Nashville (1975)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writer:

Joan Tewkesbury (written by)

Release Date:

21 September 1975 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Wild. Wonderful. Sinful. Laughing. Explosive.

Plot:

Over the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated individuals prepare for a political convention as secrets and lies are surfaced and revealed.

Plot Keywords:

Nashville | Candidate | Reporter | Assassination | Nashville Tennessee

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 20 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

David Arkin	...	Norman
Barbara Baxley	...	Lady Pearl
Ned Beatty	...	Delbert Reese
Karen Black	...	Connie White
Ronee Blakley	...	Barbara Jean
Timothy Brown	...	Tommy Brown
Keith Carradine	...	Tom Frank
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Opal
Robert DoQui	...	Wade (as Robert Doqui)
Shelley Duvall	...	L. A. Joan
Allen Garfield	...	Barnett
Henry Gibson	...	Haven Hamilton
Scott Glenn	...	Pfc. Glenn Kelly
Jeff Goldblum	...	Tricycle Man
Barbara Harris	...	Albuquerque

Runtime:

159 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | West Germany:12 | UK:AA (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Company:

ABC Entertainment

Trivia:

In response to those who believed the film was almost totally improvised and had little or no script, screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury insisted that there was a solid script written by Robert Altman and herself that dictated all the actions of all the characters, and that the improvisational elements added by the actors were solely in aspects of the dialogue.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Mercedes bus (model O 309) breaks the gate-arm at the Nashville Airport (21:00 in), there is clear right-front damage, the bumper is bent, headlight broken, and there is no sign on the right side of the bus. But, at the freeway accident scene (22:12 in; on I-24 near Shelby Avenue), the passengers act like the damage just happened (saying: "Oh no." And looking at the damage), and now there is a sign on the right side that reads: "Connie White" and has her image.

Quotes:

Haven Hamilton: Y'all take it easy now. This isn't Dallas, it's Nashville! They can't do this to us here in Nashville! Let's show them what we're made of. Come on everybody, sing! Somebody, sing!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Never Sleep Again: The Making of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

One, I Love You

Could have been four hours long, and I would have enjoyed it even more!

I think that 1975 was the last great year for American movies. Also to be said is that the Academy recognized this greatness. "One Flew Over the Coukoo's Nest", "Jaws" and "Nashville" are all truly wonderful movies and all were nominated for Best Picture. I am actually fairly surprised that "Nashville" did get nominated, it's such an unusual picture. It was as if Robert Altman wiped clean notions of what movies were supposed to be like or what they had become. 159 minutes of characters' living out a weekend during a political rally. Their lives may or may not intertwine and they may be changed in subtle ways or in truly deep ways or not changed at all, if they have a lesser capacity to respond. The film just follows the characters around, a combination documentary/soap opera. Only with none of the idiotic dramatic shock of soaps and none of the lack of humor in a typical documentary. Only Robert Altman would think to take on a story like this, to any other director it would seem incomprehensibly boring and pointless. His trump card in making "Nashville" such an absorbing, enjoyable experience is his combination of distances. He obviously loves his characters for whatever their qualities may be, but he also never intrudes on them. We get to observe them close up and personal, but we're never at such an exacting distance that we can feel like we're supposed to have some kind of moral reaction to what's going on. Every character has some kind of recognizable flaw, and this movie is just such an enjoyable, relaxing experience for me. You never know what's going to happen, it's not plotted out. It's touching, it's sad, there is tension, there is an enormous amount of humor from almost everyone (which is the real clue that Altman and Joan Tewkesbury and others knew exactly what they were doing). "Nashville" is a hugely funny movie with traces of bittersweet throughout.