Customer Reviews

Brewster McCloud (Remastered Edition)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an oddly touching film despite its ostensibly disjointed plot, which is replete with a send-up of the coldest of the "cool" Steve McQueen personas (in "Bullett"), plus a teasing parody of Altman's own "M*A*S*H" sequence in which Sally Kellerman is humiliated in the shower. (This time she is revealed bathing in a public fountain!) The film posits a definite yearning for innocence and escape from the gross cruelties and disappointments of the Vietnam War era through the young Brewster McCloud's attempt to fly as a bird -- of sorts. However, he can only do this if he maintains his own sexual innocence (a very traditional religious concept, by the way), and he doesn't, of course, and so is betrayed by a callow (and callous) "Eve" -- portrayed by one of Altman's favorite performers, Shelley Duvall, in her debut.

Sally Kellerman, by the way, is a really beautiful, touching "bird-woman," who is Brewster's personal "angel"; Bud Cort is a gentle but naive hero (despite being a mass murderer!), and the film only seems to run along without care for the plot, for it is actually a well-crafted story of a futile attempt to "regain Paradise" by "flying away" from our cruelly competitive and facile culture. It finishes very enigmatically, yet tragically, for it is also a symbolic account of the failure of the 1960s "youth rebellion." Not among the "best" of Altman -- "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" is the better depiction of American decay, and "Nashville" is Altman's quirky yet perceptive study of U. S. politics -- but I can't get it out of my head: it makes me sad and full of yearning myself....

BREWSTER MCCLOUD concerns a young man (Bud Cort; he was Harold, in HAROLD AND MAUDE) who lives in a room inside the Houston Astrodome, and dreams of flight. He spends his time photographing birds and designing wings, in the hopes that he can take to the air as a bird does.

A second plotline involves a serial killer, a performer of strangulation murders, loose in Houston. The HPD have called in Shaft, a hotshot San Francisco detective, to help solve the case. Each of the victims is found with bird excrement on his face.

Of course, our naive and physically slight Brewster is the killer.

A film of bizarre plot and presumptively a satire, BREWSTER MCCLOUD does not approach the mastery of Robert Altman's other films of the period, particularly MASH and MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER. Occasionally the dialogue is very funny, but too often the director chose to impress the viewer with a skewed sensibility which leaves much to be desired. Inconsistent shots and the lack of a consistent structure probably leaves many viewers reeling.

Similarities to other Altman films abound, but most easily spotted are the terrific ensemble cast, the familiar players from other Altman films, such as Rene Auberjonois, G. Wood, Kellerman, and Duvall, and the use of voice-over throughout the movie. The police radio, in this case, takes the job of the intercom announcer in MASH, and provides a useful way of moving the plot along.

Not quite for Altman completists only, I'd recommend this to all Robert Altman fans, fans of Harold and Maude, and fans of bizarre movies. In a sense this is a black comedy. Not depressing in the least, it represents a rare, brave attempt to make a unique motion picture. While it doesn't work on a number of levels, various strange elements stand out to make BREWSTER MCCLOUD a movie worth seeing.

ken32

Robert Altman made Brewster McCloud around the same time as his acclaimed MASH was released, but for some reason this has been forgotten over time. Revealing any of the story would be useless because the film is so utterly absurd it wouldn't make sense. The comedy ranges from bird poop on dead bodies to a supporting character who's a direct spoof of Steve McQueen's 'Bullitt.' Weird, silly, oddly sexual, and hilarious. Not for all tastes, but worth a look if you're up for something very, very different. A DVD release would be terrific, especially if Altman gave a commentary.

*** out of ****

The first time I saw this movie I walked away thinking "i never want to see that again..." The reason why was that this film leaves the viewer feeling depressed for days. Although the plot has it's holes, it is ultimately unimportant. It's the characters themselves that make this film. Both Duvall and Kellerman are captivating while the protagonist embodies that little part of us all that wants to just disappear from time to time. It's not a great film...it's good though and it will stick with you long after the credits roll.

