Wednesdays in April and May 2012

If ever there was a prototype for the quintessential iconoclastic American filmmaker, director Robert Altman (1925 - 2006) fits the bill. From his tentative initial forays like THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK to his smash successes like M*A*S*H and NASHVILLE, to his critically acclaimed, cult sleepers like BREWSTER MCCLOUD, MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, THE LONG GOODBYE, IMAGES, 3 WOMEN, and COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN, to his later, much-lauded THE PLAYER, SHORT CUTS and the award-winning GOSFORD PARK, Altman has had an incredibly diverse career. After repeated viewings of his films, seemingly diverse and unrelated movies become oddly connected, with similar thematic threads running through them as well as a common ground where the performers are the centerpiece. Simultaneously allowed wide latitude to do their thing but ultimately focusing on the goal maestro Altman has set for them, the actors achieve a kind of nirvana of simulated reality and improvised truth.

Join us on Wednesdays at the Aero throughout April and May for some of Altman’s finest films.

Series compiled by Gwen Deglise and Grant Moninger.