Nashville (1975)

A veteran of WWII and a veteran of film and television by the time the hays code was lifted, Robert Altman only became a director of note in 1970 when he took full advantage of the changing attitudes at the studios, the burgeoning ‘new hollywood’ era, and made the most cynical and degenerate comedy about the US military anyone had yet seen, a surprising s-M*A*S*H hit. Overnight, he had a calling card and a newfound lease on life creatively, and what followed was an industrious career of riskier and riskier swings. The most critically well-remembered today is his country music tableau Nashville, and on this episode we journey down south to discuss the many tricks of the trade that Altman employed to make this sui generis epic hangout film, and how it sums up the cultural hegemony (and violence) of twentieth century America.

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