STREAMERS (w/ guest Robert Altman, Director)

Robert Altman has recently added stage (“2 By South,” “Come Back To The 5 And Dime,” “Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean”) and opera (“The Rake's Progress) directing to his highly individualized filmmaking skills. Filming his interpretation of David Rabe's award-winning play STREAMERS, Altman's improvisational changes and judicious cutting from the play reflect his very personal style that creates its own dynamics and a new dimension – all within the single set, deliberately not opened up, that grows increasingly claustrophobic as the tensions build. We share the confinement of 3 young soldiers awaiting their combat orders to Viwt Nam in a dismal army barracks. There is Billy, the boy-next-door, liberal college grad; Roger, a Black jock who affably adapts himself to street or army life with no sweat (on the surface, anyway); then the one who sets them on edge, Billy, who bitchy taunts force them to acknowledge his gay identity while still uncertain of their own. Enter Carlyle, a lonely street-wise Black with the eyes and taut nerves of a crazed wounded animal ready to strike out at you if you get near. Under an unendurable strain, all four reveal the vulnerability lying underneath the hostilities that come to a boiling point as STREAMERS reaches its shocking climax. The title refers to a paratroopers' song about chutes that don't open, sung by 2 over-the-hill, drunk vets. The young men portrayed seem destined to be lost in the wind without a chute to start with in this powerfully disturbing drama. The stunning ensemble acting (awarded 6 Golden Lions in Venice) and Altman's penetrating vision make STREAMERS an overwhelming experience. “Stunning. Altman has brought STREAMERS to the screen with dynamite force. AN engrossing and harrowing film.” -Judith Crist, Saturday Review “More startling and powerful than it was as a play. . .People hungry for a movie of substance will be riveted and rewarded.” -Wall Street Journal “Altman sends his camera into the barracks like an invisable eavesdropper, appalled at what he sees but insisting on seeing it with punishing clarity. The nonstar cast is tremendous.” -Jack Kroll, Newsweek Robert Altman will be in attendance.