The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece

Director Robert Altman's cult-film masterpiece Nashville is given its first ever behind-the-scenes viewing in this scrupulously researched book by Newsday and The Advocate film critic Jan Stuart. Written with the full cooperation of Altman, and including interviews with virtually everyone involved with the film, The Nashville Chronicles is a remarkable piece of reporting that explores both the creation of and the execution of a classic film. * * * When Nashville was first released in 1975, Robert Altman had already established himself as a film director with a unique vision and a natural ability to walk the fine line between the hyperreal and the surreal. A few years earlier, Altman had earned great acclaim -- and financial success -- through the brilliant and darkly comic film M*A*S*H, later to be turned into one of television's most enduring series. That wildly successful movie was followed by a series of quirky films, all provocative and controversial, but none with the scope of vision he was to demonstrate in his next release, Nashville. As might be expected, the making of Nashville started out just as unfocused and haphazard as had all of Altman's prior films. His improvisational style, his disdain for linear story line, his reliance on the actors to find their own ways through to the end -- all these traits promised chaos many times over when imposed on a "concept" as complicated and fraught with potential problems as Nashville was. For Nashville was not one story, it was twenty-four separate stories, all happening at once, layered and overlapping, weaving in and out. And Nashville was not conceived as a film about a city and its industry (in this case, country music), but as a film about America and its obsession with fame and success. Stuart has undertaken the mammoth task of reaching all the principals involved with the creation of this landmark film, and has succeeded wonderfully in detailing the methods and the means by which it was put together, as well as providing an intimate look at the interplay of egos among the twenty-four actors and actresses who peopled this film. Given the benefit of full cooperation by Altman, who himself sat for many hours of interviews, Stuart's book, illustrated throughout with behind-the-scenes photos, is both an entertaining journalistic tour de force and a valuable tool for students of films and filmmaking.