Cinema
Nashville
Robert Altman · 1975
Synopsis
Nashville, over five days, before the gala of a presidential candidate, Hal Phillip Walker, who is never seen and whose voice comes from a loudspeaker van that drives around the city. His agent, John Triplette, recruits country music stars for the gala. Barbara Jean, the star, returns from a stay in a burns unit and collapses at the airport. Sueleen, a waitress who sings out of tune, dreams of the stage, and Opal, who claims to be a journalist for British public television, records everything on a tape recorder. Twenty-four characters cross paths.
Context
The actors wrote and performed their own songs, and the one by Keith Carradine received the Oscar and the Golden Globe for best original song. The sound was recorded on eight tracks, seven for the actors and one for synchronisation, and dozens of microphones fed sixteen more tracks for the concerts. The candidate whose voice is heard from beginning to end never appears on screen.
Who it is for
A film of two hours forty minutes, with often overlapping dialogue, and no single plot or single main character.
Prizes and reception
Five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, one statuette for a song, and added in 1992 to the National Film Registry.
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