Robert Altman @ 100: "That Cold Day in the Park"

by Cláudio Alves

One hundred years ago today, Robert Altman came into this world. A WWII veteran who got his start in industrial films, he'd become one of the most important figures in American cinema during the heyday of New Hollywood. His career is a sprawling tale of transformations, genre experiments, broad murals of humanity. Sometimes, his work could be claustrophobic, zero-ing on individual psyches, but it often reached for epic proportions and giant ensembles, juxtaposed dialogue galore. Over the next few days, various The Film Experience writers will say their piece about Altman, exploring his films from swinging sixties origins to 21st-century late works.

For our jumping-off point, let's go back to 1969, after Altman had moved from industrial shorts to theater to TV and then to feature cinema. Around the decade's twilight, the director kickstarted an unofficial trilogy about mad women that would later lead to Images and the glory of 3 Women. Yet, before those examinations of the feminine grotesque, it began That Cold Day in the Park…

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Kim Stanley @ 100: "Séance on a Wet Afternoon"

by Cláudio Alves

From the late 1940s to the mid-60s, Kim Stanley was one of the most important actresses in American theater. Her career is the stuff of legend, going through Tony nominations and the Actors Studio at the height of its influence, culminating in a disastrous performance of Chekhov's Three Sisters on the other side of the pond. Forever volatile and insecure, perchance suffering from mental illness or the fragilities of a great diva, Stanley swore never to act on stage again, depriving theatergoers of a goddess whose glory was as bright as it was short-lived. One would think Stanley's departure from theater could have meant more big screen gigs, but she kept herself away from such fare. TV appearances were more to her liking, and she got two Emmy wins for her trouble, including for the ultimate Big Momma in the 1984 TV movie version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

She'd only count five credits in the movies, one of them voice-only. And still, two of those turns resulted in Oscar nominations, reflecting her talent and reputation among thespians. She was an actors' actor, alright. Today, on her centennial, I invite you to join me on a trip to the past, to Kim Stanley's second and last lead role in a film for which AMPAS nominated her. It's time to remember, mayhap summon, the hauntings of Séance on a Wet Afternoon…

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"45 Years," Ten Years Later...

by Cláudio Alves

The past is never gone. You think it is, fall into the comfort of believing it dormant, but one day, it awakens and rocks the foundations of the now. This is true of historical cycles, of political waves and culture and vales. It's true of love affairs, too. Of marriage and cinema. 45 Years is a rumination on such ideas, having premiered at the Berlinale a decade ago today, where it signaled the maturation of Andrew Haigh into one of Britain's most essential filmmakers after his promising beginnings in the realm of queer cinema - Greek Pete and Weekend. It also brought Charlotte Rampling out of the rarefied, vaguely alienated, auteurist plane she existed within for many decades, turning her into someone less adventurous cinephiles came to know and cherish.

She also became a first-time Oscar nominee thanks to Haigh's creation. 45 Years remains the crowning achievement of her career, and the same could be said of Tom Courtenay. The Berlinale Jury was right when it gave them both Silver Bears for their performances…

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The Eternal Hotness of Paul Newman

Before our next Centennial celebration begins (Robert Altman) here's one last ode to the late great Paul Newman, born in 1925

by Baby Clyde

Happy belated centenary to my Golden Age Hollywood husband Paul Newman. My esteemed colleagues here at The Film Experience have been busy over the last few weeks lauding the man for his impressive career, full of era defining performances and classic films with legendary directors. I’m going to lower the tone somewhat for this finale and talk about the thing that matters most. He is really, really HOT!

It’s the impossibly high cheek bones that swoop down into a prominent nose off set by the surprisingly full lips and cheeky, boyish grin that can turn wolfish all within the same smile. And then there are of course the heart melting, ice blue eyes. It’s as if Technicolor was invented specifically for them. How we all would have missed out had his heyday been in the B/W era...

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Paul Newman @ 100: "Road to Perdition"

by Cláudio Alves

When was the first time you saw Paul Newman on the screen? It might be hard to remember for some, but I can pinpoint it exactly. It was a summer holiday in those early years of teenhood, when my parents liked to drive across the border into Southern Spain for the afternoon. I loved those day trips for many reasons, and one of them was this big store in town where they sold movies that I couldn't ever find in Portugal. They were cheap, too, the perfect fit for a young cinephile looking to spend his allowance. At the time, I was just starting to get into the Oscars, so I always looked for films I knew AMPAS had honored.

One of them was Road to Perdition. 

When we got home, I remember waiting for nightfall to watch my new treasures in darkness. And then, there he was, Paul Newman. At the time, I was becoming aware of who he and many other Old Hollywood stars were, though I knew very little. Yet, there was a weight to my discovery of Newman. You see, my mom had pointed him out on the DVD case when she saw me with my new picture and waxed rhapsodic about the fellow who happened to be her favorite actor. She called him a legend, one of the most beautiful men she'd ever seen, his eyes piercing, intense, BLUE like nothing else in the world. She wasn't wrong…

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