Ladies of Burlesque: Robert Altman's BREWSTER McCLOUD - 50th Anniversary!
The Royal Cinema
608 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B4, Canada
Ontario
43.6553504
-79.41458169999999
“One of Robert Altman's most charming exercises in cabaret humor and off-the-cuff modernism.” (Dave Kehr)
The 50th anniversary of “a different kind of film” from master director Robert Altman! Altman’s second feature after M*A*S*H, BREWSTER McCLOUD is like the WIZARD OF OZ on acid. Winged beasts, serial stranglers, and a cameo from the Wicked Witch of the West herself (Margaret Hamilton) work in combination to create a fever dream set within Houston’s Astrodome and its environs. Starring Shelley Duvall in her film debut and a pre-HAROLD AND MAUDE Bud Cort, BREWSTER McCLOUD is Altman at his most unhinged. Brewster (Cort) lives under the Houston Astrodome and dreams of flying. Setting out to build his winged device, he finds himself in the midst of a string of serial murders, in which the victims are found strangled and covered in bird droppings.
Narrated by an unnamed interlocutor who progressively de-evolves into a bird (yes…. you read that right)—played with burlesque bravado by the recently-departed and sorely missed René Auberjonois—BREWSTER McCLOUD is the ultimate circus, complete with BULLITT-esque car chases (with Shelley Duvall at the wheel) and quite the allotment of freakish behaviour. Paying deep homage to Federico Fellini, Altman seems to be having a fantastic time in making this romp, while also imbuing BREWSTER McCLOUD with his signature biting social critique.
Digital presentation courtesy Warner Bros.
Featuring a burlesque performance Dolly Berlin.
This event is generously sponsored by Duxbury Cider Co. and Gigi’s House of Frills.