View source for Robert Altman

{{Short description|American filmmaker (1925–2006)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Robert Altman
| image         = Robert Altman - 1983.jpg
| caption       = Altman in 1983
| birth_name    = Robert Bernard Altman
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1925|2|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2006|11|20|1925|2|20}}
| death_place   = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| occupation    = {{flatlist|
* Film director
* screenwriter
* film producer
}}
| known for     = [[Robert Altman filmography|Full list]]
| years_active  = 1947–2006
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|LaVonne Elmer|1946|1951}}
* {{marriage|Lotus Corelli|1954|1957}}
* {{marriage|[[Kathryn Reed Altman|Kathryn Reed]]|1959}}}}
| children =    6, including [[Stephen Altman|Stephen]] and [[Robert Reed Altman|Robert Reed]]
| module             = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
   | allegiance    = {{flag|United States|1912}}
   | branch        = [[File:US Army Air Corps Hap Arnold Wings.svg|25px]] [[United States Army Air Forces]]
   | serviceyears  = 1943–1947
   | rank          = [[File:US-O2 insignia.svg|7px]] [[First lieutenant]]
   | unit          = [[Thirteenth Air Force]]<br />[[307th Operations Group|307th Bombardment Group]]
   | battles       = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater]]
{{tree list/end}}
   | awards        = [[File:USAAF Wings.png|35px]] [[United States Aviator Badge#World War II|Army Air Force Pilot Badge]]<br />[[File:AF Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png|25px]] [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Air Force Presidential Unit Citation]]<br />[[File:American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|25px]] [[American Campaign Medal]]<br />[[File:Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|25px]] [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]]<br />[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|25px]] [[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]<br />[[File:Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines).svg|25px]] [[Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation|Philippine Presidential Unit Citation]]}}}}

'''Robert Bernard Altman''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɔː|l|t|m|ə|n}} {{respell|AWLT|mən}}; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American filmmaker. He is considered an enduring figure from the [[New Hollywood]] era, known for directing [[subversive]] and [[satire|satirical films]] with overlapping dialogue and [[ensemble cast]]s. Over [[Robert Altman filmography|his career]] he received [[List of awards and nominations received by Robert Altman|numerous accolades]] including an [[Academy Honorary Award]], two [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTAs]], a [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Award]] and a [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe]] as well as nominations for seven competitive [[Academy Awards]].

Altman was nominated for five [[Academy Award for Best Director|Academy Awards for Best Director]] for the [[war comedy]] ''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' (1970), the [[musical film]] ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' (1975), the [[satire|Hollywood satire]] ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]'' (1992), the [[dark comedy]] ''[[Short Cuts]]'' (1993), and the [[murder mystery]] ''[[Gosford Park]]'' (2001). He is also known for directing ''[[Brewster McCloud]]'' (1970), ''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]'' (1971), ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' (1973), ''[[California Split]]'' (1974), ''[[Thieves Like Us (film)|Thieves Like Us]]'' (1974), ''[[3 Women]]'' (1977), ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]'' (1978), ''[[Popeye (film)|Popeye]]'' (1980), ''[[Secret Honor]]'' (1984), ''[[The Company (film)|The Company]]'' (2003), and ''[[A Prairie Home Companion (film)|A Prairie Home Companion]]'' (2006).

Also known for his work on television, he directed the [[HBO]] [[politics|political]] [[mockumentary]] miniseries ''[[Tanner '88]]'' (1988) for which he won the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series]]. He also directed the HBO television film ''[[The Laundromat (1985 film)|The Laundromat]]'' (1985). On stage, he directed the [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] revival of the [[Ed Graczyk]] play ''[[Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (play)|Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]'' (1981) and later the [[Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|1982 film of the same name]]. He directed the [[West End (theatre)|West End]] revival of [[Arthur Miller]]'s [[penultimate]] play ''[[Resurrection Blues]]'' (2006).

In 2006, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] recognized Altman's body of work with an [[Academy Honorary Award]]. He never won a competitive Oscar despite seven nominations. His films ''M*A*S*H'', ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'', ''The Long Goodbye'' and ''Nashville'' have been selected for the United States [[National Film Registry]]. Altman is one of four filmmakers whose films have won the [[Golden Bear]] at [[Berlin International Film Festival|Berlin]], the [[Golden Lion]] at [[Venice Film Festival|Venice]], and the [[Palme d'Or]] at [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] (the other three being [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]], [[Michelangelo Antonioni]], and [[Jafar Panahi]]).

== Early life ==
Altman was born on February 20, 1925, in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], the son of Helen (née Matthews), a ''[[Mayflower]]'' descendant from [[Nebraska]], and Bernard Clement Altman, a wealthy insurance salesman and amateur gambler who came from an upper-class family. Altman's ancestry was German, English and Irish;<ref name="altman3">{{cite news |last=Lemons |first=Stephen |title=Robert Altman |page=2 |work=Salon.com |url=http://archive.salon.com/people/bc/2000/08/15/altman/index.html |access-date=November 22, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208024334/http://archive.salon.com/people/bc/2000/08/15/altman/index.html |archive-date=December 8, 2006}}</ref><ref name="altman1">{{cite news |last=The Daily Telegraph |title=Robert Altman, 81, Mercurial Director of Masterworks and Flops |newspaper=The New York Sun |date=November 22, 2006 |url=https://www.nysun.com/obituaries/robert-altman-81-mercurial-director/44018/ |access-date=November 22, 2006 |archive-date=January 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116115945/https://www.nysun.com/obituaries/robert-altman-81-mercurial-director/44018/ |url-status=deviated}}</ref> his paternal grandfather, Frank Altman Sr., anglicized the spelling of the family name from "Altmann" to "Altman".<ref name="altman1" /> Altman had a [[Catholic]] upbringing,<ref name="altman2">{{cite web |title=The Religious Affiliation of Robert Altman |publisher=Adherents.com |date=July 28, 2005 |url =http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Robert_Altman.html |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060204093322/http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/Robert_Altman.html |url-status =usurped |archive-date =February 4, 2006 |access-date=November 22, 2006}}</ref> but he did not continue to follow or practice the religion as an adult,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/may/01/features.weekend "Interview: Robert Altman"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113180842/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/may/01/features.weekend |date=November 13, 2019}}, ''The Guardian''</ref> although he has been referred to as "a sort of Catholic" and a Catholic director.<ref name="altman2" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholichistory.net/Spotlights/SpotlightMovies.htm |title=Spotlight: Catholics at the Movies |publisher=Catholichistory.net |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=January 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111181208/http://www.catholichistory.net/Spotlights/SpotlightMovies.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> He was educated at [[Jesuit]] schools, including [[Rockhurst High School]], in Kansas City.<ref>{{cite news |author=Butler, Robert W. |date=March 5, 2006 |title=Finally, An Attitude Adjustment: Hollywood's Establishment Now Embraces Rebel Director Altman |newspaper=[[The Kansas City Star]] |page=5}}</ref> He graduated from [[Wentworth Military Academy]] in [[Lexington, Missouri]] in 1943.

Soon after graduation, Altman joined the [[United States Army Air Forces]] at the age of 18. During [[World War II]], he flew more than 50 bombing missions as a co-pilot of a [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberator]] with the [[307th Operations Group|307th Bomb Group]] in [[Borneo]] and the [[Dutch East Indies]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/11/22/robert-altman-81/991fb2ad-bf34-41e6-ae6d-f3b47ff4baff/ Robert Altman, 81.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104024804/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/11/22/robert-altman-81/991fb2ad-bf34-41e6-ae6d-f3b47ff4baff/ |date=November 4, 2020}} ''[[The Washington Post]]''. Retrieved May 18, 2021.</ref><ref name="altm">{{cite web |year=2011 |url=http://www.b24bestweb.com/b24bestweb-Famous.htm |title=Famous B-24/PB4Y Crew Members |publisher=B-24 Best Web |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928065857/http://www.b24bestweb.com/b24bestweb-Famous.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>
Upon his discharge in 1947, he moved to California. He worked in publicity for a company that had invented a tattooing machine to identify dogs. He entered filmmaking on a whim, selling a script to [[RKO]] for the 1948 picture ''[[Bodyguard (1948 film)|Bodyguard]]'', which he co-wrote with George W. George. Altman's immediate success encouraged him to move to New York City, where he attempted to forge a career as a writer. Having enjoyed little success, he returned to Kansas City in 1949 and accepted a job as a director and writer of industrial films for the [[Calvin Company]]. He directed some 65 industrial films and documentaries for the Calvin Company. Through his early work on industrial films, he experimented with narrative technique and developed his characteristic use of overlapping dialogue. In February 2012, an early Calvin film directed by Altman, ''Modern Football'' (1951), was found by filmmaker Gary Huggins.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2012/03/fan-uncovers-robert-altmans-first-film/1 |title=Fan uncovers Robert Altman's first film |publisher=Content.usatoday.com |date=March 14, 2012 |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=October 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013222937/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2012/03/fan-uncovers-robert-altmans-first-film/1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2012/03/13/robert-altmans-lost-classic-modern-football/ |title=Robert Altman's Lost Classic: 'Modern Football' |magazine=Forbes |date=March 13, 2012 |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=August 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120121/http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2012/03/13/robert-altmans-lost-classic-modern-football/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Altman also had a career directing plays and operas parallel to his film career. While he was employed by the Calvin Company, he began directing plays at the Resident Theatre of the Jewish Community Center. These plays allowed him to work with local actors, such as fellow future director [[Richard C. Sarafian]], whom he directed in a production of Richard Harrity's ''Hope Is the Thing with Feathers''. Sarafian would later marry Altman's sister and follow him to Hollywood.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zuckoff |first1=Mitchell |title=Robert Altman: The Oral Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-38791-2 |pages=75–76}}</ref>

== Career ==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2021}}

===1957–1969: Directorial debut and early work===
Altman's first forays into television directing were on the [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] drama series ''[[Pulse of the City]]'' (1953–1954), and an episode of the 1956 western series ''[[The Sheriff of Cochise]]''. In 1956, he was hired by a local businessman to write and direct a feature film in Kansas City on [[juvenile delinquency]]. The film, titled ''[[The Delinquents (1957 film)|The Delinquents]]'', made for $60,000, was purchased by [[United Artists]] for $150,000, and released in 1957. While primitive, this teen [[exploitation film]] contained the foundations of Altman's later work in its use of casual, naturalistic dialogue. With its success, Altman moved from Kansas City to California for the last time. He co-directed ''[[The James Dean Story]]'' (1957), a documentary rushed into theaters to capitalize on the actor's recent death and marketed to his emerging cult following. Both works caught the attention of [[Alfred Hitchcock]] who hired Altman as a director for his [[CBS]] anthology series ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''. After just two episodes, Altman resigned due to differences with a producer, but this exposure enabled him to forge a successful television career. Over the next decade Altman worked prolifically in television (and almost exclusively in series dramas) directing multiple episodes of ''[[Whirlybirds]]'', ''[[The Millionaire (TV series)|The Millionaire]]'', ''[[U.S. Marshal (TV series)|U.S. Marshal]]'', ''[[The Troubleshooters (1959 TV series)|The Troubleshooters]]'', ''[[The Roaring 20s (TV series)|The Roaring 20s]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Bus Stop (TV series)|Bus Stop]]'', ''[[Kraft Mystery Theater]]'', ''[[Combat!]]'', as well as single episodes of several other notable series including ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'', ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' (the fourth season episode [[List of Maverick episodes|"Bolt From the Blue"]] also written by Altman and starring [[Roger Moore]]), ''[[Lawman (TV series)|Lawman]]'', ''[[Surfside 6]]'', ''[[Peter Gunn]]'', and ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]''.

