Robert Altman's Nashville : An Archival Exploration

Unraveling what an American slice-of-life film can still tell us after 50 years

Nashville (1975) is a beguiling work of art. It illustrates director Robert Altman’s ability to blend small, quotidian moments; large scenes of spectacle; and insights into American life that are both disturbing and sharply observed. As a snapshot of American society firmly rooted in a specific time and place, the film presents a compelling landscape of American dreams, failures, and lies. One of the most influential works in New Hollywood, Nashville was added to the National Film Registry in 1992 and has been on the BFI 100 Greatest Films list voted by critics and directors. This book explores Robert Altman’s classic film from a variety of critical perspectives inspired by the archival materials from the Altman archive in the Screen Arts Mavericks and Makers collection at the University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center. Each chapter is centered around materials on Nashville from the Altman archive: stills, contact sheets, advertising artwork (used and unused), Jean Pagliuso photo shoots, Joan Tewkesbury script drafts, contracts, reviews, internal accounting memos, and the Altman scrapbooks. (Each of his films has a scrapbook of reviews, interviews, and notes from fans.) Using these sources as a starting point, the book seeks to explain the relevance and importance of Nashville after more than half a century.