Robert Altman 1925-2006

Robert Altman died on Monday night. Altman was a maverick director known for his large ensemble pieces.

He frequently employed a technique of overlapping dialogue, notable in films such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Nashville. He directed a fair amount of stinkers in his long career as well as a handful of classic films.

MASH, Nashville and The Player are some of his great successes, while Beyond Therapy, Popeye and Dr. T and the Women will be the films he'll be less remembered for.

Personally I've always thought that MASH, The Player and Short Cuts were all excellent, though Short Cuts was on TV recently and I didn't fancy sitting through it.

He had enjoyed recent success with the Oscar winning Gosford Park. Here's an extensive article on him from Senses of Cinema.