By the 1960s, Altman established himself as a television director due to his ability to work quickly and efficiently on a limited budget. Though he was frequently fired from television projects for refusing to conform to network mandates, Altman always was able to land new assignments. In 1964, the producers decided to expand "Once Upon a Savage Night", one of his episodes of ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'', for release as a television film under the title ''[[Nightmare in Chicago]]''. In a 1963 episode, "The Hunt", his cast included [[James Caan]] and [[Bruce Dern]].

Two years later, Altman was hired to direct the low-budget space travel feature ''[[Countdown (1967 film)|Countdown]]'', but was fired within days of the project's conclusion because he had refused to edit the film to a manageable length. He worked with Caan again, who led the cast with [[Robert Duvall]]. He did not direct another film until ''[[That Cold Day in the Park]]'' (1969), which was a critical and box-office disaster. During the decade, Altman began to express political subtexts within his works. In particular, he expressed anti-war sentiments regarding the [[Vietnam War]]. Because of this, Altman's career would somewhat suffer as he came to be associated with the [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war movement]].

===1970–1979: Breakthrough and stardom ===
[[File:Shelley Duvall 1975.jpg|thumb|right|170px|[[Shelley Duvall]] was a muse of Altman's, acting in seven of his films including ''[[Brewster McCloud]]'' (1970), ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' (1975), ''[[3 Women]]'' (1977), and ''[[Popeye (1980 film)|Popeye]]'' (1980)]] 
In 1969, Altman was offered the script for ''[[MASH (film)|M*A*S*H]]'', an adaptation of a little-known [[Korean War]]-era novel satirizing life in the armed services; more than a dozen other filmmakers had passed on it. Altman had been hesitant to take the production, and the shoot was so tumultuous that [[Elliott Gould]] and [[Donald Sutherland]] tried to have Altman fired over his unorthodox filming methods. Nevertheless, ''M*A*S*H'' was widely hailed as a classic upon its 1970 release. It won the {{Lang|fr|[[Palme d'Or]]}} at the 1970 [[Cannes Film Festival]] and netted five [[Academy Award]] nominations. It was Altman's highest-grossing film, released during a time of increasing anti-war sentiment in the United States. The [[Academy Film Archive]] preserved ''M*A*S*H'' in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=M*A*S*H&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive|access-date=July 20, 2016|archive-date=August 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813044506/http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=M*A*S*H&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|url-status=live}}</ref>

Now recognized as a major talent, Altman notched critical successes with ''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]'' (1971), a [[revisionist Western]] in which the mordant songs of [[Leonard Cohen]] underscore a gritty vision of the American frontier; ''[[Images (film)|Images]]'', his single, [[Ingmar Bergman|Bergman]]-inspired attempt at making a horror film; ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' (1973), a controversial adaptation of the [[Raymond Chandler]] novel (scripted by [[Leigh Brackett]]) now ranked as a seminal influence on the [[neo-noir]] subgenre; ''[[Thieves Like Us (film)|Thieves Like Us]]'' (1974), an adaptation of the Edward Anderson novel previously filmed by [[Nicholas Ray]] as ''[[They Live by Night]]'' (1949); ''[[California Split]]'' (1974), a gambling comedy-drama shot partially on location in [[Reno, Nevada]]; and ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' (1975), which had a strong political theme set against the world of [[country music]]. The stars of the film wrote their own songs; [[Keith Carradine]] won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for the song "[[I'm Easy (Keith Carradine song)|I'm Easy]]". Altman's next film, ''[[Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson]]'', won the [[Golden Bear]] at the [[28th Berlin International Film Festival]].

Although his films were often met with divisive notices, and some, like ''[[A Perfect Couple]]'' and ''[[Quintet (film)|Quintet]]'' were widely panned, many of the prominent film critics of the era (including [[Pauline Kael]], [[Vincent Canby]] and [[Roger Ebert]]) remained steadfastly loyal to his directorial style throughout the decade. Audiences took some time to appreciate his films, and he did not want to have to satisfy studio officials. In 1970, following the release of ''M*A*S*H,'' he founded Lion's Gate Films to have independent production freedom. Altman's company is not to be confused with the current [[Lions Gate Entertainment|Lionsgate]], a Canada/U.S. entertainment company.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cook |first=David A. |date=2000 |title=Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970–1979 |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-23265-8 |page=97}}</ref> The films he made through his company included ''[[Brewster McCloud]]'', ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]'', and ''[[3 Women]]''.

=== 1980–1991: Career fluctuations ===
[[File:Robert Altman - 1976.jpg|thumb|left|Altman with [[Lillian Gish]] and [[Lily Tomlin]] at ''Nashville'' awards ceremony in 1976]]
In 1980, he directed the musical film ''[[Popeye (film)|Popeye]]''. Produced by [[Robert Evans (film producer)|Robert Evans]] and written by [[Jules Feiffer]], the film was based on the comic strip / cartoon [[Popeye|of the same name]] and starred [[Shelley Duvall]] and the comedian [[Robin Williams]] in his film debut. Designed as a vehicle to increase Altman's commercial clout following a series of critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful low-budget films in the late 1970s (including ''3&nbsp;Women'', ''A&nbsp;Wedding'', and ''Quintet''), the production was filmed on location in [[Malta]]. It was soon beleaguered by heavy drug and alcohol use among most of the cast and crew, including the director; Altman reportedly clashed with Evans, Williams (who threatened to leave the film), and songwriter [[Harry Nilsson]] (who departed midway through the shoot, leaving [[Van Dyke Parks]] to finish the orchestrations). Although the film grossed $60&nbsp;million worldwide on a $20&nbsp;million budget and was the second highest-grossing film Altman had directed to that point, it failed to meet studio expectations and was considered a box office disappointment.

In 1981, the director sold Lion's Gate to producer [[Jonathan Taplin]] after his political satire ''[[Health (film)|Health]]'' (shot in early 1979 for a Christmas release) was shelved by longtime distributor [[20th Century Fox]] following tepid test and festival screenings throughout 1980. The departure of longtime Altman partisan [[Alan Ladd Jr.]] from Fox also played a decisive role in forestalling the release of the film.

Unable to secure major financing in the post-New Hollywood [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] era because of his mercurial reputation and the particularly tumultuous events surrounding the production of ''Popeye'', Altman returned to television and theater between films. His first project after ''Popeye'' was ''2 by South'', a double bill of plays by unknown playwright Frank South, ''Rattlesnake in a Cooler'' and ''Precious Blood''. The production debuted in Los Angeles and transferred off-Broadway, before Altman adapted it as a pair of television films. Altman's next project was to revive [[Ed Graczyk]]'s play, [[Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (play)|''Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'']]. Like ''2 by South'', Altman adapted his production as a film. [[Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|The film]], which starred [[Cher]], [[Karen Black]], and [[Sandy Dennis]], played at film festivals before its independent theatrical release; Altman turned down several distribution deals to keep the film under his control.<ref name=McGilligan>{{cite book |author=McGilligan, Patrick |title=Robert Altman: Jumping off the cliff |publisher=Macmillan |year=1989}}</ref>{{rp|page=115}}

In 1982, after finishing work on ''Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'', Altman travelled to Dallas to film his next film, [[Streamers (film)|''Streamers'']]. The film, adapted by [[David Rabe]] from his [[Streamers (play)|hit play]], was shot in only 18 days. Its 1983 release made it Altman's third theatrical adaptation in as many years. Afterwards, he began teaching a course on his films at the [[University of Michigan]], where he concurrently staged his first production of [[Igor Stravinsky]]'s ''[[The Rake's Progress]]''. He also co-wrote [[John Anderson (musician)|John Anderson]]'s 1983 hit single "[[Black Sheep (John Anderson song)|Black Sheep]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1546370/nashville-director-robert-altman-dies.jhtml |title=Nashville director Robert Altman dies |date=November 21, 2006 |work=[[Country Music Television]] |access-date=November 5, 2014 |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105070137/http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1546370/nashville-director-robert-altman-dies.jhtml |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Altman 01.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Altman in 1980]]
After the critical success of his three successive theatrical adaptations, Altman attempted to return to Hollywood with the [[teen comedy]] ''[[O.C. and Stiggs]]'' (1985). Like ''Popeye'', the chaotic production was characterized by tension between Altman and the studio, [[MGM]]. Altman travelled to Arizona to shoot away from the executives and the screenwriters, whom he banned from the set. There he shot the film in the summer of 1983, but poor test screenings, chaos within the studio, and changing ownership delayed the film's release. It finally received a belated limited commercial release in 1987, four years after it was shot.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stephenson |first1=Hunter |title=The Utterly Monstrous, Mind-Roasting Saga of O.C. and Stiggs |url=https://cargocollective.com/hunterstephenson/filter/National-Lampoon/Feature-Let-O-C-and-Stiggs-Live |website=collectivecargo.com |publisher=Apology Magazine |access-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref> The [[British Film Institute]] later referred to it as "probably Altman's least successful film".

