Customer Reviews
one of the most boring and depressing experiences I have ever had - By: An avid reader, 03 Nov 2008 
OK it's stylish, OK it's got a cracking cast & it's well acted, but this is simply the most boring film I have ever seen, nothing happens - honestly - nothing, there is just no coherent story line to link it alll together & the entire 3 hours+ (and trust me, it felt longer) was like a series of completley unrelated, depressing and, ultimately, pointless vignettes.
This is Altman at his self-obsessed, self-indulgent worst. Avoid it, unless you've got far to much time on your hands & want to be made thoroughly depressed, confused & miserable.
And the music score has got to much jazz on it as well.
go compare - By: Ian M. Buchanan, 27 Sep 2008 
I've always been a great fan of this film, which is why I want to point out to viewers that part of it - section based on the story 'So much water so close to home' - has been remade, or repurposed in the Ray Larwrence film Jindabyne (2005), which relocates the action to Australia. It is the ultimate Altman tribute, I think, & adds new layers of complexity to the story.
Bare Bones is better than none at all - By: Coastal J, 06 Feb 2008 Well, its been a long wait for the R2 release of Robert Altman's classic 1993 release - did it reallly need his death to prompt it?. It's hard to think of a significant director who has been so sorely mistreated on R2 DVD (except for Hal Hartley). The prolonged, eye-catching opening title sequences of a group of insecticide spraying planes wheeling through the LA night sky paves the way (and sets the pace) for this sprawling, meandering three hour epic which comprises a myriad of characters - mostly flawed or wanting ordinary joe's from a variety of backgrounds for whom life, circumstance or fate have something in store for just around the corner. The impressively long & varied cast list produce mostly fine, almost cameo performances & a familiar Altmanesque bluesy score permeates the background.
This film paved the way for more recent films with disjointed & interconnecting plot lines (not that there is much of a plot as this is more a collection of character studies) & will appeal to fans of films such as `Magnolia'.
The R2 print & sound are fine & the format is of the `narrow' widescreen type, but it only scores 4 stars because this barebones DVD has no extras whatsoever. See the Criterion R1 release for the treatment this film reallly deserves. That said, for first time viewers this is worth the relatively low purchase price.
