxley - Lady Pearl
       Ned Beatty - Delbert Reese
       Karen Black - Connie White
       Ronee Blakely - Barbara Jean
       Lily Tomlin - Linnea Reese
       Keith Carradine - Tom Frank
       Geraldine Chaplin - Opal
       Robert DoQui - Wade
       Shelley Duvall - L.A. Joan
       Allen Garfield - Barnett
       David Arkin - Norman Chauffeur
       Scott Glenn - Pfc. Glenn Kelly
       Jeff Goldblum - Tricycle Man
       Barbara Harris - Albuquerque
       David Hayward - Kenny Fraiser
       Michael Murphy - Triplette
       Cristina Raines - Mary
       Bert Remsen - Star
       Timothy Brown - Tommy Brown
       Gwen Welles - Sueleen Gay
       Keenan Wynn - Mr. Green
       Richard Baskin - Piano Player
       James Dan Calvert - Jimmy Reese
       Donna Denton - Donna Reese
       Merle Kilgore - Bar Owner
       Carol McGinnis - Jewel
       Sheila Bailey - Smokey Mountain Laurel
       Patti Bryant - Smokey Mountein Laurel
       Jonnie Barnett - Himself
       Vassar Clements - Himself
       Sue Barton - Herself
       Misty Mountain Boys - Misty Mountain Boys
       Allan Nicholls - Bill

• Director:

  Robert Altman

• Producer:

  Robert Altman, Martin Starger, Jerry Weintraub

• Screenwriter:

  Joan Tewkesbury

• Cinematographer:

  Paul Lohmann

• Composer (Music Score):

  Richard Baskin

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Richard Baskin

• Composer (Music Score):

  Keith Carradine

• Editor:

  Dennis M. Hill, Sid Levin

• Associate Producer:

  Scott Bushnell, Bob Eggenweiler

• Costume Designer:

  Scott Bushnell

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Jim Webb, Richard Portman, Chris McLaughlin

• Makeup:

  Tommy Thompson

REVIEW:

• Following 24 characters in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complex, critical portrait of the twin national obsessions with celebrity and power. Culminating Altman's experiments in loose, multi-character narrative structure; mobile wide-screen composition; and layered sound design, the film seamlessly interweaves many stories and moods, even within a single shot, creating a mosaic of "America" on the cusp of the Bicentennial. The improvisational acting enhances the casual feel of events, as does the dense mix of songs, dialogue, and background noise (like the campaign loudspeakers spewing populist bromides). Amid this random ambiance, characters consistently act out of base self-interest, intimating that these are the skewed values of contemporary America. Combining his somber social commentary with a lightly musical and comic atmosphere, punctuated by 27 songs by various cast members, Altman reveals how the worship of entertainment precludes personal relationships and political awareness, even as the film itself seeks to amuse. Critics, especially Pauline Kael, greeted the film as an incisive masterwork, predicting that Nashville would be a blockbuster like Altman's MASH (1970). While not a flop, it did not live up to those financial expectations, as audiences increasingly turned to such lighter diversions as the 1975 blockbuster Jaws. Nashville received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Lily Tomlin's adulterous gospel singer and Ronee Blakely's fragile star, but Joan Tewkesbury's screenplay was ignored; Keith Carradine's seductively folksy "I'm Easy" won the Best Song statuette. With its technical invention, narrative intricacy, provocative insights, and command of entertainment, Nashville still stands as one of Hollywood's most remarkable achievements; Paul Thomas Anderson's multi-character tapestries, Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999), reveal just a small measure of its influence. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi