“One of Robert Altman's most charming exercises in cabaret humor and off-the-cuff modernism.” - Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
“We get the sense of a live intelligence, rushing things ahead on the screen, not worrying whether we'll understand.” - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Wednesday, June 11, 6:00 p.m. & Saturday, June 14, 2:00 p.m. | Fresh off the success of M*A*S*H, Altman founded his own production company, Lion’s Gate Films, to give himself creative freedom, delivering a quirky story about Brewster (Bud Cort), an owlish teenager who lives in the basement of the Houston Astrodome, working daily on a pair of wings that he hopes will allow him to fly. After a series of villainous Houstonians are strangled—and continuously shat on by birds—and Brewster is pegged as the suspect, alongside Astrodome tour guide Suzanne (Shelley Duvall, in her debut performance), taking to the sky may be Brewster’s only chance of escape. “I wouldn't say it's my best film,” Altman admitted. “It's flawed, not nearly as finished as some work I've done since, but it's my favorite, because I took more chances then. It was my boldest work, by far my most ambitious. I went way out on a limb to reach for it.”
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Best Director, New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Robert Altman Centennial | June–August 2025
Robert Altman (1925–2006) is one of the rare directors whose name alone conjures his style. Say a film is “Altmanesque” and you’ll get nods of understanding—most cinephiles know the auteur’s calling cards: large ensemble casts; overlapping dialogue; a roving camera, and a subtle critique of the American Dream. Altman was prolific (a hardworking midwesterner), directing 36 feature films, and well over 100 episodes of television. Nominated for five Best Director Academy Awards, Altman was presented with an Honorary Academy Award in 2006—and he passed away nine months later, at the age of 81. When asked by Playboy Magazine in 1976, “When you look into your future, what do you want to have accomplished?” Altman answered, “All I want is to do what I'm doing. What else would I do?”
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu