This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Lecture 16 (2007): Film in the 1970s, Part II

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Note: This video is from the Fall 2007 class.

This lecture continues the discussion of transformation and subversion in 1970s films, specifically as embodied in work of director Robert Altman.

Outline

  1. Robert Altman (1925-2006)
    • Career
    • Defining qualities:
      • Moral skepticism
      • Sympathy for the marginal
      • Plot vs. character
      • Fiction vs. "reality"
  2. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
    • "Ruin the sacred truths"
    • Sound and image: a new realism?
    • Hero/savior—clown or fool
    • Love story: gal from the East
    • Founding myth: Presbyterian Church
    • The ending: slapstick murder as the town is born

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