Fuck Yeah Robert Altman

Very exciting news today as the new UK-based boutique home video label Radiance has announced two new Altman releases coming in July! This marks O.C. And Stiggs’ first appearance in HD, and the Thieves disc is far more stacked with extras than the Kino release stateside was. Both are currently listed as Region B and will be available 7/17/23!

O.C. And Stiggs (1987)

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

High-Definition digital transfer

Uncompressed mono PCM audio

A new documentary featurette on the making of the film by critic Hunter Stephenson featuring new interviews with the cast and crew (2023) - more details to be confirmed

New interview with camera operator Robert Reed Altman (2023)

Altman on O.C. and Stiggs archival featurette (2005, 8 mins)

Trailer

Gallery of rare images

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Reversible sleeve featuring original and new artwork by Time Tomorrow

Limited edition booklet featuring archival writings by Robert Altman about the film and his approaches to filmmaking

Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings 

Extras subject to change

Thieves Like Us (1974)

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

High-Definition digital transfer

Original uncompressed mono PCM audio

Audio commentary by director Robert Altman

Brand new interview with co-screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury who discusses the film and her working relationship with Altman (2023)

Brand new interview with star Keith Carradine (2023)

Geoff Andrew on Thieves Like Us - the critic discusses the film and its place within Altman’s work

Two classic radio plays featured in the film - The Shadow written by and starring Orson Welles and Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police starring Ed Gardner

Trailer

Promotional image gallery

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters

Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Pamela Hutchinson; archival writing by Robert Altman; and a piece looking at the script development from the novel by professor Alan Schroeder

Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings 

RIP Ned Beatty (1937-2021)

Paramount Home Media Distribution will add Nashville to its Paramount Presents home video line on August 10th. The Criterion Collection Blu-ray has gone out of print since their access to the rights lapsed, presumably to make way for this release, which only adds a 4K transfer (compared to Criterion's 2K) and a new featurette. Of course, all of the Criterion-produced extras from their release are missing here.

Synopsis: Following 24 unique characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's Oscar winning epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of America's obsession with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon and his fragile star protégée, a self-absorbed rock star who woos a lonely married gospel singer, a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig, a runaway wife with dreams of stardom, and a campaign guru who is trying to organize a concert rally for an unseen presidential candidate. An essential of 70s cinema, this newly remastered Blu-ray, from a 4K film scan of the original elements, looks better than ever. Special Features and Technical Specs:

- NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM

- NEW 24 Tracks: Robert Altman's NASHVILLE

- Audio Commentary by Robert Altman

- Theatrical Trailers

- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

- Collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of each film's theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments

- STREET DATE: AUGUST 10.

'Today Nashville is a “greatest films of all time” list regular, but perhaps the film’s most striking legacy is its prescience. Given our own recent experiences of political and social upheaval, its themes are no less vital now: the irresistibility and fallibility of the American dream; America as a cautionary tale of capitalism-gone-haywire; the latent violence embedded in its very constitution that seems destined to surface.'

Kino's new Blu-ray of Altman's 1985 Sam Shepard adaptation Fool For Love is now available - review from DVDBeaver at the link above.

Some new screencaps:

Quartet Records, in collaboration with Handmade Films, is proud to present a remastered CD reissue of an early masterpiece from legendary composer John Williams (THE TOWERING INFERNO, THE COWBOYS, JAWS, E.T., THE RIVER) for Robert Altman’s 1972 psychological thriller-drama starring Susannah York.

The film inspired one of Williams’ most fascinating and avant-garde scores. The composer based his ideas on two different musical styles: one more classical, almost childlike, the other experimental, aggressive, with an essential contribution from famous Japanese percussionist and experimental musician Stomu Yamash´ta. This musical duality allows Williams to reflect how sanity gradually and irretrievably loses ground to madness in York’s character. The composer was Oscar-nominated in 1972 for both IMAGES and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE; this was the first time he received a double nomination in the same category of Original Score, something that became usual in the following four decades.

Joseph Walsh Wrote a Sequel to “California Split”