While ''O.C. and Stiggs'' was shelved, Altman returned to theatrical adaptations and to the University of Michigan to film ''[[Secret Honor]]'', using his students as crew members. Based on a one man-play about former president [[Richard Nixon]], the film starred [[Philip Baker Hall]] as the ex-president. In 2008, the University of Michigan Library acquired Altman's archive.<ref name=ManyHatsUMich>{{cite web |url=https://www.lib.umich.edu/online-exhibits/exhibits/show/altman/opera-and-the-university-of-mi |title=Altman at the University of Michigan |publisher=[[University of Michigan]] |series=The many hats of Robert Altman: A life in cinema |type=online exhibit |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618182214/https://www.lib.umich.edu/online-exhibits/exhibits/show/altman/opera-and-the-university-of-mi |url-status=live}}</ref> Adapted by Altman and [[Sam Shepard]] for [[The Cannon Group]] from Shepard's [[Pulitzer Prize]]-nominated play, ''[[Fool for Love (1985 film)|Fool for Love]]'' (1985) featured the playwright-actor alongside [[Kim Basinger]], [[Harry Dean Stanton]], and [[Randy Quaid]]; it fared better than most of his films from the era, earning $900,000 domestically on a $2&nbsp;million budget and positive reviews from [[Roger Ebert]] and [[Vincent Canby]].

Disappointed by his string of critical and commercial failures, including the still-unreleased ''O.C. and Stiggs'', Altman moved to Paris. There, he shot another television film, ''[[The Laundromat (1985 film)|The Laundromat]]'', which he completed before ''Fool for Love''. He then wrote and directed ''[[Beyond Therapy (film)|Beyond Therapy]]'', which proved to be one of his biggest failures. Altman then mounted his second production of ''The Rake's Progress'', this time at the prestigious [[Opéra de Lille]]. The Opéra was undergoing financial collapse at the time, and its failure to regain money through ambitious productions caused it close later that year. Altman also used a selection from Jean-Phillipe Rameau's ''[[Les Boréades]]'' as the basis for his contribution to ''[[Aria (1987 film)|Aria]]'', which was shown at the [[1987 Cannes Film Festival]] to mixed reception. Altman made his next television film, ''Basements'', based on two plays by Harold Pinter. Though Pinter wrote the screenplay himself, this film became the latest of Altman's failures. The long-awaited release of ''O.C. and Stiggs'' that year was also panned.

Altman finally regained a modicum of critical favor in 1988 for his television work. He returned to America early that year to shoot the [[mockumentary]] show ''[[Tanner '88]]'' (1988), a collaboration with [[Garry Trudeau]] set in the milieu of a United States presidential campaign, for which he earned a [[Primetime Emmy Award]]. The series was shot on the actual campaign trail and featured several real candidates. During the show's run, Altman's television production of ''[[The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988 film)|The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial]]'' aired. Though it received high acclaim, it would be his last television film. In 1990, Altman directed ''[[Vincent & Theo]]'', a biographical film about [[Vincent van Gogh]] that was intended as a television miniseries for broadcast in the United Kingdom. A theatrical version of the film was a modest success in the United States, marking a significant turning point in the director's critical resurgence.{{efn|Powerfully realized study of [[Vincent van Gogh]] and his brother Theo marks a return to the mainstream arena for director Robert Altman. Brilliantly acted, splendid film fare should be welcomed in specialty houses and beyond.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Buying and Booking Guide: Vincent & Theo |last=Kelleher |first=Ed |journal=The Film Journal |volume=93 |issue=10 |date=November 1, 1990 |pages=38–39}}</ref>}}{{efn|When ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]'' came out in 1992, it was greeted as a welcome comeback for director Robert Altman, who spent much of the previous decade working small—making filmed plays instead of the ambitious, character-heavy genre reinventions he'd been known for in the 1970s. But Altman actually reclaimed his "critics' darling" status two years earlier with ''[[Vincent & Theo]]'', a luminous biopic about painter Vincent Van Gogh (played by Tim Roth) and his art-dealer brother (Paul Rhys).<ref name=Murray>{{cite web |last=Murray |first=Noel |title=Vincent & Theo |date=March 30, 2015 |work=[[The Dissolve]] |url=http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1475-vincent-theo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407084439/http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1475-vincent-theo/ |archive-date=April 7, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

=== 1992–2006: Resurgence and final films ===
[[File:Robert Altman Cannes.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Altman at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival]]
He revitalized his career in earnest with ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]'' (1992), a satire of Hollywood. Co-produced by the influential [[David Brown (producer)|David Brown]] (''[[The Sting]]'', ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'', ''[[Cocoon (film)|Cocoon]]''), the film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]. While he did not win the Oscar, he was awarded Best Director by the [[Cannes Film Festival]], [[BAFTA]], and the [[New York Film Critics Circle]].

Altman then directed ''[[Short Cuts (film)|Short Cuts]]'' (1993), an ambitious adaptation of several short stories by [[Raymond Carver]], which portrayed the lives of various citizens of Los Angeles over the course of several days. The film's large cast and intertwining of many different storylines were similar to his large-cast films of the 1970s; he won the [[Golden Lion]] at the 1993 [[Venice International Film Festival]] and another Oscar nomination for Best Director.

Between shooting and editing ''[[Short Cuts]]'', Altman made his return to opera as the director and co-librettist of [[McTeague (opera)|''McTeague'']]. Altman was hired on the project by [[William Bolcom]], who had been commissioned with his regular librettist, [[Arnold Weinstein]], to write an opera by the [[Lyric Opera of Chicago]]. Bolcom, a teacher at the University of Michigan, had admired Altman's first production of ''The Rake's Progress'' a decade prior and asked him for help adapting [[Frank Norris]]'s [[McTeague|novel]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Christiansen |first1=Richard |title='McTeague' for Two : Filmmaker Robert Altman teams with composer William Bolcom to create an opera out of a tragic turn-of-the-century tale of greed |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-25-ca-1091-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=October 25, 1992 |access-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref> After finishing ''Short Cuts'', Altman directed two episodes of ''[[Great Performances]]''. The first was an R&B revue; the second was a television adaptation of ''McTeague''.

The rest of the 1990s saw limited success for Altman. His 1994 release ''[[Prêt-à-Porter (film)|Prêt-à-Porter]]'' (also known as ''Ready to Wear'') garnered significant pre-release publicity, but was a commercial and critical flop, though it got several nominations for year-end awards, including two [[Golden Globes|Golden Globe]] nominations and won the [[National Board of Review]] award for [[National Board of Review Award for Best Cast|Best Acting By An Ensemble]]. In 1996, Altman directed ''[[Kansas City (1996 film)|Kansas City]]'', expressing his love of 1930s jazz through a complicated kidnapping story. Altman encouraged the film's on-set musicians to improvise, and unused footage of their performances formed the basis for Altman's third episode of ''Great Performances''. The film received lukewarm-to-positive reviews, but made next to nothing at the box office, as did the 1998 legal thriller ''[[The Gingerbread Man (film)|The Gingerbread Man]]''. Though his 1997 anthology series ''[[Gun (TV series)|Gun]]'' had a high-profile cast, it was cancelled after only six episodes.

He did close the decade on a high note, with 1999's ''[[Cookie's Fortune]]'', a quirky black comedy about the suicide of a wealthy dowager, his first film in almost 6 years to make back its budget, and which earned him generally positive praise from critics. He was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1999.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter&nbsp;A |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618085753/http://amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2006 |url-status=live |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=April 15, 2011}}</ref> Though Altman's first film of the new millennium, ''[[Dr. T & the Women]]'', received only moderate reviews and middling financial success. His next film, ''[[Gosford Park]]'' (2001), was included on many critics' lists of the ten best films of that year. A large-cast, British country house [[murder mystery]], it won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay ([[Julian Fellowes]]) plus six more nominations, including two for Altman, as Best Director and Best Picture.

[[File:Robert Altman, director, producer LCCN2020729686.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Altman in 1980]]
Altman returned to the stage twice more. In 2004 He reunited with Bolcom, Weinstein, and the Lyric Opera to adapt his 1978 film, ''A Wedding'', as an opera. It was generally well received.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hoffman |first1=Gary |last2=Tommasini |first2=Anthony |title=A Wedding in Chicago: Two Reviews |url=https://operatoday.com/2004/12/a_wedding_in_chicago_two_reviews/ |website=operatoday.com |date=December 13, 2004 |access-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref> His final stage production was poorly received. In 2006, Altman travelled to England to direct the [[West End theatre|West End]] debut of [[Arthur Miller]]'s final play, ''[[Resurrection Blues]]'' at the [[Old Vic Theatre]]. At this time, the Old Vic was managed by [[Kevin Spacey]], and the production starred [[Maximilian Schell]], [[James Fox]], Neve Campbell, [[Matthew Modine]], and [[Jane Adams (actress, born 1965)|Jane Adams]]. However, despite the pedigree of all involved, the production was an abject failure with poor reviews and behind-the-scenes bickering.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zuckoff |first1=Mitchell |title=Robert Altman: The Oral Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-38791-2 |pages=493–497}}</ref>

Working with independent studios such as the now-shuttered Fine Line, Artisan (which was absorbed into today's [[Lions Gate Entertainment|Lionsgate]]), and USA Films (now [[Focus Features]]), gave Altman the edge in making the kinds of films he always wanted to make without studio interference. ''[[The Company (film)|The Company]]'', a film about the [[Joffrey Ballet]] in Chicago, featured a cast composed mainly of actual dancers. The film had been conceived by star [[Neve Campbell]], an ex ballerina, and written by Altman's longtime friend, [[Barbara Turner (screenwriter)|Barbara Turner]]. Altman directed a follow-up to ''Tanner '88'' for the [[Sundance TV|Sundance Channel]], reuniting him with [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]] as an older Jack Tanner. A [[A Prairie Home Companion (film)|film version]] of [[Garrison Keillor]]'s public radio series ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' was released in June&nbsp;2006. Altman was still developing new projects up until his death, including a film based on ''[[Hands on a Hard Body: The Documentary]]'' (1997).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/robert-altman-hard-body/ |title=Robert Altman Has A Hard Body |work=Empire |author=Green, Willow |date=October 6, 2006 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801024636/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/robert-altman-hard-body/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] awarded Altman an [[Academy Honorary Award]] for Lifetime Achievement. During his acceptance speech, he revealed that he had received a heart transplant approximately ten or eleven years earlier. The director then quipped that perhaps the academy had acted prematurely in recognizing the body of his work, as he felt like he might have four more decades of life ahead of him.

