Nashville

Director Robert Altman's sprawling 1975 classic centers on a weekend country-and-western music festival in the title city, where a presidential candidate (who is never actually seen) is set appear at a rally. All in all, some 24 characters' stories are told in this slice-of-life portrait that launched a number of film careers. If Nashville has a main figure, it would be top of the heap C&W star Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson), whose reach is only exceeded by his greed. Also memorable are Keith Carradine, as a member of a folk-singing trio, who plays music (and musical beds) for a living; Lily Tomlin, as political aide Ned Beatty's wife; and the singer/manager team of Ronee Blakley and Allen Garfield. With its episodic structure and fragmented conversations, Nashville seemed to reflect the joys, frustrations, and fears of an age—and the shocking violence which comes out of nowhere near the end put the last piece of the American puzzle sadly in place. Nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actress (both Blakley and Tomlin), it took home an Oscar for Best Song—“I'm Easy.” Bowing on high-def in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, this Criterion release boasts a spiffy 2K digital film restoration and extras including a 2000 audio commentary by Altman, a new feature-length retrospective documentary, archival interviews with Altman, behind-the-scenes footage, a demo of Carradine performing songs from the film, and an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic Molly Haskell. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)