The Player
The Player
•
2h 4m
Directed by Robert Altman • 1992 • United States
Starring Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward
A Hollywood studio executive with a shaky moral compass (Tim Robbins) finds himself caught up in a criminal situation that would be right at home in one of his movie projects, in this biting industry satire from Robert Altman. Mixing elements of film noir with sly insider comedy, THE PLAYER, based on a novel by Michael Tolkin, functions as both a nifty stylish murder story and a commentary on its own making, and it is stocked with a heroic supporting cast (Peter Gallagher, Whoopi Goldberg, Greta Scacchi, Dean Stockwell, Fred Ward) and a lineup of star cameos that make for an astonishing Hollywood who's who. This complexly woven grand entertainment (which kicks off with one of American cinema's most audacious and acclaimed opening shots) was the film that marked Altman's triumphant commercial comeback in the early 1990s.
Up Next in The Player
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THE PLAYER Commentary
Recorded in 1992, this audio commentary features director Robert Altman, writer Michael Tolkin, and cinematographer Jean Lépine.
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Spotlight on Robert Altman
What does it mean to call a movie “Altmanesque”? For critic Sean Fennessey, host of “The Big Picture” podcast, the term stands for “the undoing of everything we expect from a Hollywood movie.” In the following introduction, Fennessey explores Altman’s early roots in television, his innovative use...
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Planned Improvisation
In the following documentary, produced in 2016, actor Tim Robbins, author and screenwriter Michael Tolkin, production designer Stephen Altman, and associate producer David Levy discuss the making of THE PLAYER and Robert Altman’s unique approach to directing.
