DVD Review: A Prairie Home Companion
Originally published at Reel Life >> Are you Living Yours?. Please leave any comments there.
Yolanda Johnson: How about just a moment of silence?
Garrison Keillor: Silence on the radio… I don’t know how that works
An all-star cast takes to the screen with Robert Altman behind the camera in a tribute to the long running live radio show “A Prairie Home Companion”. Released just months before Altman’s death, the film features Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan and John C. Reilly as the cast and crew of the live radio theatre show during it’s last broadcast.
Altman’s film is more than just an ensemble drama, it’s visual elegy to the public radio show. Written by Garrison Keller, the original creator and host of “A Prairie Home Companion”, Altman’s film is a mix of comedy, drama, musical and mystery. As the last show begins, two guests arrive at the theatre, one an “Angel” who comforts the cast and crew of the show, the other the “Devil” (aka “The Axeman”) whose soul purpose is to determine if the show goes on.
All the music for the film was recorded live, and parts of the dialogue ad-libbed by the actors. Fans of Altman may find the film lacks compared of his more well known work (Short Cuts, MASH, The Player), but “A Prairie Home Companion” is a satisfying musical drama in the same vein of “Nashville”. In true Altman fashion, the film is filled with interesting characters, has a stylized yet natural look, and is a gentle tribute to the lost art of live radio.
Click to view