Images (1972)

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Robert Altman (written by)
Susannah York (book)

Release Date:

18 December 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

A motion picture of the extra senses.

Plot:

Schizophrenic housewife, engulfed by terrorizing apparitions, kills off each, unknowing if these demons are merely figments of her hallucinatory imagination or part of reality.

Plot Keywords:

Fall From Height | Schizophrenia | Kitchen | Jigsaw Puzzle | Waterfall

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Susannah York	...	Cathryn
Rene Auberjonois	...	Hugh
Marcel Bozzuffi	...	Rene
Hugh Millais	...	Marcel
Cathryn Harrison	...	Susannah
John Morley	...	Old Man

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK | Ireland | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1980) | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | UK:X | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~9.2 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~9.4 seconds.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rip Van Marlowe (2002) (V)

IMAGES (Robert Altman, 1972) ***

An arty horror movie is the last thing one expects from Robert Altman - although, apparently, he had already tried it out with his earlier, little-seen THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK (1969). The writer/director (itself an unusual combination for Altman, but it shows how strongly he felt about the project) himself does not think of it as such and, in any case, reviews at the time were decidedly mixed.

Even if he was "inspired" by Ingmar Bergman's PERSONA (1966), the film actually feels closer plot-wise to Roman Polanski's REPULSION (1965). Originally intended to be shot in Milan with Sophia Loren, the film definitely benefits from its picturesque Irish locations and Susannah York's fragile performance (which eventually earned her the Best Actress Award at Cannes) as a schizophrenic; she, too, was unusually committed and actually allowed a story for kids she had written - called "In Search Of Unicorns" - to be incorporated into the narrative!

The film features only five major characters and, interestingly, these are named after each of the actors themselves: so Susannah York plays Cathryn just as Cathryn Harrison (Rex's daughter, a very natural performer who later featured in another strange film - Louis Malle's BLACK MOON [1975]) plays Susannah; Marcel Bozzuffi's character is named Rene', Rene' Auberjonois is Hugh and Hugh Millais is Marcel! Of course, all this fits perfectly well with the film's theme and the characters' penchant to exchange 'faces' with each other in the mind of the disturbed protagonist; actually, this concept is pretty frightening because the lead character at one point decides to get rid of her 'ghosts' - but, not having a complete grasp on reality, one is never sure whether the victims are mere figments of her imagination or else real people!

Also essential to establishing the film's unique mood is Vilmos Zsigmond's stylish cinematography and John Williams' stark yet evocative score (interspersed with eerie sounds provided by Stomu Yamash'ta, a Japanese sound designer); even though his work here is galaxies away from Williams' renowned anthemic scores for the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, he still managed to earn an Oscar nomination for it!