== Directing style and technique ==
Altman's particular style of filmmaking covered many genres — referred to as ''Altmanesque''<ref>[[The Guardian]]: 'Fragmentation games: the return of the portmanteau film', 17 March 2015 [[www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/17/portmanteau-films-wild-tales-pulp-fiction-short-cuts]]</ref> — but usually with a "[[subversion|subversive]]" or "anti-Hollywood" twist which typically relied on [[satire]] and humor to express his personal views. Actors especially enjoyed working under his direction because he encouraged them to improvise. He preferred large [[ensemble cast]]s for his films, and developed a [[multitrack recording]] technique which produced overlapping dialogue from multiple actors. This produced a more natural, more dynamic, and more complex experience for the viewer. He also used highly mobile camera work and zoom lenses to enhance the activity taking place on the screen. Critic [[Pauline Kael]], writing about his directing style, said that Altman could "make film fireworks out of next to nothing"<ref name=Wakeman /> and calls his method for making movies as "a step toward a new kind of movie naturalism."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kael |first=Pauline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkShTL84MrcC&q=the+age+of+movies+selected+writing+of+pauline+kael |title=The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael: A Library of America Special Publication |date=2011-10-27 |publisher=Library of America |isbn=978-1-59853-171-8 |pages=278 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Maverick and auteur ===
Following his successful career in television, Altman began his new career in the film industry when he was in middle-age. He understood the creative limits imposed by the television medium, and now set out to direct and write films which would express his personal visions about American society and Hollywood. His films would later be described as "[[auteur]]istic attacks" and "idiosyncratic variations" of traditional films, typically using subtle comedy or satire as a way of expressing his observations.<ref name=Wakeman>John Wakeman, ed. ''World Film Directors – Vol. 2'', H. W. Wilson Co., N.Y. (1988) pp. 29–39</ref>

His films were typically related to political, ideological, and personal subjects, and Altman was known for "refusing to compromise his own artistic vision."<ref name=Hillstrom /> He has been described as "anti-Hollywood," often ignoring the social pressures that affected others in the industry, which made it more difficult for him to get many of his films seen. He said his independence as a filmmaker helped him overall:

{{blockquote|I don't think there's a filmmaker alive, or who ever lived, who's had a better shake than I've had. I've never been without a project and it's always been a project of my own choosing. So I don't know how much better it could be. I have not become a mogul, I don't build castles and I don't have a vast personal fortune, but I have been able to do what I've wanted to do and I've done it a lot.<ref name=Stevens />}}

"Altman was a genuine movie maverick," states author [[Ian Freer]], because he went against the commercial conformity of the film industry: "He was the scourge of the film establishment, and his work generally cast an astute, scathing eye over the breadth of American culture, often exploding genres and character archetypes; Altman was fascinated by people with imperfections, people as they really are, not as the movies would have you believe."<ref name=Freer>{{cite book |author=Freer, Ian |title=Moviemakers |publisher=Quercus |place=London, UK |year=2009 |pages=106–109}}</ref> Director [[Alan Rudolph]], during a special tribute to Altman, refers to his moviemaking style as "Altmanesque."<ref name=NYT-07>{{cite news |author=Carr, David |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/movies/21altman.html?_r=0 |title=A very Altmanesque tribute to Altman |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 21, 2007 |access-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214235757/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/movies/21altman.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

With his independent style of directing, he developed a bad reputation among screenwriters and those on the business side of films. He admits, "I have a bad reputation with writers, developed over the years: 'Oh, he doesn't do what you write, blah blah blah.' ... [[Ring Lardner, Jr.|Ring Lardner]] was very pissed off with me," for not following his script.<ref name=Thompson/>{{rp|page=18}} Nor did Altman get along well with studio heads, once punching an executive in the nose and knocking him into a swimming pool because he insisted he cut six minutes from a film he was working on.<ref name=Armstrong/>{{rp|page=9}}

His reputation among actors was better. With them, his independence sometimes extended to his choice of actors, often going against consensus. [[Cher]], for instance, credits him for launching her career with both the stage play and film, ''[[Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]'' (1982). "Without Bob I would have never had a film career. Everyone told him not to cast me. Everyone. ... Nobody would give me a break. I am convinced that Bob was the only one who was brave enough to do it." Others, like [[Julianne Moore]], describes working with him:

{{blockquote|You know, all this talk about Bob being this kind of irascible, difficult kind of person? Well, he was never that way with an actor or with a creative person that I saw. Never, never, never. He saved all that for the money people.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=431}}}}

Director [[Robert Dornhelm]] said Altman "looked at film as a pure, artistic venue." With ''[[Short Cuts (film)|Short Cuts]]'' (1993), for instance, the distributor "begged him" to cut a few minutes from the length, to keep it commercially viable: "Bob just thought the antiChrist was trying to destroy his art. They were well-meaning people who wanted him to get what he deserved, which was a big commercial hit. But when it came down to the art or the money, he was with the art."<ref name=Zuckoff />{{rp|page=438}}

[[Sally Kellerman]], noting Altman's willful attitude, looked back with regret at giving up a chance to act in one of his films:

{{blockquote|I had just finished filming ''[[Last of the Red Hot Lovers]]'' when Bob called me one day at home. "Sally, do you want to be in my picture after next?" he asked. "Only if it's a good part," I said. He hung up on me.<br />
<br />
Bob was as stubborn and arrogant as I was at the time, but the sad thing is that I cheated myself out of working with someone I loved so much, someone who made acting both fun and easy and who trusted his actors. Bob loved actors. Stars would line up to work for nothing for Bob Altman.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kellerman, Sally |title=Read My Lips: Stories of a Hollywood life |publisher=Weinstein Books |year=2013 |page=146}}</ref>}}

=== Themes and subjects ===
Unlike directors whose work fits within various [[film genre]]s, such as Westerns, musicals, war films, or comedies, Altman's work has been defined as more "anti-genre" by various critics.<ref name=Hillstrom/> This is partly due to the satirical and comedy nature of many of his films. [[Geraldine Chaplin]], daughter of [[Charlie Chaplin]], compared the humor in his films to her father's films:

{{blockquote|They're funny in the right way. Funny in a critical way — of what the world is and the world we live in. They were both geniuses in their way. They alter your experience of reality. They have their world and they have their humor. That humor is so rare.<ref name=Zuckoff />{{rp|page=287}}}}

Altman made it clear that he did not like "storytelling" in his films, contrary to the way most television and mainstream film are made. According to Altman biographer [[Mitchell Zuckoff]], "he disliked the word 'story,' believing that a plot should be secondary to an exploration of pure (or, even better, impure) human behavior."<ref name=Zuckoff>{{cite book |author=Zuckoff, Mitchell |title=Robert Altman: The oral biography |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |place=New York, NY |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-307-26768-9}}</ref>{{rp|page=xiii}} Zuckoff describes the purposes underlying many of Altman's films: "He loved the chaotic nature of real life, with conflicting perspectives, surprising twists, unexplained actions, and ambiguous endings. He especially loved many voices, sometimes arguing, sometimes agreeing, ideally overlapping, a cocktail party or a street scene captured as he experienced it.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=xiii}} [[Julianne Moore]], after seeing some of his movies, credits Altman's style of directing for her decision to become a film actress, rather than a stage actress:

{{blockquote|I felt it really strongly. And I thought, "I don't know who this guy is, but that's what I want to do. I want to do that kind of work." From then on I'd see his films whenever I could, and he was always my absolute favorite director, for what he said thematically and emotionally and how he felt about people.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=324}}}}

Film author Charles Derry writes that Altman's films "characteristically contain perceptive observations, telling exchanges, and moments of crystal clear revelation of human folly."<ref name=Hillstrom/> Because Altman was an astute observer of society and "especially interested in people," notes Derry, many of his film characters had "that sloppy imperfection associated with human beings as they are, with life as it is lived."<ref name=Hillstrom /> As a result, his films are often an indirect critique of American society.

For many of Altman's films, the satirical content is evident: ''[[MASH (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' (1970), for example, is a satirical black comedy set during the Korean War; ''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]'' (1971) is a satire on Westerns;<ref name=Wood>{{cite web |author=Wood, Robin |url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/film/movie/contents/MASHed_marlowe_wood.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820155806/http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/film/movie/contents/mashed_marlowe_wood.pdf |archive-date=August 20, 2013 |url-status=live |title=Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism |id=2 |date=November 23, 1973}}</ref> author [[Matthew Kennedy (author)|Matthew Kennedy]] states that ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' (1975) is a "brilliant satire of America immediately prior to the Bicentennial";<ref>{{cite news |author=Kennedy, Matthew |url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/32/nashville.php#.UilBRNJJOSo |title=The Nashville Chronicles: The making of Robert Altman's masterpiece |series=book review |date=April 2001}}</ref> ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]'' (1978) is a satire on American marriage rituals and hypocrisy;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1023299-wedding/ |title=A Wedding |type=film review |website=Rotten Tomatoes |date=August 29, 1978 |access-date=September 8, 2013 |archive-date=January 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117005016/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1023299-wedding/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Altman himself said that ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]'' (1992) was "a very mild satire" about the Hollywood film industry, and [[Vincent Canby]] agreed, stating that "as a satire, ''The Player'' tickles. It doesn't draw blood."<ref>{{cite news |author=Canby, Vincent |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE5DE1538F933A25757C0A964958260 |title=The Player |type=movie review |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 10, 1992 |access-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823205028/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE5DE1538F933A25757C0A964958260 |url-status=live}}</ref> The satire of his films sometimes led to their failure at the box office if their satirical nature was not understood by the distributor. Altman blames the box office failure of ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' (1973), a detective story, on the erroneous marketing of the film as a thriller:

{{blockquote|When the picture opened, it was a big, big flop. ... I went to David Picker and said, "You can't do this. No wonder the fucking picture is failing. It's giving the wrong impression. You make it look like a thriller and it's not, it's a satire.<ref name=Thompson/>}}

Similarly, Altman also blames the failure of ''[[O.C. & Stiggs]]'' on its being marketed as a typical "teenage movie," rather than what he filmed it as, a "satire of a teenage movie," he said.<ref name=Thompson />