What happened to the days when late-night TV was the province of small, oddball films? That's where I discovered Brewster McCloud, a youth alienated from society who is looked after by a guardian angel (Sally Kellerman) who warns him against the venal temptations of the world (women). Alas, Brewster meets Shelley Duvall, and madness ensues. I bought the video after many years, but thought that this would be one of those quirky films that I liked only owing to my youthful ignorance. Hah! The avian metaphors, though obvious, are amusing--as in the "flying cars" chase scene and rene auberjonois's evolution--Michael Murphy is terrific as the ultimate cool, blue-eyed but anti-establishment cop--margaret hamilton and stacey keach have great cameos as hideously unlikeable but funny (they get theirs) cameos, and the early altman players--john shuck, bud cort, et al...--are terrific. For those looking for non-commercial entertainment, Brewster McCloud is unique and intelligent in a manic, frivolous, sort of way.?

I recently watched this on late night television. Its whole atmosphere brought me back in time and I loved every moment. How could you dislike such a quirky and inventive film?

This is a follow-up to Dr. Paddon's review from nine months ago.

The DVD version he bought in 2008 is a fraud. "Brewster McCloud" never has been released on DVD. What Dr. Paddon got was a disc containing a direct transfer from the VHS cassette version that the MGM studio released in 1993. Somebody who has access to a machine that transfers VHS cassettes to DVD discs ripped off Dr. Paddon for 10 or 20 dollars. This somebody used to operate a web site called [..]. Like Dr. Paddon, I, too, noticed the site in 2008 and bought this movie on DVD. I noticed the absence of the MGM logo on the box or disc. There is a fradulent logo that says "DVD Video."

It would be nice if the copyright holder of "Brewster McCloud" reads this. Maybe it's somebody who works for MGM, which did in fact release the movie on VHS cassette in 1993.

The reason Dr. Paddon noticed a lack of detail in the actors' costumes and in the Houston scenery is that he was watching the VHS cassette version transferred to a disc. "Brewster McCloud" has yet to be restored with detail from the 35 millimeter negative. It has yet to be released on DVD.

The quality of the movie (minus the technical issue of whatever detail can be salvaged from the 35 millimeter negative -- such as Shelley Duvall's eyelashes ?) is awesome. The screenplay, radical process of storytelling and performances are top notch. Maybe all the detail from the 35 millimeter negative will reach a wide audience again.

Memo to whomever owns the copyright for Robert Altman's movies: You must do a restoration job and release the DVD all over again. I realize that amazon.com does not list a Brewster McCloud DVD or sell it. I am writing this for the benefit of people who have bought the DVD from the "animefirst.com" web site. I did that, and I am missing the fine detail that I vividly recall seeing in previous viewings in the theater and on VHS cassette.

Every reviewer on this page is reviewing that videocassette version of Brewster McCloud. I don't see any complaints about the fine detail. So I am chiming in here to help animefirst customers who expect a DVD that is on a par with MASH, Nashville and other Robert Altman classics. Animefirst either does not display customer reviews, or it does not display them as prominently as Amazon. So I may be the only person who can point out the poor detail to the Altman Estate. Or is MGM the interested party?

Here are two examples. There is a scene during the first 20 minutes in which Brewster, the title character, shoplifts a camera from a camera store while his accomplice Louise shoplifts many rolls of Kodak film. When I watched the VHS cassette from Blockbuster Video in 1996, I could distinguish the Kodak boxes and filters on display in that store. Now I can't. I could see them during a screening at the American Film Institute. Now I can't. The next example is from the finale, and I am not spoiling it. The audience inside the Houston Astrodome is applauding. (I won't explain why nor will I describe what has been / will be in front of them). On the videocassette I could see the faces and bodies of the audience members, many of them heavyset mothers sitting next to children. I also could see them at the American Film Institute. Now I can't.

