Nashville (film)

Nashville
File:49793.1010.A.jpg The theatrical poster.
Directed by	Robert Altman
Written by	Joan Tewkesbury
Produced by	Robert Altman
Starring	Ned Beatty Ronee Blakley Keith Carradine Geraldine Chaplin Scott Glenn Lily Tomlin
Cinematography	Paul Lohmann
Edited by	Dennis M. Hill Sidney Levin
Music by	Richard Baskin
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	11 June, 1975 (premiere)
Running time	159 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	USD$2,000,000 (estimated)

Nashville is a 1975 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. It depicts the country music and gospel music businesses in Nashville, Tennessee and combines them with material on U.S. presidential politics. The film weaves together multiple storylines that eventually coalesce in the final half-hour in a climactic sequence at the Parthenon in Nashville. Among its many musical sequences, the song "It Don't Worry Me" is the film's theme, heard sporadically throughout and then performed at the climax.

The film features a large ensemble cast including David Arkin, Barbara Baxley, Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert DoQui, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, David Hayward, Michael Murphy, Cristina Raines, Bert Remsen, Lily Tomlin, Gwen Welles, and Keenan Wynn.

Production

The Parthenon in Nashville, location of the climactic final scene.

The film was written by Joan Tewkesbury but as in many of Altman's films, improvisation was important in the filming process, and Nashville features Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue.

Many of the characters in the film are based on real country music figures: Henry Gibson's Haven Hamilton is a composite of Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, and Porter Wagoner; Ronee Blakely's Barbara Jean is based on Loretta Lynn; the black country singer Tommy Brown (played by Timothy Brown) is based on Charley Pride; and the feuding folk trio is based on Peter, Paul and Mary; within the trio, the married couple of Bill and Mary were inspired by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, who later became Starland Vocal Band. Keith Carradine's character is believed to be inspired by Kris Kristofferson and Karen Black's Connie strongly resembles Lynn Anderson.

Filmed in Nashville in the summer (late July, August, and early September) of 1974, Altman had enough footage to produce a four-hour film, and assistant director Alan Rudolph suggested he create an expanded version of "Nashville" to be shown in two parts, "Nashville Red" and "Nashville Blue," but the film ultimately remained intact. After a rush of critical acclaim, ABC expressed interest in a proposal for a ten-hour miniseries of "Nashville," based on the footage not used in the final cut, but plans for the project were scrapped. The additional footage has not been made available on DVD releases.

The Hal Phillip Walker political campaign was designed by actor-screenwriter Thomas Hal Phillips.