=== Improvisation dialogue ===
Altman favored stories expressing the interrelationships among several characters, being more interested in character motivation than in intricate plots. He therefore tended to sketch out only a basic plot for the film, referring to the screenplay as a "blueprint" for action. By encouraging his actors to improvise dialogue, Altman thus became known as an "actor's director," a reputation that attracted many notable actors to work as part of his large casts. Performers enjoy working with Altman in part because "he provides them with the freedom to develop their characters and often alter the script through improvisation and collaboration," notes Derry. [[Richard Baskin]] says that "Bob was rather extraordinary in his way of letting people do what they did. He trusted you to do what you did and therefore you would kill for him."<ref name=Hillstrom />

<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=282}} [[Geraldine Chaplin]], who acted in ''Nashville'', recalls one of her first rehearsal sessions:

{{blockquote|He said, "Have you brought your scripts?" We said yes. He said, "Well, throw them away. You don't need them. You need to know who you are and where you are and who you're with." ... It was like being onstage with a full house every second. All the circus acts you had inside your body you'd do just for him.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=282}}}}

Altman regularly let his actors develop a character through improvisation during rehearsal or sometimes during the actual filming.<ref name=Armstrong>{{cite book |editor=Armstrong, Rick |title=Robert Altman: Critical essays |publisher=McFarland |year=2011 |pages=12, 21}}</ref> Such improvisation was uncommon in film due to the high cost of film production which requires careful planning, precise scripts, and rehearsal, before costly film was exposed. Nevertheless, Altman preferred to use improvisation as a tool for helping his actors develop their character.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sterritt, David |title=Screening the Beats: Media culture and the beat sensibility |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |year=2004 |page=70}}</ref> Altman said that "once we start shooting it's a very set thing. Improvisation is misunderstood. We don't just turn people loose."<ref name=Stevens>{{cite book |author=Stevens, George Jr. |title=Conversations at the American Film Institute with the Great Moviemakers |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |pages=3–16}}</ref> Although he tried to avoid dictating an actor's every move, preferring to let them be in control:

{{blockquote|When I cast a film, most of my creative work is done. I have to be there to turn the switch on and give them encouragement as a father figure, but they do all the work. ... All I'm trying to do is make it easy on the actor, because once you start to shoot, the actor is the artist. ... I have to give them confidence and see that they have a certain amount of protection so they can be creative. ... I let them do what they became actors for in the first place: to create.<ref name=Stevens/>}}

[[Carol Burnett]] remembers Altman admitting that many of the ideas in his films came from the actors. "You never hear a director say that. That was truly an astonishing thing," she said.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=328}} Others, such as [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]], became creatively driven:

{{blockquote|He would inspire you out of sheer necessity to come up with stuff that you didn't know you were capable of, that you didn't know you had in you. He was so genuinely mischievous and so damn funny.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=435}}}}

Krin Gabbard adds that Altman enjoyed using actors "who flourish as improvisers," such as [[Elliott Gould]], who starred in 5 of his films, including ''M*A*S*H'', ''The Long Goodbye'' and ''California Split''.<ref name=Armstrong /> Gould recalls that when filming ''M*A*S*H'', his first acting job with Altman, he and costar [[Donald Sutherland]] didn't think Altman knew what he was doing. He wrote years later, "I think that in hindsight, Donald and I were two elitist, arrogant actors who really weren't getting Altman's genius."<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=174}} Others in the cast immediately appreciated Altman's directing style. [[René Auberjonois]] explains:

{{blockquote|We thought that's the way movies were. That they were that joyous an experience. If you had any kind of career, you quickly saw that most directors don't really trust actors, don't really want to see actors acting. That was the difference with Bob Altman. He loved actors and wanted to see acting.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=175}}}}

Unlike television and traditional films, Altman also avoided "conventional storytelling," and would opt for showing the "busy confusion of real life," observes Albert Lindauer.<ref name=Wakeman/> Among the various techniques to achieve this effect, his films often include "a profusion of sounds and images, by huge casts or crazy characters, multiple plots or no plots at all, ... and a reliance on improvisation."<ref name=Wakeman/> A few months before he died, Altman tried to summarize the motives behind his filmmaking style:

{{blockquote|I equate this work more with painting than with theater or literature. Stories don't interest me. Basically, I'm more interested in behavior. I don't direct, I watch. I have to be thrilled if I expect the audience to be thrilled. Because what I really want to see from an actor is something I've never seen before, so I can't tell them what it is. I try to encourage actors not to take turns. To deal with conversation as conversation. I mean, that's what the job is, I think. It's to make a comfort area so that an actor can go beyond what he thought he could do.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=8}}}}

=== Sound techniques ===
Altman was one of the few filmmakers who "paid full attention to the possibilities of sound" when filming.<ref name=Freer /> He tried to replicate natural conversational sounds, even with large casts, by wiring hidden microphones to actors, then recording them talking over each other with multiple soundtracks.<ref name=Freer /> During the filming, he wore a headset to ensure that important dialogue could be heard, without emphasizing it. This produced a "dense audio experience" for viewers, allowing them to hear multiple scraps of dialogue, as if they were listening in on various private conversations. Altman recognized that although large casts hurt a film commercially, "I like to see a lot of stuff going on."<ref name=Stevens/>

Altman first used overlapping soundtracks in ''[[MASH (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' (1970), a sound technique which film author Michael Barson describes as "a breathtaking innovation at the time."<ref name=Barson>{{cite book |author=Barson, Michael |title=The Illustrated Who's-Who of Hollywood Directors |publisher=Noonday Press |year=1995 |pages=12–15}}</ref> He developed it, Altman said, to force viewers to pay attention and become engaged in the film as if they were an active participant.<ref name=Wakeman/> According to some critics, one of the more extreme uses of the technique is in ''[[McCabe and Mrs. Miller]]'' (1971), also considered among his finest films.<ref name=Hillstrom>{{cite book |editor=Hillstrom, Laurie Collier |title=International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers |volume=2 |publisher=St. James Press |year=1997 |pages=12–17}}</ref>

Film historian/scholar [[Robert P. Kolker]] pointed out that the aural and visual simultaneity in Altman's films was critical as that represented an emphasis on the plurality of events, which required viewers to become active spectators.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1b7x793.7|last=Beck |first=Jay |title=Designing Sound: Audiovisual Aesthetics in 1970s American Cinema |chapter=New Voices and Personal Sound Aesthetics, 1970–1971 |date=2016 |pages=57–84 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |jstor=j.ctt1b7x793.7 |isbn=9780813564142 |access-date=May 7, 2022}}</ref>

=== Ensemble casts ===
Overlapping dialogue among large groups of actors adds complexity to Altman's films, and they were often criticized as appearing haphazard or disconnected on first viewing. Some of his critics changed their minds after seeing them again. British film critic [[David Thomson (film critic)|David Thomson]] gave ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' (1975) a bad review after watching it the first time, but later wrote, "But going back to ''Nashville'' and some of the earlier films, ... made me reflect: It remains enigmatic how organized or purposeful ''Nashville'' is. ... The mosaic, or mix, permits a freedom and a human idiosyncrasy that [[Jean Renoir|Renoir]] might have admired."<ref name=Thomson>{{cite book |author=Thomson, David |title=The New Biographical Dictionary of Film |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |place=New York, N.Y. |year=2002 |pages=13–14}}</ref> During the making of the film, the actors were inspired, and co-star [[Ronee Blakley]] was convinced of the film's ultimate success:

{{blockquote|Yes, I did think it was going to be great, all the work was so good, every actor was inspired, and Altman's team was intensely competent, and he was that rare kind of genius who knows what works and what doesn't at the moment it is happening.<ref>[http://blogs.indiewire.com/mediamatrix/00000142-1f59-d3e8-a77e-1ffb2ab80000 "Ronee Blakley Reflects About Robert Altman's epic film 'Nashville'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117054947/http://blogs.indiewire.com/mediamatrix/00000142-1f59-d3e8-a77e-1ffb2ab80000 |date=November 17, 2013}}, ''Indiewire'', November 3, 2013.</ref>}}

Thomson later recognized those aspects as being part of Altman's style, beginning with ''[[MASH (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' (1970): "''MASH'' began to develop the crucial Altman style of overlapping, blurred sound and images so slippery with zoom that there was no sense of composition. That is what makes ''Nashville'' so absorbing."<ref name=Thomson/> Altman explained that to him such overlapping dialogue in his films was closer to reality, especially with large groups: "If you've got fourteen people at a dinner table, it seems to me it's pretty unlikely that only two of them are going to be talking."<ref name=Stevens/> [[Pauline Kael]] writes that Altman, "the master of large ensembles, loose action, and overlapping voices, demonstrates that ... he can make film fireworks out of next to nothing."<ref name=Wakeman/>

=== Photography ===
Altman's distinctive style of directing carried over into his preferences for camerawork. Among them was his use of widescreen compositions, intended to capture the many people or activities taking place on screen at the same time. For some films, such as ''McCabe and Mrs. Miller'', he created a powerful visual atmosphere with cinematographer [[Vilmos Zsigmond]], such as scenes using fluid camerawork, zoom lenses, and a smoky effect using special fog filters.<ref name=Frost>{{cite book |author=Frost, Jacqueline B. |title=Cinematography for Directors: A guide for creative collaboration |publisher=Michael Wiese Productions |year=2009 |pages=46, 221}}</ref> Director [[Stanley Kubrick]] told Altman that "the camerawork was wonderful," and asked, "How did you do it?"<ref name=Rogers/>

In ''Nashville'', Altman used sets with noticeable colors of reds, whites and blues. For ''The Long Goodbye'', he insisted that Zsigmond keep the camera mobile by mounting it to moving objects.<ref name=Hillstrom/> Zsigmond states that Altman "wanted to do something different" in this film, and told him he "wanted the camera to move — all the time. Up. down. In and out. Side to side."<ref name=Rogers/> Cinematographer [[Roger Deakins]], discussing his use of zoom lenses, commented, "I would find it quite exciting to shoot a film with a zoom lens if it was that observational, roving kind of look that Robert Altman was known for. He'd put the camera on a jib arm and float across the scene and pick out these shots as he went along – quite a nice way of working."<ref name=Frost/>

Zsigmond also recalls that working with Altman was fun:

{{blockquote|We rather enjoyed doing things "improv." Altman is a great improviser. During the first few days of the shoot, he would "create" different approaches on a moment's notice. He would show me how he wanted the camera to move — always move. Which was fun. The actors loved it, and I was always challenged to find ways to shoot what Altman came up with.<ref name=Rogers>{{cite book |author=Rogers, Pauline S. |title=More Contemporary Cinematographers on Their Art |publisher=Focal Press |year=2000 |pages=178–179}}</ref>}}

Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography in ''McCabe and Mrs. Miller'' received a nomination by the [[British Academy Film Awards]].