Please do a restoration job and redo the DVD. You owe that to Mr. Altman's memory and to older citizens of Houston who would love to see buildings and roads that are gone now. Local historians in Houston would love to see the Astroworld theme park with its boat ride that was demolished in 2005. Oldtimers in Houston's local cultural scene (theater and talk radio) would love to see more detail in Mr. Dean Goss during the few seconds Mr. Altman put him on the screen. Mr. Goss died at age 56. I have never even lived in Houston, but I love the way this film is the first color film to capture the landscape of a city other than New York or Los Angeles. The Empire State Building and the Sunset Strip are fun places to visit, and bravo to "An Affair To Remember" and "The Graduate" for capturing them, respectively, in color so long ago. But did you know that civilization existed outside New York and Los Angeles in 1970? I want my kids to see that it did. Please, Mr. or Ms. Copyright Holder, do something about this!

I don't want my money back. I want my son and daughter to get their chance for enlightenment back. I am a professor of American history at two community colleges in the Raritan Valley region of New Jersey. It would be wrong for my children to think that all the birds that were alive in 1970 lived in Central Park eating scraps from corned beef sandwiches and hot pretzels. That's not the way it was. Yes, we have color pictures from Sesame Street in 1969 and 1970, but they are all from New York. When the Children's Television Workshop taught kids what water was, they showed fountains in New York but nowhere else. Yes, we have Hitchcock's "The Birds" filmed in color on location in Bodega Bay, California in 1962, but many of those birds were fake, and the whole thing was a macabre fantasy.

Show me the rest of the United States. Show me more of Margaret Hamilton's patriotic attire while she sings our national anthem. (That's the second scene in Brewster McCloud for those of you who haven't seen it.) Show me her stripes and the pattern. Please don't tell me Holly Golightly was an outspoken Texan who liked the Star-Spangled Banner. That would be fraudulent history. As the poet Howard Nemerov said, "The reason certain people don't learn from history is that they aren't the people who learned last time." Thanking you in advance. Now my review has three stars. Give my son and daughter more of the truth, in living color, and I will add two. Kids won't sit through two hours of black and white, you know.

It is a shame that this movie gets less attention on the Internet than any other terrible piece of film they put a web site about these days. This is hilarious to say the least. Even from the starting point, I found myself laughing (watch for the MGM lion in the opening sequence). Margaret Hamilton adds to the laughs as she re-portrays her Wicked Witch role. The person who gave this a one star rating at the bottom either didn't get what it was about or the film didn't fit his taste. Bud Cort gives his best performance (another being Harold Chasen in "Harold and Maude") Don't miss this one. If you find you have difficulty laughing or if you loved "Brazil", "Harold and Maude", or "M*A*S*H", this is definitely for you. It does have several similarities to the Terry Gilliam's "Brazil".

On impulse I checked to see if this disc offered a commentary track by Robert Altman. Altman's commentary on other discs was insightful and added enjoyment to the films in question. Of course, Mr. Altman is deceased ergo lack of commentary. Too bad because I'm sure Altman would have had some terrific things to say about "Brewster McCloud". Be thankful that "M*A*S*H*" was a smash hit otherwise Altman never would have gotten this loopy exercise past the bean counters. "Brewster McCloud" is a film that's best enjoyed by not describing it. Plotwise it follows it's own askewed logic that you'll either love or hate. I fall into the former category. I don't give the film the full five-star star treatment only because at the film's midsection there's a long tedious car chase that doesn't pass the "Bullit" smell test that nearly scuttles the flick's equillibrium. It's also fun seeing "M*A*S*H" alumnus in the film(Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, John Schuck, G. Wood, Corey Fischer) as well as a nearly unrecognizable Stacy Keach and Shelley Duvall making an auspicious film debut. The thing I most admired about Altman that a filmmaker that he was true to himself regardless of the commercial prospects of his work. Today you can see his mantle passed on to a new generation of filmmakers notably Paul Anderson and Wes Anderson. Wes Anderson probably payed homage to Altman by casting Bud Cort in "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou". Not one of Altman's but "Brewster McCloud" is of a piece with his repertoire.