Tribute To Robert Altman

Here is the opening title sequence from Altman's "The Player". It is a single uncut tracking shot that lasts over eight minutes and sets up the story to come in such a compelling way that one ignores the credits themselves. So much for Hollywood egos.

Altman unique genius was to place the following self-referential line in the mouth of Fred Ward's character about a third of the way into the shot: “The pictures they make these days are all MTV. Cut,cut, cut, cut. The opening shot of Welles’ Touch of Evil was six and a half minutes long… well three or for anyway. He set up the whole picture with that one tracking shot. My father was, ah, key grip on that shoot.”

R.I.P.