Short Cuts (1993)
Directed by Robert Altman
Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver. Waitress Doreen Piggot accidentally runs into a boy with her car. Soon after walking away, the child lapses into a coma. While at the hospital, the boy's grandfather tells his son, Howard, about his past affairs. Meanwhile, a baker starts harassing the family when they fail to pick up the boy's birthday cake.
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6 films that influenced Short Cuts
What critics say influenced Short Cuts
Altman has made this kind of film before, notably in " Nashville " (1976) and " The Player " (1992).
The easiest way to think about the film is, I suppose, to consider it the Los Angeles version of Nashville (1975), but that doesn’t do full justice to Altman’s film.
Woven together a la "Nashville," the film's various narratives cross neatly -- occasionally even ingenuously -- if seemingly at random.
But the overall feeling is that Altman, maker of "Nashville" and "The Player," has pulled off another ensemble coup, with supple assistance from Lily Tomlin, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Waits, Bruce Davison, Fred Ward, Robert Downey Jr. and many others.
It may not be regarded as Robert Altman’s best film (a title continually given to Nashville), though it is a signature display of his talent.
Altman made four or five masterpieces in the early l970s, “M.A.S.H.,” “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” (my personal favorite), “The Long Goodbye,” “Thieves Like Us,” and the Oscar-nominated “Nashville,” which was also singled out as the best film of l975 by my New York colleagues.
Altman made four or five masterpieces in the early l970s, “M.A.S.H.,” “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” (my personal favorite), “The Long Goodbye,” “Thieves Like Us,” and the Oscar-nominated “Nashville,” which was also singled out as the best film of l975 by my New York colleagues.
Altman made four or five masterpieces in the early l970s, “M.A.S.H.,” “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” (my personal favorite), “The Long Goodbye,” “Thieves Like Us,” and the Oscar-nominated “Nashville,” which was also singled out as the best film of l975 by my New York colleagues.
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Working with sometime collaborator Frank Barhydt (Health), Altman created a sprawling tapestry of a film from the writings of Raymond Carver.
The Criterion Collection has done another superb job with their 2004 DVD, released in conjunction with Altman's Secret Honor and "Tanner '88."