And before you chastise me over the title, understand that I may be the only living person who liked his Popeye. Sure, Gosford Park was a huge success and Prairie Home Companion got plenty of accolades. And M*A*S*H was groundbreaking, of course, but you almost have to like that one or the other film students look at you funny. Altman had one of the most all-over-the-map careers of any director, he was known for sticking to his principles, and big name stars would fight to get in his movies. To me, he was the guy who stuck Robin Williams on the big screen with huge forearms and who knew at a glance that Shelly Duvall was born to play Olive Oyl, or possible a pipe cleaner.
But then, at least other people saw Popeye. If you want to get into really obscure, underappreciated Altman movies you’ll need to go get O.C. and Stigg…