I have seen three Altman films. Of those I think Nashville and Gosford Park are masterpieces and The Player is in the “very good” category. On the basis of these three films alone I would rate Altman as among the best directors working today. Still even his admirers admit he has made several ordinary films especially during the 80’s.
I just realized that somehow the thread posted but not my OP. Odd. Well- posters have captured pretty much everything I’ve said.
I made the comment in the “most overrated directors” thread that to me his movies are a lot like Gore Vidal’s fiction in that they’re witty and sophisticated but ultimately lifeless and you just never care about the characters. GOSFORD PARK was really pretty to look at (and Maggie Smith & Ryan Philippe both turned in great performances), but it was ultimately empty and unsatisfying. He’s also way too often just weird for the sake of being weird (like John Irving’s later writings).
Wait. We see some shots of Julianne Moore’s bush while she’s ironing, and that’s ‘misogyny’? How?