Cast and characters

• David Arkin plays a friendly chauffeur who wants to be liked by the celebrities.
• Richard Baskin as Frog, a struggling young session musician who is fired from a recording session and is urged to get a haircut by Haven Hamilton.
• Barbara Baxley as Lady Pearl, Haven Hamilton's companion, who manages a bluegrass night at a downtown club. She appears to be inebriated for most of the film, and frequently mentions her fondness of the late John and Bobby Kennedy. She is Roman Catholic.
• Ned Beatty as Delbert "Del" Reese, Haven Hamilton's lawyer and local organizer for the Hal Philip Walker campaign.
• Karen Black as Connie White, a country singer who replaces Barbara Jean on the Grand Ole Opry.
• Ronee Blakley as Barbara Jean, a mentally unstable, accident-prone country singer who is recovering from injuries she received in a fire, she is hospitalized again after collapsing on arrival at the airport.
• Timothy Brown as Tommy Brown, an African American singing star of the Grand Ole Opry.
• Keith Carradine as Tom Frank, a member of the folk rock trio Bill, Mary and Tom, who is seeking to strike out on his own as a solo artist. He is also a self-absorbed womanizer and seeks to have a tryst with Linnea Reese even while sleeping with Mary and Opal.
• Geraldine Chaplin as Opal, an intrusive, ever-present BBC reporter.
• Robert DoQui as Wade Cooley, a cook at the airport restaurant and co-worker with Sueleen Gay, who also works odd jobs around Nashville.
• Shelley Duvall as Martha, the niece of Mr. Green who is in town ostensibly to visit her sick aunt. She prefers to be called L.A. Joan, and her pursuit of various men, including Haven Hamilton's son and Tricycle Man, interfere with her familial obligations to her aunt and uncle.
• Allen Garfield as Barnett, Barbara Jean's husband and manager. Their marriage is depicted as strained, with Barnett being extremely controlling.
• Henry Gibson as Haven Hamilton, the superstar singer on the Grand Ole Opry and a powerful figure in the local business community.
• Scott Glenn as Pfc. Glenn Kelly, a Vietnam War veteran who is in town to visit Barbara Jean at the behest of his mother.
• Jeff Goldblum as Tricycle Man, a silent, ubiquitous figure around Nashville, he rides his long, low-slung three-wheel motorcycle everywhere, and performs magic tricks.
• Barbara Harris as Winifred, an aspiring singer-songwriter who runs away from her irascible husband. She tries unsuccessfully to hobnob with the various country music celebrities in Nashville, sneaking into a party at the Hamiltons' home and attempting to get backstage access at the Grand Ole Opry.
• David Hayward as Kenny Frasier, a loner drifter with an overbearing mother who rents out a room from Mr. Green.
• Merle Kilgore as Trout, the owner of a club that has an open-mic talent night who gives Sueleen Gay what she believes to be her big break as a singer.
• Michael Murphy as John Triplette, the national organizer for the Hal Philip Walker presidential campaign.
• Allan F. Nicholls as Bill, part of the folk trio, Bill, Mary and Tom, he is married to Mary.
• Dave Peel as Bud Hamilton, the son of Haven Hamilton, who handles his father's business affairs.
• Cristina Raines as Mary, part of the folk trio, Bill, Mary and Tom, she is married to Bill, but is having an affair with Tom Franks, with whom she's fallen in love.
• Bert Remsen as Star, who spends most of his time chasing after his wife Winifred.
• Lily Tomlin as Linnea Reese, a gospel singer, wife of Delbert Reese and loving mother of two deaf children, she has a tryst with Tom Frank.
• Gwen Welles as Sueleen Gay, a waitress at the airport lunch counter and an aspiring country singer who cannot sing. She is hired to entertain at a political fund-raising "smoker" and is forced to perform a striptease act.
• Keenan Wynn as Mr. Green, the uncle of Martha, his sick wife is at Vanderbilt Hospital on the same floor as Barbara Jean. He rents a spare room in his house to Kenny.

There are also cameo appearances by Elliott Gould, Julie Christie, and Howard K. Smith.

Reception

Critical response

Nashville was ecstatically reviewed by major film critics. Pauline Kael described it as "The funniest epic vision of America ever to reach the screen", while both Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin gave the film four-star reviews. In his original review, Ebert wrote that "...after I saw it I felt more alive, I felt I understood more about people, I felt somehow wiser. It's that good a movie." On August 6, 2000, he included it in his Great Movies compilation.

Template:Infobox movie certificates In 1992, Nashville was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2007, the movie ranked at #59 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition list, after not having appeared on the original list in 1998.

Nashville response

The movie was widely despised by the mainstream country-music community at the time of its release, with many artists believing it was ridiculing their talent and sincerity.

Awards

The film won an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture (awarded to Keith Carradine for "I'm Easy"). In addition, Ronee Blakley and Lily Tomlin were nominated for Best Supporting Actress Altman was nominated for Best Director, and the film itself for Best Picture. It also won a BAFTA Film Award for "Best Sound Track." Altman won for best director from: Cartagena Film Festival; Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards; National Board of Review; National Society of Film Critics Awards; and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The actors and actresses composed some of the songs they performed in the film. Ronee Blakley contributed several songs, including those performed by Timothy Brown. Karen Black wrote the songs she performed in character as Connie White. Keith Carradine wrote "I'm Easy", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. Carradine also wrote "It Don't Worry Me", which is featured throughout the film, and is the climactic closing number.

Film score composer Richard Baskin, who portrays the struggling session musician Frog, composed songs for Henry Gibson to sing in character as Haven Hamilton. In the film, Hamilton scolds Frog for having long hair, tells him he doesn't "belong in Nashville" and fires him from a recording session for playing bad notes on the piano. Baskin served as music supervisor on Nashville.

Several respected Nashville session musicians took part in the music recording and in the film itself, including violinist Vassar Clements and guitarist Harold Bradley.

While the music was viewed in the Nashville music industry as mean-spirited satire, the songs have achieved a cult-status among alternative country musicians. In 2002, the album, A Tribute to Robert Altman's Nashville was released, featuring interpretations of the film's songs by Canadian alt-country figures, including Carolyn Mark, Kelly Hogan and Neko Case.