=== Music scores ===
When using music in his films, Altman was known to be highly selective, often choosing music that he personally liked. Director [[Paul Thomas Anderson]], who worked with him, notes that "Altman's use of music is always important," adding, "Bob loved his music, didn't he? My God, he loved his music".<ref name=Armstrong/> Since he was a "great fan" of [[Leonard Cohen]]'s music, for example, saying he would "just get stoned and play that stuff" all the time<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book |editor=Thompson, David |title=Altman on Altman |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=2010 |edition=ebook}}</ref> he used three of his songs in ''[[McCabe and Mrs. Miller]]'' (1971), and another for the final scene in ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]'' (1978).<ref>{{cite book |author=Simmons, Sylvie |title=I'm Your Man: The life of Leonard Cohen |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |at=Chapter&nbsp;13}}</ref>

For ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' (1975), Altman had numerous new country music songs written by his cast to create a realistic atmosphere. He incorporated a "hauntingly repeated melody" in ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' (1973), and employed [[Harry Nilsson]] and [[Van Dyke Parks]] to score ''[[Popeye (film)|Popeye]]'' (1980).<ref name=McGilligan/>{{rp|page=347}}

A number of music experts have written about Altman's use of music, including Richard R. Ness, who wrote about the scores for many of Altman's films in an article, considered to be a valuable resource for understanding Altman's filmmaking technique.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ness, Richard R. |contribution=Doing Some Replacin' |title=Robert Altman: Critical Essays |editor1=Rick Armstrong McFarland |year=2011 |pages=38–59}}</ref> Similarly, cinema studies professor Krin Gabbard<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/cat/people/cat_faculty/KrinGabbard.html |title=Krin Gabbard |series=Faculty |department=Cultural Analysis and Theory |publisher=Stony Brook University |website=Stonybrook.edu |access-date=August 24, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819185909/http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/cat/people/cat_faculty/KrinGabbard.html |archive-date=August 19, 2014}}</ref> wrote an analysis of Altman's use of jazz music in ''[[Short Cuts (film)|Short Cuts]]'' (1993), noting that few critics have considered the "importance of the music" in the film.<ref name=Armstrong/>

Jazz was also significant in ''[[Kansas City (1996 film)|Kansas City]]'' (1996). In that film, the music is considered to be the basis of the story. Altman states that "the whole idea was not to be too specific about the story," but to have the film itself be "rather a sort of jazz."<ref name=Self>{{cite book |author=Self, Robert T. |title=Robert Altman's Subliminal Reality |publisher=Univ. of Minnesota Press |year=2002 |page=9}}</ref> Altman's technique of making the theme of a film a form of music, was considered "an experiment nobody has tried before," with Altman admitting it was risky. "I didn't know if it would work. ... If people 'get it,' then they really tend to like it."<ref name=Altman>{{cite book |author=Altman, Robert |title=Robert Altman: Interviews |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |year=2000 |page=212}}</ref>

== Influence ==
Directors who are influenced by Altman include [[Paul Thomas Anderson]], [[Wes Anderson]], [[Judd Apatow]], [[Richard Linklater]], [[Alejandro González Iñárritu]], [[Noah Baumbach]], [[David Gordon Green]], [[Phil Lord and Christopher Miller]], the [[Safdie brothers]], [[Harmony Korine]],[[Michael Winterbottom]].<ref name="reinvented">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/19/robert-altman-genius-who-reinvented-language-of-cinema|title= Robert Altman: the genius who 'reinvented the language of cinema|website= The Guardian|date= March 19, 2015|access-date= April 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/documentary-focuses-on-director-robert-altman-1406650800|title= New Documentary Focuses on Director Robert Altman|website= The Wall Street Journal|date= July 29, 2014|access-date= April 4, 2020|last1= James|first1= Caryn|archive-date= August 6, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200806202300/https://www.wsj.com/articles/documentary-focuses-on-director-robert-altman-1406650800|url-status= live}}</ref> and [[James Gunn]]. Altman gave several directors, including [[Alan Rudolph]], [[Reza Badiyi]], and [[Richard C. Sarafian]], their starts in filmmaking.

== Filmography ==
{{main|Robert Altman filmography}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Directed features
!Year
!Title
!Distribution
|-
|1957 || ''[[The Delinquents (1957 film)|The Delinquents]]'' || [[United Artists]]
|-
|1967 || ''[[Countdown (1967 film)|Countdown]]'' || [[Warner Bros.]]
|-
|1969 || ''[[That Cold Day in the Park]]'' || [[Commonwealth United Entertainment]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |1970 || ''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' || [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]]
|-
| ''[[Brewster McCloud]]'' || [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
|-
|1971 || ''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]'' || Warner Bros.
|-
|1972 || ''[[Images (film)|Images]]'' || [[Columbia Pictures]]
|-
|1973 || ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' || rowspan=2| United Artists
|-
| rowspan="2" |1974 || ''[[Thieves Like Us (film)|Thieves Like Us]]''
|-
| ''[[California Split]]'' || Columbia Pictures
|-
|1975 || ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]'' || [[Paramount Pictures]]
|-
|1976 || ''[[Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson|Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or<br />Sitting Bull's History Lesson]]'' ||United Artists
|-
|1977 || ''[[3 Women]]'' || rowspan=5| 20th Century Fox
|-
|1978 || ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]''
|-
|rowspan=2|1979 || ''[[Quintet (film)|Quintet]]''
|-
| ''[[A Perfect Couple]]''
|-
|rowspan=2|1980 || ''[[Health (film)|Health]]''
|-
| ''[[Popeye (film)|Popeye]]'' || Paramount Pictures<br />[[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Productions]]
|-
|1982 || ''[[Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|Come Back to the Five<br />and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]'' || [[Cinecom]] Pictures
|-
|1983 || ''[[Streamers (film)|Streamers]]'' ||United Artists Classics
|-
|1984 || ''[[Secret Honor]]'' || Cinecom Pictures
|-
|1985 || ''[[Fool for Love (1985 film)|Fool for Love]]'' || [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|Cannon Group]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |1987
| ''[[Beyond Therapy (film)|Beyond Therapy]]'' || [[New World Pictures]]
|-
| ''[[O.C. and Stiggs]]'' || Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
|-
|1990 || ''[[Vincent & Theo]]'' || [[Hemdale Film Corporation]]
|-
|1992 || ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]'' || rowspan=2| [[Fine Line Features]]
|-
|1993 || ''[[Short Cuts]]''
|-
|1994 || ''[[Prêt-à-Porter (film)|Prêt-à-Porter]]'' || [[Miramax Films]]
|-
|1996 || ''[[Kansas City (film)|Kansas City]]'' || Fine Line Features
|-
|1998 || ''[[The Gingerbread Man (film)|The Gingerbread Man]]'' || [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]]
|-
|1999 || ''[[Cookie's Fortune]]'' || [[October Films]]
|-
|2000 || ''[[Dr. T & the Women]]'' || [[Artisan Entertainment]]
|-
|2001 || ''[[Gosford Park]]'' || [[USA Films]]
|-
|2003 || ''[[The Company (film)|The Company]]'' || [[Sony Pictures Classics]]
|-
|2006 || ''[[A Prairie Home Companion (film)|A Prairie Home Companion]]'' || [[Picturehouse (company)|Picturehouse]]
|-
|}

==Frequent collaborators==
Throughout his lifetime, Altman, like most directors, often cast certain actors in many of his feature films. Actors who have performed in his films 3 or more times in either lead, supporting or cameo roles include [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]] (7), [[Shelley Duvall]] (7), [[Bert Remsen]] (7), [[Paul Dooley]] (6), [[Elliott Gould]] (5), [[René Auberjonois|Rene Auberjonois]] (5), [[Jeff Goldblum]] (4), [[Lily Tomlin]] (4), [[Lyle Lovett]] (4), [[Henry Gibson]] (4), [[David Arkin]] (4), [[John Schuck]] (4), [[Tim Robbins]] (3), [[Robert Duvall]] (3), [[Keith Carradine]] (3), [[Sally Kellerman]] (3), [[Geraldine Chaplin]] (3), Ann Ryerson (3), [[Belita Moreno]] (3), [[Richard E. Grant]] (3) and [[Craig Richard Nelson]] (3).

<div style="overflow-x: auto; white-space: nowrap;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:95%;vertical-align:bottom;"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:500px;" {{diagonal split header 2|Actor|Work}}!! 1957 !! 1967 !! 1969 !! colspan=2|1970 !! 1971!! 1972!! 1973!! colspan=2|1974!! 1975!! 1976!! 1977!! 1978!! colspan=2|1979!! colspan=2|1980!! 1982!! 1983!! 1984!! 1985!! colspan=2|1987!! 1990!! 1992!! 1993!! 1994!! 1996!! 1998!! 1999!! 2000!!2001!! 2003!! 2006
|-
!! {{verth|''[[The Delinquents (1957 film)|The Delinquents]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Countdown (1967 film)|Countdown]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[That Cold Day in the Park]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Brewster McCloud]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Images (film)|Images]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Thieves Like Us (film)|Thieves Like Us]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[California Split]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[3 Women]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Quintet (film)|Quintet]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[A Perfect Couple]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Health (film)|Health]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Popeye (film)|Popeye]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Streamers (film)|Streamers]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Secret Honor]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Fool for Love (1985 film)|Fool for Love]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[O.C. and Stiggs]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Beyond Therapy (film)|Beyond Therapy]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Vincent & Theo]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Short Cuts]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Prêt-à-Porter (film)|Prêt-à-Porter]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Kansas City (film)|Kansas City]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[The Gingerbread Man (film)|The Gingerbread Man]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Cookie's Fortune]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Dr. T & the Women]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[Gosford Park]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[The Company (film)|The Company]]''}} !! {{verth|''[[A Prairie Home Companion (film)|A Prairie Home Companion]]''}}
|-
| [[Caroline Aaron]]|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
| [[David Arkin]]|| || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Rene Auberjonois]]|| || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Ned Beatty]] || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || ||
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| [[Karen Black]] || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Carol Burnett]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Keith Carradine]] || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Geraldine Chaplin]] || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Robert DoQui]] || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Paul Dooley]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Robert Downey Jr.]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || ||
|-
| [[Robert Duvall]] || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}} || || || || ||
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| [[Shelley Duvall]] || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Henry Gibson]] || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Jeff Goldblum]] || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Elliott Gould]] || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Richard E. Grant]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| ||
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| [[Glenda Jackson]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Sally Kellerman]] || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || ||
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| [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || ||
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| [[Lyle Lovett]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || ||
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| [[Matthew Modine]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || ||
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| [[Julianne Moore]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || {{check mark}}|| || || ||
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| [[Belita Moreno]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]] || || {{check mark}} || {{check mark}} || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || ||
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| [[Craig Richard Nelson]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Paul Newman]] || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Bert Remsen]] || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Jack Riley (actor)|Jack Riley]] || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Tim Robbins]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || ||
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| Ann Ryerson || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[John Schuck]] || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Tom Skerritt]] || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Lili Taylor]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || ||
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| [[Lily Tomlin]] || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || {{check mark}}
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| [[Liv Tyler]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || ||
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| [[Ray Walston]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || || || || || ||
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| [[Fred Ward]] || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{check mark}}|| {{check mark}}|| || || || || || || ||
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|}
</div>

