Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

DubyaHan The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

gab-14712 Director Robert Altman impressed me with this two earlier directorial efforts M.A.S.H and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, but I believe he really comes into his own with 1975's Nashville. The way he directed his movie and the way he made it a very intelligent movie with many important themes but can be understood by the general public is just outstanding. However, if you don't keep up with the movie, you can be sure to get lost in the overload of information Altman throws at you. On paper, the film may seem like a mess but it's really not. The film really does not have an overall plot, but it has interwoven segments that are related with each other and I'll discuss a little bit later on. This film is full of unique performances from an unusually large cast. It's not unusual that there are many characters, but how many major characters there are. There are approximately 25 major speaking roles, and that has to be some sort of record. But all the performances are wonderful and unique and you feel for each character in the country music setting of Nashville.So what exactly is this film about? Well, that's really hard to pinpoint as there is no one big linear plot line. It is essentially about a group of people living life in Nashville during a political-happy time (kind of reminds me of the current 2016 political race). But let's break down the plot into the little segments. We have Barbara Jean (Ronee Blackley) who is the current reigning country queen of Nashville, but health problems is causing her to fall apart and she also later becomes a symbol for political assassination. Then we have Delbert (Ned Beatty) and Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin) who live a rather sad life because of a failing marriage and trying to take care of two deaf children. Delbert is involved in a politics as he is trying to bring politics and country music together. Then we have a British journalist named Opal (Geraldine Chaplin) who decides to get into the thick of events within the Nashville scene. As the famed movie critic Roger Ebert paraphrases what this movie is about, it's many things. A musical, a docudrama about life in Nashville, a political story that was influenced by events like the Watergate scandal, and it is also a satire about country music.With such a large ensemble, I was surprised how much Altman was able to get from all of his characters. They were superbly written and the performances were genuine. Many of the characters do their own singing, and you can tell they are not professional singers. While the voices may not be the best ones ever, I loved the raw, edgy sound with added to the realism of the performances. The film is not composed of big stars (at the time or even by today's standards), but they often hit the spot. I loved Ronee Blackley's performance as the country queen, Barbara Jean. Her singing is decent, but she brings a sensitive side to her character and she is involved in a big political showdown at the end of the movie. She reminds me of a similar real-life country singer, Loretta Lynn. Lily Tomlin delivered one heck of a impressive performance as the mother of two deaf children. I relate to her character because I suffer from partial deafness myself and I understand her pains. She brings such vulnerability to her character. Ned Beatty does a good job in playing the asshole husband who doesn't care about his family but only about his job. We have very early performances from future stars from the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Scott Glenn, and Keith Carradine (who was impressive as a rock singer). Henry Gibson does a solid job as another famous country star named Haven Hamilton (and did have a good voice).So there were many aspects to the plot I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoyed the rather brutal satire on country music which gathered criticism from people within this industry. But my favorite was the political aspect of the movie. Maybe its because history and politics go hand in hand or maybe we are living in a political-happy environment at current time, but I feel like the politics aspect hold up strongly. I like the random scenes where we have this political party in support of a candidate named Hal Philip Walker whom we never meet, but his presence is always known. His politics and the country stars end up clashing in the end for a very powerful ending.Overall, I really enjoyed Nashville. I don't think it's good of a masterpiece of Altman's earlier McCabe and Mrs. Miller but this is his more mainstream effort. But use that word "mainstream" lightly because Altman brings his complicated style of directing to this movie. His use of the actors and his political and social commentary is widely shown throughout the film. As I say for most of Altman's films, they are not for everyone. This film has excellent performances from everyone with my favorite performance coming from Lily Tomlin. There is an hour of music recorded for the film and despite the inexperience of the singers, the music mostly works with the film. Nominated for 5 Oscars and a 9 Golden Globes (a record that still holds today), Nashville is a solid work of filmmaking.My Grade: A-

Smoreni Zmaj I love country music and I know movie piled up many awards and it is considered one of the greatest American movies in 70's, I understand social criticism... but I can not remember if I ever saw anything this boring. I hate to give up and I always watch movie till the end even if I don't like it, but this time I had to gather all of my energy and power of will to endure first of 3 hours and finally I gave up. I wouldn't recommend this even to enemy. It's torture....................................................

Joe Day I had seen this film before or maybe even a few times over the years but decided to watch it on DVD again this past weekend. I have been checking out Altman flicks, particularly for the director commentaries that some dvds come with.I was 20 years old in 1975 when the country was on the verge of disco and all that went with that experiment in debauchery, fantasy and excess; the whole Warhol, Bianca, Studio 54 mess, if you will, of which I was right in the middle. A young sailor, I appreciated Cinderella Liberty AND The Last Detail; a Baby Boomer, I appreciated American Graffiti AND the Exorcist. And then there is Nashville. The first thing I noticed is that I had the exact same shirt Haven's son wore, all of his shirts in fact. That right there was enough to depress me. Next, the Nashville airport - been there too and THAT depressed me. I guess you can tell by now that that period does not have really fond memories for me: the wood paneling, the Formica in avocado green, harvest gold, and I can never remember what they called the red one just all seem so cheesy. Maybe it was because in those days Times Square and most big cities were one big X-rated peep-show extravaganza. Like I said I was a sailor then and that's what we did. Anyway, I found most of the characters dull; particularly Jeff Goldblum who even then had that kind of irritating shtick about him; Carradine too (I must have been stoned back then (probably was) but I actually used to like "I'm Easy". Now, I don't think it was so hot at all. Tomlin was okay, although with all the hoopla, you'd think her part would have been more developed. Maybe it was because she had theretofore been on Laugh-In that it was a sensation. Ditto for Henry Gibson who I really thought WAS good. I don't know, maybe it was the film stock but it just all seemed old to me, like Altman's M*A*S*H. By the way, Elliot Gould showing up in a cameo just reminded me why I never cared for his smart ass either. And I honestly felt the same way about Julie Christie i.e. who the hell is SHE? Even though I knew who she was.I guess in closing, I just don't think this movie is a classic for me nor would I place it on any must see list. I'd much rather watch any number of other movies from that year. Cuckoo's nest or something.

Kent Ross This is truly one of the great American movies of all time, by the great American director Robert Altman. I must have watched this movie 10 times, and am ready to see it again anytime. I was 15 when I first saw it, and it had an enormous impact on me, and continues to do so to this day. Ronee Blakeley, Lillie Tomlin, Ned Beatty, Barbara Harris, Henry Gibson, Karen Black, Gwen Welles and Michael Murphy all give great performances. There are remarkable musical performances, primarily by Ronee Blakeley. That she didn't get an academy award for her performance in this film is a crime. The film has the classic Altman technique of an overlapping and very busy soundtrack (the spoken bits). You need to pay attention to get it all. This slice of life view of Nashville over a few days is really about America, post Vietnam, post-Nixon and the petering out of the counterculture. The movie is about 2.5 hours long, but you've got to hang in there till the end. Altman's magnum opus, you must see this movie! Altman's great movies include Nashville, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, MASH, Come back to 5 and dime - Jimmy Dean - Jimmy Dean, Streamers and Short Cuts. And there are many more very good movies. He was one of our great filmmakers - and sadly under- appreciated. He was an auteur, and had a unique voice and style.