Director Altman has delivered many fantastic openings (McCabe and Mrs. Miller’s with music by Leonard Cohen), but The Player tops them all, with its intriguing, and technically brilliant beginning.
There’s an 8-minute unbroken shot containing dozens of characters, all with speaking rolls, and all moving according to intricate blocking, mixed with multiple improvised monologues.
Altman makes it feel effortless, as the camera glides from one person to another, from one pitch for a silly movie to anther.
Altman deliberately got real screenwriters to come up with the worst movie ideas they could think of, and he had them pitch those ideas in real time (high-concept picture based on one line) which made the satire all the more biting.
Movie Beginnings: Best Openings–“The Player” (1992), Directed by Altman
The Player (1992)–Best Movie Beginnings
Director Altman has delivered many fantastic openings (McCabe and Mrs. Miller’s with music by Leonard Cohen), but The Player tops them all, with its intriguing, and technically brilliant beginning.
There’s an 8-minute unbroken shot containing dozens of characters, all with speaking rolls, and all moving according to intricate blocking, mixed with multiple improvised monologues.
Altman makes it feel effortless, as the camera glides from one person to another, from one pitch for a silly movie to anther.
Altman deliberately got real screenwriters to come up with the worst movie ideas they could think of, and he had them pitch those ideas in real time (high-concept picture based on one line) which made the satire all the more biting.
The Player has all three–and more.