Images
1972 · United States, United Kingdom · 101 min
- Director
- Robert Altman
- Screenplay
- Robert Altman
- Producer
- Tommy Thompson
- Music
- John Williams
- Cinematography
- Vilmos Zsigmond
- Editing
- Graeme Clifford
- Production company
- Hemdale films
Awards: · 1 nominations
What the critics say
71 % Rotten Tomatoes positive reviewsCast
What it is about
Cathryn, a wealthy children's author, receives disturbing phone calls at her London home suggesting that her husband, Hugh, is being unfaithful. To rest and make progress on her work, the couple travel to an isolated cottage in the Irish countryside, where she begins to hear voices and see figures who seem to change identity. The line between what is real and what is imagined grows increasingly blurred.
How it was made
The project began in the mid-1960s, when Altman started writing a loosely structured script. Financing came in 1971 from Hemdale Film Group Ltd., and the shoot took place in County Wicklow, Ireland, that autumn. The script was developed further with the actors during filming, which contributed to its loose and ambiguous structure. It is the only horror film Altman directed.
Reception and legacy
The film premiered at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, where York won the award for Best Actress. Critical reception was mixed: some praised York's performance and Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography, while others faulted it for incoherence and compared it to Repulsion. It received a Golden Globe nomination for Best English-Language Foreign Film, and John Williams earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score. Its reputation grew over the following decades, partly because it became more accessible to audiences and critics.
Stills
Trailer
Clicking loads the video from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode). Open on YouTube
Trivia
His only foray into horror
Images is the only horror film directed by Robert Altman, setting it apart from most of his filmography.
Inspiration from Persona
According to Joe McElhaney, Altman said that Bergman's Persona influenced him more when writing and directing Images than it later did for 3 Women.
More films by Robert Altman
MASH
Short Cuts
Gosford Park
Nashville
The Player
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History LessonOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.