THE DEVIL AND TOM WAITS
Oct 16, 2009Whatever Tom Waits is up to—be it music or acting (Down by Law, Short Cuts)—is bound to be interesting, so we can’t wait to see him in the role of a lifetime, as the devil in ...
Synopsis
The visions of two great American artists merge in Short Cuts, maverick director Robert Altman’s kaleidoscopic adaptation of Raymond Carver short stories. Epic in scale yet meticulously observed, the film interweaves the lives of twenty-two characters struggling to find solace and meaning in contemporary Los Angeles. The extraordinary ensemble cast includes Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Lemmon, and Jennifer Jason Leigh; all giving fearless performances in one of Altman’s most compassionate creations.
Cast
| Ann Finnigan | Andie MacDowell |
| Howard Finnigan | Bruce Davison |
| Paul Finnigan | Jack Lemmon |
| Casey Finnigan | Zane Cassidy |
| Marian Wyman | Julianne Moore |
| Dr. Ralph Wyman | Matthew Modine |
| Claire Kane | Anne Archer |
| Stuart Kane | Fred Ward |
| Bill Bush | Robert Downey Jr. |
| Gene Shepard | Tim Robbins |
| Earl Piggot | Tom Waits |
| Betty Weathers | Frances McDormand |
| Doreen Piggot | Lily Tomlin |
| Sherri Shepard | Madeleine Stowe |
| Lois Kaiser | Jennifer Jason Leigh |
| Jerry Kaiser | Chris Penn |
| Honey Bush | Lili Taylor |
| Stormy Weathers | Peter Gallagher |
| Tess Trainer | Annie Ross |
| Zoe Trainer | Lori Singer |
| Andy Bitkower | Lyle Lovett |
| Gordon Johnson | Buck Henry |
| Vern Miller | Huey Lewis |
Credits
| Director | Robert Altman |
| Producer | Cary Brokaw |
| Screenplay | Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt |
| Based on the writings of | Raymond Carver |
| Cinematography | Walt Lloyd |
| Editing | Geraldine Peroni and Suzy Elmiger |
| Production Design | Stephen Altman |
| Costumes | John Hay |
| Music | Mark Isham |
| Music producer | Hal Wilner |
| Associate producers | Mike Kaplan and David Levy |
| Executive producer | Scott Bushnell |
Disc Features
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by editor Geraldine Peroni and approved by director Robert Altman
- Isolated music track
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Video conversation between Robert Altman and Tim Robbins
- Luck, Trust and Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country, a feature-length documentary on the making of Short Cuts
- To Write and Keep Kind, a PBS documentary on the life of Raymond Carver
- A segment from BBC Television’s Moving Pictures tracing the development of the screenplay
- One-hour 1983 audio interview with Carver, conducted for the American Audio Prose Library
- Original demo recordings of the Doc Pomus–Mac Rebennack songs, performed by Dr. John
- Deleted scenes
- A look inside the marketing of Short Cuts
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Michael Wilmington
From the Current
The Current Quote: Robert Altman
Dec 14, 2008Remembering Mr. Altman
by Nov 23, 2006I first met Robert Altman in person in 1999, when I was producing a series of video introductions featuring contemporary directors discussing their favorite Janus films. Altman was the first Criterion director to respond to our request. We had sent a list of 100-plus titles, and he had promised...
Short Cuts: City Symphony
by Nov 15, 2004Short Cuts is an L.A. jazz rhapsody that represents Robert Altman at an all-time personal peak—and it came at just the right time in his career. For anyone who believed that what American movies needed most, after the often-moribund cinematic eighties, was more of the old Altman independent...
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