The lives of upstairs guests and downstairs servants at a party in 1932 in a country house in England as they investigate a murder involving one of them.
Director:
Robert Altman
Stars:
Maggie Smith,
Ryan Phillippe,
Michael Gambon
A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
Events in the life of a Hollywood studio executive, unfold with the same unrealistic positive coincidences, ultimately culminating to a "happy ending", much like the movie scripts, with which he works day in and out, after he accidentally murders someone.Written by
Abhay Bhatt
According to a contemporary article in the New York Times, director Altman convinced the celebrities who provided cameos for the film to donate their union-scale salary for one day of work to the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital for retired filmmakers. See more »
Goofs
When Mill reads the newspaper story about the murder, a closeup of article reveals that it is just the same few paragraphs printed over and over. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Man 1:
[voiceover]
Quiet on the set.
Woman:
[voiceover]
OK, everybody, quiet on the set.
Man 2:
[voiceover]
Scene 1, take 10. Marker.
Man 1:
[voiceover]
And - action!
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In the theatrical version there was a frontal nude scene of Tim Robbins at the hotel in the desert. This scene was removed for the cable version. See more »
Robert Altman performed a great service to us movie fans with this movie. We are able to see the brutish way the studios treat their writers....and don't find it difficult to believe that some writer would want to murder the producer.
The many homages paid to other movies is great: the execution scene from "I want to Live" is replayed, and Bruce Willis jumping in the midst of the cyanide fumes to rescue the damsel in distress makes the contrast with the Graham movie even more poignant (especially if you believe she was innocent). Watching the various emotions play across Tim Robbins face makes you understand what a great actor he is.
The convoluted plot makes the movie more interesting, even as we see a Palm Springs lovers' rendezvous where some lovers swim in the nude in front of others dancing. You don't know what's true and what's not, even when the producer's ex-girlfriend is left sobbing on the steps. It seems too melodramatic for reality, but melodrama is what these people are all about!!!!! Altman's favorite trick of having everybody talk over each other is, while realistic, disconcerting. I still wish I could have heard what Burt Reynolds was saying, nothing complimentary, when Robbins walked up to him at the restaurant. Watching the writers become sycophants, prostituting their 'art' just to get the movie made rang QUITE true. He backs down on both 'no stars' and 'no Hollywood ending'. The only one with morals involved in the movie business gets fired, of course.
One of the movies you need to have on your shelf. Now I've got to go back and watch for Robbins' many references to different brands of water, pointed out by the NYTimes just today.
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Robert Altman performed a great service to us movie fans with this movie. We are able to see the brutish way the studios treat their writers....and don't find it difficult to believe that some writer would want to murder the producer.
The many homages paid to other movies is great: the execution scene from "I want to Live" is replayed, and Bruce Willis jumping in the midst of the cyanide fumes to rescue the damsel in distress makes the contrast with the Graham movie even more poignant (especially if you believe she was innocent). Watching the various emotions play across Tim Robbins face makes you understand what a great actor he is.
The convoluted plot makes the movie more interesting, even as we see a Palm Springs lovers' rendezvous where some lovers swim in the nude in front of others dancing. You don't know what's true and what's not, even when the producer's ex-girlfriend is left sobbing on the steps. It seems too melodramatic for reality, but melodrama is what these people are all about!!!!! Altman's favorite trick of having everybody talk over each other is, while realistic, disconcerting. I still wish I could have heard what Burt Reynolds was saying, nothing complimentary, when Robbins walked up to him at the restaurant. Watching the writers become sycophants, prostituting their 'art' just to get the movie made rang QUITE true. He backs down on both 'no stars' and 'no Hollywood ending'. The only one with morals involved in the movie business gets fired, of course.
One of the movies you need to have on your shelf. Now I've got to go back and watch for Robbins' many references to different brands of water, pointed out by the NYTimes just today.