== Awards and honors ==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Robert Altman}}

Altman received various awards and nominations including seven [[Academy Award]] nominations winning the [[Honorary Academy Award|Honorary Oscar]] in 2006. He received seven [[British Academy Film Award]] nominations winning twice for ''The Player'' (1992), and ''Gosford Park'' (2001). He received the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series]] for ''[[Tanner '88]]'' (1988). He also received five [[Golden Globe Award]] nominations winning the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director]] for ''Gosford Park''. He also received various awards from film festivals including the [[Cannes Film Festival]]'s prestigious [[Palme d'Or]] for ''M*A*S*H'' and the [[Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director]] for ''The Player''. He has also received the [[Berlin International Film Festival]]'s [[Golden Bear]], and the [[Venice Film Festival]]'s [[Golden Lion]]. In 1994, he received the [[Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award – Feature Film|Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+Awards and nominations received by Altman's films
|-
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| Academy Awards
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| BAFTA Awards
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" width=160| Golden Globe Awards
|-
! Nominations
! Wins
! Nominations
! Wins
! Nominations
! Wins
|-
| 1970
| ''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]''
| align=center|5
| align=center|1
| align=center|6
| align=center|1
| align=center|6
| align=center|1
|-
| 1971
| ''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]''
| align=center|1
| align=center|
| align=center|1
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
|-
| 1972
| ''[[Images (film)|Images]]''
| align=center|1
| align=center|
| align=center|1
| align=center|
| align=center|1
| align=center|
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]''
| align=center|5
| align=center|1
| align=center|5
| align=center|1
| align=center|11
| align=center|1
|-
| 1977
| ''[[3 Women]]''
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|1
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
|-
| 1978
| ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]''
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|2
| align=center|
| align=center|1
| align=center|
|-
| 1982
| ''[[Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|Come Back to the Five <br /> and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]''
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|1
| align=center|
|-
| 1992
| ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]''
| align=center|3
| align=center|
| align=center|5
| align=center|2
| align=center|4
| align=center|2
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Short Cuts]]''
| align=center|1
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|2
| align=center|1
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Prêt-à-Porter (film)|Prêt-à-Porter]]''
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|
| align=center|2
| align=center|
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Gosford Park]]''
| align=center|7
| align=center|1
| align=center|9
| align=center|2
| align=center|5
| align=center|1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!align=center|21
!align=center|3
!align=center|30
!align=center|6
!align=center|33
!align=center|6
|}

'''Directed Academy Award performances'''<br />Under Altman's direction, these actors have received [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations for their performances in their respective roles.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Performer
!Film
!Result
|-
! colspan="4" |[[Academy Award for Best Actress]]
|-
|[[44th Academy Awards|1971]]
|[[Julie Christie]]
|''[[McCabe & Mrs. Miller]]''
|{{Nom}}
|-
! colspan="4" |[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]
|-
|[[43rd Academy Awards|1970]]
|[[Sally Kellerman]]
|''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]''
|{{Nom}}
|-
|rowspan="2" |[[48th Academy Awards|1975]]
|[[Ronee Blakley]]
|rowspan="2" |''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]''
|{{Nom}}
|-
|[[Lily Tomlin]]
|{{Nom}}
|-
|rowspan="2" |[[74th Academy Awards|2001]]
|[[Helen Mirren]]
|rowspan="2" |''[[Gosford Park]]''
|{{Nom}}
|-
|[[Maggie Smith]]
|{{Nom}}
|-
|}

== Personal life ==
=== Family ===
Altman was married three times: His first wife was LaVonne Elmer. They were married from 1947 to 1949, and had a daughter, Christine. His second wife was Lotus Corelli. They were married from 1950 to 1955, and had two sons, Michael and [[Stephen Altman|Stephen]]. At fifteen, Michael wrote the lyrics to "[[Suicide Is Painless]]", the theme song to Altman's film, ''[[MASH (film)|M*A*S*H]]''. Stephen is a [[production designer]] who often worked with his father. Altman's third wife was Kathryn Reed. They were married from 1957 until his death in 2006. They had two sons, [[Robert Reed Altman|Robert]] and Matthew. Altman became the stepfather to Konni Reed when he married Kathryn.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Lyman |first1=Rick |title=Robert Altman, iconoclastic director, dies at 81 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/movies/22altmancnd.html |access-date=October 24, 2018 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 21, 2006 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126000705/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/movies/22altmancnd.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/director-robert-altman-dies-81-wbna15831581 |title=Director Robert Altman dies at 81 |publisher=MSNBC |website=Today.com |date=November 22, 2006 |access-date=September 17, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111221235/https://www.today.com/popculture/director-robert-altman-dies-81-wbna15831581 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/21/obit.altman.ap/index.html |title=Altman obituary |website=CNN |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061221023607/http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/21/obit.altman.ap/index.html |archive-date=December 21, 2006}}</ref>

Kathryn Altman, who died in 2016, co-authored a book about Altman that was published in 2014.<ref>{{cite book |title=Altman |last1=Altman |first1=Kathryn Reed |last2=Vallan |first2=Giulia d'Agnolo |others=[[Martin Scorsese]] (introduction) |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4197-0777-3}}</ref> She had served as a consultant and narrator for the 2014 documentary ''[[Altman (film)|Altman]]'', and had spoken at many retrospective screenings of her husband's films.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kathryn Reed Altman, film director's widow and archivist, dies at 91 |first=Bruce |last=Weber |date=March 18, 2016 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/movies/kathryn-reed-altman-film-directors-widow-and-archivist-dies-at-91.html?smid=pl-share |access-date=March 19, 2016 |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616130105/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/movies/kathryn-reed-altman-film-directors-widow-and-archivist-dies-at-91.html?smid=pl-share |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Homes ===
In the 1960s, Altman lived for years in [[Mandeville Canyon]] in [[Brentwood, Los Angeles, California|Brentwood, California]].<ref>Peter Biskind, ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', New York: Touchstone Books, 1998.</ref> He resided in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] throughout the 1970s, but sold that home and the Lion's Gate production company in 1981. "I had no choice", he told ''[[The New York Times]]''. "Nobody was answering the phone" after the flop of ''Popeye''. He moved his family and business headquarters to New York City, but eventually moved back to Malibu, where he lived until his death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Lew |date=September 16, 2009 |title=Obit: 'Laugh-In's' Henry Gibson Dies at 73 |url=https://www.thewrap.com/obit-laugh-ins-henry-gibson-dies-73-7251/ |access-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418184134/https://www.thewrap.com/obit-laugh-ins-henry-gibson-dies-73-7251/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Political views ===
In November&nbsp;2000, Altman claimed that he would move to Paris if [[George W. Bush]] were elected, but joked that he had meant Paris, Texas, when it came to pass. He noted that "the state would be better off if he (Bush) is out of it."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/leave.htm |title=Inboxer Rebellion |website=snopes.com |date=March 13, 2002 |access-date=August 6, 2006 |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616130106/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/star-trek/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Altman was an outspoken [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] user, and served as a member of the [[NORML]] advisory board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5471 |title=NORML Advisory Board |website=Norml.org |access-date=September 17, 2011 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20021126131800/http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?group_id=5471 |archive-date=November 26, 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He was also an atheist and an anti-war activist.<ref>{{cite web |title=Still up to mischief (Suzie Mackenzie interviewing Altman) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/may/01/features.weekend |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 1, 2013 |author=Suzie Mackenzie |date=May 1, 2004 |quote=Still, it's worth noting that by the age of 20 this whistle-blower had resisted two of the most powerful institutions – church and army, both. He is an atheist, "And I have been against all of these wars ever since." |archive-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113180842/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/may/01/features.weekend |url-status=live}}</ref> He was one of numerous public figures, including linguist [[Noam Chomsky]] and actress [[Susan Sarandon]], who signed the "[[Not in Our Name]]" declaration opposing the 2003 invasion of [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news |title=20&nbsp;Questions, 2&nbsp;Choices |newspaper=[[The Birmingham News]] |date=June 3, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,1207121,00.html |location=London, UK |series=Interview |title=Robert Altman |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{dead link|date=October 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[Julian Fellowes]] believes that Altman's anti-war and anti-Bush stance cost him the [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director Oscar]] for ''Gosford Park''.<ref name=Zuckoff/>{{rp|page=478}}

Altman despised the television series ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' which followed his 1970 film, citing it as being the antithesis of what his movie was about, and citing its anti-war messages as being "racist". In the 2001 DVD commentary for ''M*A*S*H'', he stated clearly the reasons for which he disapproved of the series.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.deseret.com/2002/1/16/19631716/mash-filmmaker-says-he-hates-series | title='MASH' filmmaker says he hates series | date=January 16, 2002 | access-date=October 5, 2022 | archive-date=October 5, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005165533/https://www.deseret.com/2002/1/16/19631716/mash-filmmaker-says-he-hates-series | url-status=live}}</ref>

== Death and legacy ==
Altman died from [[leukemia]] at [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]] in Los Angeles on November 20, 2006, at age 81.<ref name = Lyman>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/22/movies/22altman.html|title = Robert Altman, Director With Daring, Dies at 81|work = [[The New York Times]]|date = November 22, 2006|access-date = January 31, 2022|last = Lyman|first = Rick|url-access = limited|archive-date = February 1, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220201040026/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/22/movies/22altman.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/robert-altman-1925--2006-his-dangerous-angel-remembers|title = Robert Altman (1925–2006): His dangerous angel remembers|last1 = Ebert|first1 = Roger|last2 = Madsen|first2 = Virginia|date = November 10, 2008|work = [[RogerEbert.com]]|access-date = January 31, 2022|archive-date = June 16, 2024|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240616130105/https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/robert-altman-1925--2006-his-dangerous-angel-remembers|url-status = live}}</ref>

Fellow film director [[Paul Thomas Anderson]] dedicated his 2007 film ''[[There Will Be Blood]]'' to Altman.<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Ian Haydn|title=International Film Guide: The Definitive Annual Review of World Cinema |page=316 |isbn=978-1-905674-61-9 |year=2008 |place=London, UK |publisher=Wallflower Press}}</ref> Anderson had worked as a standby director on [[A Prairie Home Companion (film)|''A Prairie Home Companion'']] for insurance purposes in the event the ailing 80-year-old Altman would be unable to finish shooting.