Track listing

1. "It Don't Worry Me" (written and performed by Keith Carradine) – 2:47
2. "Bluebird" (written by Ronee Blakley; performed by Timothy Brown) – 3:35
3. "For The Sake Of The Children" (written by Richard Baskin; performed by Henry Gibson) – 3:18
4. "Keep A-Goin'" (written by Richard Baskin; performed by Henry Gibson) – 2:49
5. "Memphis" (written and performed by Karen Black) – 2:07
6. "Rolling Stone" (written and performed by Karen Black) – 3:57
7. "200 Years" (written by Richard Baskin and Henry Gibson, performed by Henry Gibson) – 3:04
8. "Tapedeck in His Tractor" (written and performed by Ronee Blakley) – 2:20
9. "Dues" (written and performed by Ronee Blakley) – 3:40
10. "I'm Easy" (written and performed by Keith Carradine) – 3:02
11. "One, I Love You" (written by Richard Baskin; performed by Henry Gibson and Ronee Blakley)– 2:37
12. "My Idaho Home" (written and performed by Ronee Blakley) – 3:06
13. "It Don't Worry Me (Reprise)" (written by Keith Carradine and performed by Barbara Harris) – 3:57

Other songs in the film

Several more songs are featured in the film, but not on the soundtrack album. They include:

• "Yes, I Do", composed by Richard Baskin and Lily Tomlin; performed by Lily Tomlin
• "Down to the River", written and performed by Ronee Blakley
• "Let Me Be the One", written by Richard Baskin; performed by Gwen Welles
• "Sing a Song", written by Joe Raposo
• "The Heart of a Gentle Woman", written and performed by Dave Peel
• "The Day I Looked Jesus in the Eye", written by Richard Baskin and Robert Altman
• "I Don't Know If I Found It in You", written and performed by Karen Black
• "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", traditional
• "Honey", written and performed by Keith Carradine
• "I Never Get Enough", written by Richard Baskin and Ben Raleigh; performed by Gwen Welles
• "Rose's Cafe", written and performed by Allan F. Nicholls
• "Old Man Mississippi", written by Juan Grizzle
• "My Baby's Cookin' in Another Man's Pan", written and performed by Jonnie Barnett
• "Since You've Gone", written by Gary Busey, performed by Allan F. Nicholls, Cristina Raines and Keith Carradine
• "Trouble in the U.S.A.", written by Arlene Barnett

Legacy

Plans were discussed for a sequel to Nashville, set twelve years later and titled Nashville 12, and most of the original players agreed to appear. In the script for the sequel, Lily Tomlin's character, Linnea, is running for political office; and Barnett now managing Connie White and obsessed with a Barbara Jean impersonator.

The 1992 presidential campaign of H. Ross Perot is reminiscent of the campaign of the "Replacement Party" and its candidate in this film, Hal Phillip Walker, the fictional candidate with a twang in his voice and a penchant for folksy maxims.

The shooting of Barbara Jean by a deranged loner at Nashville's Parthenon foreshadowed the murder of John Lennon in 1980; in interviews on the DVD, Altman remarks that after Lennon's death, reporters questioned the director about "Nashville" and its harbinger of the assassination of a music star.

Robert Altman: "When John Lennon got assassinated, I get a call immediately from the Washington Post and they said 'do you feel responsible for this?' and I said 'what do you mean responsible?' 'Well I mean you're the one that predicted there would be a political assassination of a star'. 'And I said 'well I don't feel responsible', but I said, 'but don't you feel responsible for not heeding my warning?' The statement here is, these people are not assassinated because of their ideas or what they do. They're assassinated to draw attention to the assassin. And in political assassinations, in their sort of warped minds, they know that they are going to have a certain amount of people who said 'That son of a bitch [the politician] should have been shot,' because there's such heat about it. But actually what they are doing is killing somebody who's in the public eye and is some sort of an icon. Because this feeling that by, doing that, committing that assassination they draw the attention to themself, and they make themselves consequently important. Ah, and it's no surprise to me, the Lennon assassination, because this is what all that is, and I don't think we have seen the end of it either."

References

a) p. 276

b) Ibid., 292-294

c) Ibid., 304

d) Ibid., 304

e) Ibid., 305-306

External links

• Nashville at IMDb
• Nashville at AllMovie
• Nashville at Rotten Tomatoes
• Nashville at the Movie Review Query Engine
• Salon.com's 25th anniversary tribute