Step Into the World of Robert Altman: A Centennial Celebration from Aug. 9–Sept. 27, 2025

JBFC Director of Film Curation and Programming Eric Hynes writes, “As we celebrate Robert Altman’s centenary this month and next, revisiting some of his greatest films from M*A*S*H* to A Prairie Home Companion, it’s worth dwelling on how much of a unicorn he was among cinema’s masters. He’s often grouped among Hollywood’s counter-cultural New Wave of the 1970s, but his career arc and thematic concerns were well distinct from his contemporaries. Born in 1925, it wasn’t until he turned 45 years old that he broke out with M*A*S*H*. By comparison, fellow countryman Stanley Kubrick, who was three years his junior, had been an A-lister for over a decade already, and had completed twice as many features. He may have been a late bloomer—or, more accurately, was late to be given a fair shot—but he made up for it quickly. He would complete 15 feature films over the next 10 years, making the 1970s by far his most productive decade (and consequently the most represented in our series). But even as the industry and wider culture shifted under his feet, and his budgets waned (along with the star wattage of his casts), Altman never slowed down, pivoting instead to smaller-scale productions and innovative stage-to-screen adaptations like Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (which helped establish song-and-dance star Cher as a serious dramatic actress). When the box office and critical smash The Player put him back on top of Hollywood’s A-list in 1992, he of course accepted the influx of resources and attention but kept making choices that only he would make, especially with his next project, an adaptation of Raymond Carver’s emotionally serrated short stories, Short Cuts.”

“Unlike fellow New Wavers like Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, and De Palma, Altman wasn’t often motivated by hero narratives, cinematic forebears, or focused character studies, but rather was endlessly compelled by communities, networks, cultural systems, the interrelations of people, classes, generations, family members, and explored it all with an equanimity. Think of, instead of a portrait, a painting teeming with a host of vividly depicted characters in a landscape. You step into the films of Robert Altman, rather than just follow or receive them. Which is why they really should be seen in a theater, on a big screen, within a community in the room as you watch another one on screen reveal itself with insight, humor, and the occasional puerility. Furthermore, several of these films aren’t available on streaming, nor are they readily available on home media. We’ve also taken pains to secure as many 35mm prints as possible, allowing you to revisit, or perhaps newly discover these films in the way they were originally presented. Please join us at the Burns this August and September as we celebrate one of America’s greatest and most singular directors, Robert Altman.”

Special Member promotion: Buy tickets to 6+ titles in this series to receive $2.50 off each member-priced ticket—saving you up to $15 per order! Promotion applicable to purchases made in a single transaction and is limited to up to 2 tickets per title.

• M*A*S*H presented on 35mm on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 7:00 & Monday, Aug. 11 at 4:00
• The Long Goodbye on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 4:00 & Sunday, Aug. 17 at 7:00
  
• California Split on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 7:00 & Sunday, Aug. 17 at 1:45
• 3 Women on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 7:15 & Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4:00
• Nashville on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 4:00 & Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7:00
• McCabe and Mrs. Miller presented on 35mm on Monday, Sept. 1 at 1:00 & 7:00; Saturday, Sept. 6 at 4:30
• Popeye presented on 35mm on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 & Saturday, Sept. 13 at 4:00 followed by a Q&A with Altman collaborator Allan Nicholls on September 13
• Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean presented on 35mm on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4:00 & Saturday, Sept. 13 at 7:00
• Short Cuts presented on 35mm on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 & Saturday, Sept. 20 at 4:00
• The Player on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 4:00 & presented on 35mm on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:00
• Gosford Park on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 & Saturday, Sept. 27 at 1:30
• A Prairie Home Companion presented on 35mm on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 4:30 & Saturday, Sept. 27 at 4:30