I would suggest everyone on this site who looks at M*A*S*H and seems to see it as 1) Indicative of Altman's inherent sexism, racism, homophobia or any other ism 2) the crowning glory of the Altman's oeuvre of movies (I can't spell!) should go on IMDB and look up every movie the man has ever made. I've actually never seen M*A*S*H, since it was made before my time, but judging from the other Altman films I've seen, like Nashville, Short Cuts, Cookie's Fortune, and Gosford Park, the Wedding, the Company, etc. I don't see an underlying vein of sexism at the core of all of his movies (unlike Hitchcock's homophobia and mommie issues.)

I understand saying he's overrated or disliking his movies. That I can deal with.

But to imply Altman's career begins and ends with M*A*S*H, to say that you can't watch any other movie because M*A*S*H was so sexist is horse shit.

Altman wasn't just one movie. That's why I love him. Sure, I don't like all of his movies, but I'm still sad he's gone.

i for one am sorry that his work on the cure for cancer and his cold fusion process kept interfering with his movie work. is it too early to press the Vatican for sainthood for the dude?

Wow I had no idea there was so much sexism in Altman’s films. I don’t recall any in Nashville, could you point it out? And honestly in McCabe and Mrs. Miller how exactly do you female and male feminists think an all male logging camp in the 1800s treated a wagon load of prostitutes? And in regards to M*A*S*H* are you telling me there was no sexism in the army in the 50s? Well I’ve got news for you arm chair critics…its still there! Sexism is still in the army. I hope you get over the shock in time for thanksgiving.

Thank you Mr. Altman for Nashville, Popeye and The Long Goodbye and A Prairie Home Companion. May you rest in peace and win the Oscar for best director in February of 07.

It's true, MASH is sexist. It's also a humane, funny, groundbreaking piece of work. It's hard sometimes to see the value in works of art from another time that offend current sensibilities (I can't watch I Love Lucy for the same reason, in spite of the brilliance of her clowning).

But so many of the female characters in his movies are rich, strong, complicated, flawed people, rendered with respect and affection, just like the male characters. Julie Christie in McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Lily Tomlin in Nashville. Lily Tomlin in Short Cuts. All of the women in Gosford Park. And so many more Even the most pathetic female character in any of his films, Millie Lammoreaux (Shelly Duvall) in 3 Women, is portrayed in a way to make her ridiculousness not risible, but moving.

MASH was a product of its time. I'm not excusing the sexism, but it needs to be put in context, rather than it being an indictment of Altman's entire oeuvre, which was as layered and complicated as Life.

Robert Altman was an artist, a humanist, a maverick and a force of nature. Brave enough to try things that didn't work and were viciously panned by critics and the public, yet still go on trying to make more art. I wish I was as fearless.

(Oh, to the poster who wrote "Film Forum (on Watts Street -- does anyone remember it?)" -- the Film Forum is still there and still going strong -- thank god for it! -- when most other revival houses in NYC have long vanished. In fact, FF showed "California Split" not too long ago.)

Leanne

in the ultimate crap-shoot of "will anyone like it?"

I can think of just a few writers, actors, artists, musicians about whom I feel similarly -- that I will always up for buying a ticket/product ... always be curious about "what they're doing now" and "what they're going to do next" ... and always hopeful it will be WONDERFUL ...

I saw McCabe and Mrs Miller was on the roster this week and found the listing ....

McCabe & Mrs. Miller Thu, Nov 23 3:55 AM HBOSGe (wish I had a CD recorder -- my copy is on vhs with commercials)

Also showing this week:

Short Cuts Sat, Nov 25 1:45 AM IFC

I always got the feeling that Altman viewed every production saying -- gee, that might be FUN! and if you take him in good faith -- even "Dr. T and Women", a somewhat routine screwball suburban comedy -- is worth a "what was he trying to do here" consideration, imho.

He did so many things first and got so many truly memorable and excellent performances out of actors ... he will be missed.

oh, by the way, M*A*S*H is a comedy and utilizes EXAGGERATION and ABSURDITY ... it's not about "real life" ... and the hostility towards HotLips was due to her lifer, mealy-mouth, disapproving uptight hypocritical ass-holishness ... it wasn't about ALL WOMEN ... it was about THAT type of woman (again, a cartoon amalgamation created for COMEDIC PURPOSES) ... SHEESH

Hey, I like Cameron Crowe, too. But he's no Robert Altman.

I heard Elliot Gould in an interview yesterday refer to Altman as John Ford's successor. I would nominate John Sayles as the inheritor of Altman's legacy. They succeed, and they stumble, in similar ways.

An image I will always carry with me is McCabe stumbling across the Sierra snow to his death. It seems a fitting epitaph.

Ouch! Nothing like speaking ill of the dead, especially just moments after they've passed. Of course David Bryan is more than entitled to his opinion but I find it a bit cowardly of him to smear Robert Altman's body of work and those of us who genuinely find his movies to be entertaining, poetic, statements of character, time, region and spirit.

I wonder if David Bryan would have had the balls to walk up to Altman and let him know how he really felt. To say, "Hey Bob, I'll never in this lifetime amass such a vast body of work and leave the legacy behind as you will but my averageness aside, I just want you to know I see you cooking up crap behind the curtain. So don't get too big for your britches Bob, I've got your number". No, I don't think David would have had the pluck.

Years back I saw the Picasso retrospective at MOMA and it was fantastic in scale and the exhibit certainly celebrated his vibrant life and immense talent as an artist. Besides taking in all of Pablo's well known masterpieces, what I found most profound about the show was getting to see all of the work he did, much of it redone, reworked, rethought and reconstructed. And though a lot of it wasn't up to the standards of his best pieces that didn't matter, what mattered was his prolific quest to create and keep at it until he got it right. Keeping at it... this is what it means to be an artist, and as such I am certain Robert Altman was one of the greatest artist's of our time.

~ TomCat