70 From The 70’s Part II: #66

Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’ (1975) is a one of a kind film. This massive production looks at an almost post Vietnam war world, and deals with the ramifications everything brought. We get to see different perspectives of what political action was going on at the time, while also understanding the common man and the high class man. I enjoyed this picture with a lot of passion, and perhaps going in thinking it would be closer to a musical, then seeing it wasn’t, raised my spirits some. If you’re a fan of mid 1970’s political dramas that focus on the common man, and Robert Altman, this is the best movie you could go see. 

Throughout ‘Nashville’ (1975) we get to see a range of different characters who show their hand in how politically active they are. The film focuses on a lot of people who are on the same side of the coin, but go about it in different ways. The more conservative people, who dress proper and have gleaming haircuts. Plus their work is something to be. Then we see the misunderstood youth in the hippie generation. All of which had furious anger towards establishment, and always had something to say. Altman finds it’s necessary to play out all sides of an argument, and in what better place than Nashville. 

The music in the film is a lot of original work, that was composed for the film. Taking home an Academy Award for Best Original Song, Keith Carradine would write a beautiful song called ‘I’m Easy’ for the film, and it was a smash hit. On top of this, we get to hear the music of many different styled artistic throughout the movie. Each type of country music has its own touch of sincerity towards the film, and leaves a catchy tune in our ears. I was happy to see no one broke out into massive song and dance throughout the picture like most musicals, but that’s not what the point of this film was at all.

There is a very obvious contrast throughout this film, between the celebrity and the common man. There are many lines drawn out that express who is who and what is what. The common man are typically those who work the 9-5 jobs, and fall into a middle class society. The opposite side is the bombastic and loud Celebrity who tends to be a bit full of themselves. Altman contrasts both together by cutting through a series of stories about everyone’s journey. No one person has the same stardom or lack there of, but everyone seemingly wants it. Throughout the film is obvious that stardom is something we all reach for, but in the end, it is a killer of sorts. 

The 1970’s were a time for cinema to really bloom. We got amazing exploitation films, extreme horror, heartbreaking genres. Epic war films, and some truly classic westerns. However, the biggest thing that came out of this decade were the hangout films. Movies where something wasn’t always happening throughout, and we got to just see chat relax and chat with each other about seemingly nothing. It was a strange concept, but ‘Nashville’ (1975) portrayed it perfectly. With Altman’s technique of having actors speak over each other to make a natural flow of conversation, it adds to the understanding when in the context of the film. Hangout films are sometimes the most fun, and it reflects a lot of what we do ourselves. 

Robert Altman is a masterful director, and he knows how to tap into an actors mind on his set. There is a complexity to his craft that sometimes just seems so subtle, and nonexistent, but it truly is there. Like I mentioned before, he requires controlled chaos with mundane conversation. He allows actors to speak over each other and deliver dialogue that might never be heard. That’s what natural chaos is for him. A hectic conversation about seemingly nothing. The grand scale of Altman’s work in this film is nothing to be looked over, and managing to put as much on the screen as he did is an amazing work of artistic character. 

I was a bit unsure about what I was getting myself into when I put on ‘Nashville’ (1975), but by the time the credits rolled, I wanted more. This movie was a rollercoaster ride of emotions and getting an intimate look at all of these lives was an experience to say the least. The cast was massive and they all managed to carry their weight against one another. That is all because of course Robert Altman’s hand on the film. If you want to see a director finally understand his craft of filmmaking after half a decade, ‘Nashville’ (1975) is an immersive film to watch for that.