During a celebration tribute to Altman a few months after his death, he was described as a "passionate filmmaker" and [[auteur]] who rejected convention, creating what director [[Alan Rudolph]] called an "Altmanesque" style of films.<ref name=NYT-07 /> He preferred large casts of actors and natural overlapping conversations, and encouraged his actors to improvise and express their innate creativity without fear of failing. [[Lily Tomlin]] compared him to "a great benign patriarch who was always looking out for you as an actor," adding that "you're not afraid to take chances with him."<ref name=EW>[https://ew.com/article/2006/11/24/remembering-robert-altman/ "Remembering Robert Altman"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219055226/https://ew.com/article/2006/11/24/remembering-robert-altman/ |date=December 19, 2024 }}, ''Entertainment Weekly'', November 24, 2006.</ref>

[[File:Robert Altman Handprint.jpg|thumb|right|Altman's handprints outside [[Palais des Festivals et des Congrès]] in [[Cannes]], France]]
Many of his films are described as "acid satires and counterculture character studies that redefined and reinvigorated modern cinema."<ref name=EW /> Although his films spanned most film genres, such as Westerns, musicals, war films, or comedies, he was considered "anti-genre," and his films were "candidly subversive." He was known to hate the "phoniness" he saw in most mainstream films, and "he wanted to explode them" through satire.<ref name=Lyman/>

Actor [[Tim Robbins]], who starred in a number of Altman's films, describes some of the unique aspects of his directing method:

{{blockquote|He created a unique and wonderful world on his sets, ... where the mischievous dad unleashed the "children actors" to play. Where your imagination was encouraged, nurtured, laughed at, embraced and Altman-ized. A sweet anarchy that many of us hadn't felt since the schoolyard, unleashed by Bob's wild heart.<ref name=Indiewire>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/an_altmanesque_celebration_for_a_maverick_american_director_robert_altman_1 |title=An Altmanesque celebration for a maverick American director: Robert Altman, 1925–2006 |website=Indiewire |date=February 21, 2007 |access-date=September 12, 2013 |archive-date=June 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611004345/http://www.indiewire.com/article/an_altmanesque_celebration_for_a_maverick_american_director_robert_altman_1 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Altman's personal archives are located at the [[University of Michigan]], which include about 900&nbsp;boxes of personal papers, scripts, legal, business and financial records, photographs, props and related material. Altman had filmed ''Secret Honor'' at the university, as well as directed several operas there.<ref name=ManyHatsUMich/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.kansascity.com/news/columnists/mike_hendricks/story/1155383.html |url-status=dead |title=K.C. native Altman's papers heading for Michigan, not K.C. |newspaper=Kansas City Star |date=April 21, 2009 |access-date=April 22, 2009 |archive-date=June 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610044807/http://www.kansascity.com/news/columnists/mike_hendricks/story/1155383.html}}</ref>

Since 2009, the [[Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award|Robert Altman Award]] is awarded to the director, casting director, and ensemble cast of films at the yearly [[Independent Spirit Awards]].

In 2014, a feature-length documentary film, ''[[Altman (film)|Altman]],'' was released, which looks at his life and work with film clips and interviews.<ref name=docIMDB>{{cite web |last=Mann |first=Ron |title=Altman |date=November 4, 2014 |website=IMDb.com |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404171/ |others=Michael Murphy, Robert Altman, Kathryn Reed |access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of atheists in film, radio, television and theater]]
* [[List of Golden Globe winners]]
* [[List of Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
* [[Hyperlink cinema]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/altman.html |title=Robert Altman Bibliography |publisher=U.C. Berkeley |access-date=September 6, 2005 |archive-date=August 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809140104/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/altman.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |author-link=Rafal Syska |author=Syska, Rafal |title=Keep the Distance. The film world of Robert Altman |publisher=Rabid |place=Cracow |year=2008 |isbn=978-83-60236-36-9}}
* {{cite book | last=Caso | first=Frank | title=Robert Altman in the American Grain | location=London | publisher=Reaktion Books | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-78023-522-6}}
* The director's commentary on the ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' DVD, while focusing on that film, also to some degree covers Altman's general methodology as a director.
* Judith M. Kass. ''Robert Altman: American Innovator'' early (1978) assessment of the director's work and his interest in gambling. Part of [[Leonard Maltin]]'s [[Popular Library]] filmmaker series.
* The English band [[Maxïmo Park]] have a song named "Robert Altman," a b-side to their single "[[Our Velocity]]."
* The Criterion Collection has released several of Altman's films on DVD (Short Cuts, 3 Women, Tanner 88, Secret Honor) which include audio commentary and video interviews with him that shed light on his directing style.
* {{cite magazine |first=Charles |last=Warren |title=Cavell, Altman and Cassavetes |series=Stanley Cavell special issue |editor-first=Jeffey |editor-last=Crouse |magazine=Film International |issue=22 |volume=4 |year=2006 |pages=14–20}}
* Rick Armstrong, "Robert Altman: Critical Essays" Actors, historians, film scholars, and cultural theorists reflect on Altman and his five-decade career... (McFarland, February 18, 2011.)
* Mitchell Zuckoff, ''Robert Altman: The Oral Biography.'' New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-307-26768-9}}
* Description and details on the [[Short Cuts Soundtrack]] for more in-depth information about this title.
* Helene Keyssar, Robert Altman's America. Oxford, 1991.

== External links ==
* [https://www.lib.umich.edu/collections/collecting-areas/special-collections-and-archives/screen-arts-mavericks-and-makers/robert-altman/ Finding Aids for the Robert Altman Papers (1945–2007)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302050622/https://www.lib.umich.edu/collections/collecting-areas/special-collections-and-archives/screen-arts-mavericks-and-makers/robert-altman/ |date=March 2, 2022 }}, Special Collections Library, [[University of Michigan]]
* {{IMDb name|265}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IOBDB name}}
* [http://www.criterion.com/explore/82-robert-altman Robert Altman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326105025/http://www.criterion.com/explore/82-robert-altman |date=March 26, 2010 }} at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=024M-C0095X0140XX-0100V0.xml Listen to Robert Altman discussing his career]
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119102143/http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=024M-C0095X0140XX-0100V0.xml |date=January 19, 2012}}&nbsp;– a British Library recording.
* [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/altman.html Robert Altman bibliography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809140104/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/altman.html |date=August 9, 2018 }} via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center.
* [https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,3605,1205890,00.html Still up to mischief]&nbsp;– ''[[The Guardian]]'', May 1, 2004.
* [http://www.reverseshot.com/article/robert_altman ''Reverse Shot'' interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623221525/http://www.reverseshot.com/article/robert_altman |date=June 23, 2006 }}
* [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/PEOPLE/60424007 Ebert's Altman Home Companion]
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208152010/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061121%2FPEOPLE%2F60424007 |date=February 8, 2013}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061210180559/http://www.geraldpeary.com/interviews/abc/altman.html Gerald Peary interview]}}
* [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/1459/robert-altman Literature on Robert Altman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501215740/http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/1459/robert-altman |date=May 1, 2013 }}
* [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19740407/PEOPLE/903099998 "Altman: Would you go to a movie that was hailed as a masterpiece?" by Roger Ebert]
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722224720/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19740407%2FPEOPLE%2F903099998 |date=July 22, 2012}}
* [http://bombsite.com/issues/68/articles/2237 ''Bomb'' magazine interview]
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113072750/http://bombsite.com/issues/68/articles/2237 |date=November 13, 2011}}
* [http://www.hyenaproductions.com/robert-altman.aspx Artist of the Month: Robert Altman at Hyena Productions]
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106145706/http://www.hyenaproductions.com/robert-altman.aspx |date=November 6, 2011}}
* [http://www.hellisforhyphenates.com/blog/2014/06/30/june-2014/ The films of Robert Altman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011003023/http://www.hellisforhyphenates.com/blog/2014/06/30/june-2014/ |date=October 11, 2014 }}, ''Hell Is For Hyphenates'', June 30, 2014.
* [http://fieldday.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Stephen-Rea.pdf Robert Altman Obituary, by Stephen Rea, 'Field Day Review 3' (Dublin, 2007)]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{YouTube|d7rT3JchDHo|Robert Altman receiving the Academy Honorary Award in 2006}}, 11 min.
* {{YouTube|nZpcVU_Ugvg|Robert Altman on the ''Dick Cavett Show''}}, 7 min.
* {{YouTube|un-J1i24zhQ|Documentary on the making of Robert Altman's ''Short Cuts''}}, 90 min.
* {{YouTube|-OUZNa6Oe4o|Documentary: Robert Altman in England}}, 60 min.

{{Robert Altman}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Robert Altman|Awards for Robert Altman]]
|list =
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Director}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Direction 1985–2009}}
{{British Film Institute Fellowship}}
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director}}
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award}}
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Director}}
{{DirectorsGuildofAmericaAwardLifetimeFilm}}
{{EmmyAward DirectingDrama 1976–2000}}
{{Lincoln Center Gala Tribute}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Director}}
{{Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement}}
{{Honorary Golden Bear}}
{{IndependentAwardforBestDirector}}
{{Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Director of the Year}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Director}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director}}
{{Satellite Auteur Award}}}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Robert}}
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[[Category:Western (genre) film directors]]
[[Category:Writers about activism and social change]]
[[Category:Writers from Kansas City, Missouri]]