ALTMAN VS PTA
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jrireland — 18 years ago(January 22, 2008 09:16 PM)
PTA is much better. I've never much cared for Altman. With PTA I always feel like his artsy pretentiousness serves a purpose and is interesting and advances the story. Altman had some okay movies but he also had some absolutely dreadful ones (Popeye, Prarie Home Companion and the overrated Gosford Park) and most of his movies were really just alright. I'd take Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and Magnolia over any Altman picture.
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killerparties — 18 years ago(March 09, 2008 10:12 AM)
I like both, but my preference is for Paul Thomas Anderson.
I like just about every Altman film I've seen, but I still like the few films Anderson has made more than every Altman film I've seen combined. I'm glad Anderson has been influenced by Altman, but I just think he does it better than him (in the same way that some hot shot kid will come along decades from now and, inspired by PTA, will do it better than him).
God is nowhere, God is now here -
Bigpoppasevenclear — 18 years ago(March 19, 2008 09:40 AM)
altman all the way ive loved every pta movie ive seen but i watch altman movies for the human aspect he puts into it. pta is a wonderful director, but altman did things that no other director would think of doing, and he didnt have to have to have frogs flying out of the sky to show that
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skprod2000 — 18 years ago(March 19, 2008 10:50 AM)
This all seems a bit pointless. You people are treating it like Altman and Anderson do the exact same thing and one of them just does it better, but really they are unique and have their own art. Anderson is influenced by elements of Altman's films, that's about all that can be said. Working with ensemble casts, long takes, SOME similar shots (he takes more from Scorsese in that department) that's about it. Anderson's films are not really at all similar to Altman films; the only real comparison you could make is Magnolia and Short Cuts, but even then they are pretty distinct.
As for my personal preference, I like Anderson's films better, but they are both masters of their crafts. I just like one more than the other, not because they do the same thing and one is better at it. I like them because they are unique.
Oogly Boogly! -
TopOfTheHillDog — 18 years ago(March 19, 2008 08:34 PM)
Well, yeah, the whole ____ VS ____ game is pretty absurd, but I don't know if I could easily find 2 directors with which to compare whose work is more closely knit then these guys. Anderson even s5b4aid to Altman, "I'm just ripping you off", which of course was a joke, but his influence can be seen and felt. They explore similar types of worlds (McCabe/TWBB, Magnolia/Short Cuts), sharing a couple similar methods, but with unique charactors and styles. Again, there's not much of a point to this, but I still think it's fun to find out who people like more than the other, especially in light of PT's furthered popularity. If he can do again what he did these past 10 years, he might leave his idol in the dust.
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franzkabuki — 17 years ago(June 18, 2008 04:33 AM)
Regarding Oscars - Altman to David Lynch at the 2002 ceremony where both were nominated: "Thank god we didnt have to crawl up there on the stage cuz its such a load of crap".
Altman vs PTA? Clearly Altman thus far. -
Hyman_Flomax — 17 years ago(June 20, 2008 01:28 PM)
Well they've both made a career out of subverting and reconsidering film genres, but Altman's style is full of more quirks and surprises (all the more striking in light of his early training in television and industrials) but where Altman deals with genre conventions to better reflect "reality", Anderson often seems to be deliberately following in his shadow and is more Kubrickian in his general conceit that his human characters are shown as not being capable of much aside from following signals and orders of protocol, and his films generally pivot more around basic ideas and concepts while Altman is more free-form so to speak. So they're styles aren't quite as similar as they're made out to be; it's just that Anderson uses this influence as more of a launch pad for his own ideas. But Altman wins out for the reasons mentioned, even if Anderson is still among the most interesting directors of the last 20 years or so.
If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive. -
Gloede_The_Saint — 17 years ago(December 10, 2008 01:28 PM)
Love both but prefer Altman. He's among my top 5 directors of all time. PTA is in my top 50, he will probably work his way up though but doubtfully to the top 10. We'll see in 30 years : )
Somebody here has been drinking and I'm sad to say it ain't me - Allan Francis Doyle