IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

Robert Altman was a director that never liked to repeat himself.  He tried films in all styles, both dramas and comedies, of all genres.  Consequently, he preferred to refer to his films as “experiments” rather than “movies.”  Of course some of those experiments were more experimental than others.  Brewster McCloud, Altman’s follow-up to his surprise hit, M*A*S*H (1970), definitely falls on the weird end of the spectrum.  As a result, the film won’t appeal to everyone.  It certainly didn’t appeal to audiences of the time, which stayed away in droves.  Still, for brave souls that aren’t afraid to try something different and for those with a taste for the bizarre, Brewster McCloud holds many rewards.  Personally, I love it.

With the success of M*A*S*H, Robert Altman had the clout to make any film of his choosing; but if he was looking for a noncommercial storyline guaranteed to destroy that good will, he couldn’t have chosen much better than Brewster McCloud.  Altman’s follow-up film concerns a series of serial murders, where victims are discovered strangled and covered in bird shit.  The victims share two things in common — 1) They were all terrible human beings and 2) They all had some sort of negative interaction with an owl-eyed young adult named Brewster McCloud (Bud Cort).  Brewster is a virginal misanthrope, who lives in a secret bunker beneath the Houston Astrodome.  Hidden inside this lair, Brewster is deep at work, exercising his limbs and crafting a set of DaVinci-like wings, in order to fly away from the world, as if he was a bird.  Brewster is aided in his plans by a black raven and a mysterious, frequently naked woman, Louise (Sally Kellerman), who may be a fallen angel (based upon wing amputation scars upon her back).

Things get complicated with the arrival of Frank Shaft (Michael Murphey), a Steve McQueen-like super-cop, who has been called to Houston by a prominent citizen, Haskell Weeks (William Windom), to investigate the murders.  At the same time, Brewster’s symbiotic relationship with Louise is threatened when Brewster becomes enamored with Suzanne (Shelley Duvall), a spaced-out tour guide at the Astrodome with some slick driving skills.  All this and more is contrasted with a college lecture on the habits of birds, given by an unnamed expert (Rene Auberjonois), who is metamorphosing into a pelican-human hybrid over the course of the film.  What could be simpler?

In truth, Brewster McCloud doesn’t make much sense, and the individual scenes don’t fully tie together.  If you insist on assigning meaning to the proceedings, you could theorize that the film is simply a wicked satire of the state of America circa 1970, as all of the characters that Brewster encounters are venal (a landlord played by Stacy Keach in heavy old-age makeup), bad tempered (an off-key singer played by Margaret Hamilton), or terrible at their jobs (including numerous cops played by Bert Remsen, G. Wood, John Schuck, and Corey Fischer).  You can also find unifying themes.  For example, references to birds and bird shit abound throughout the film. However, in truth, Robert Altman was just making it up as he went along.  It was more important to him that he found a scene amusing than that it make any narrative sense.  It is a testament to his skill as a director and to Lou Lombardo’s skill as an editor that they were able to assemble a film that feels cohesive and correct, despite being cobbled together out of disparate elements.

While Brewster McCloud may not be a film you want to watch every day, it is tremendously fun when you’re in the proper mood.  It also has enormous repeat value.  Like most Robert Altman films, Brewster features an enormous cast of skilled improvisors; and often the most amusing momements are offbeat actions or mutterings in the background.  Consequently, you may catch things on the fifth watch that you missed during earlier viewings.  That is, if you’re bold enough to get through Altman’s oddest “experiment” the first time.

US/C-105m./Dir: Robert Altman/Wr: Doran William Cannon (rewritten by an uncreditted Robert Altman)/Cast: Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, William Windom, Rene Auberjonois, Shelley Duvall, Stacy Keach, John Schuck, Margaret Hamilton, Jennifer Salt, Corey Fischer, G. Wood, Bert Remsen

For Fans of: Fans of Robert Altman, who are in tune with his sensibilities and dry sense of humor, will likely enjoy Brewster McCloud despite its inherent weirdness.  In addition, fans of bizarro cinema will like Brewster McCloud specifically for that weirdness.

Video: The Warner Archive Collection released a remastered edition of Brewster McCloud on MOD DVD back in 2010, but that has been bested by their 2018 Blu-ray release.  The video is sharper and more colorful, and the audio gets a nice boost.  Being that Robert Altman loved to fill the frame with dozens of actors and allow them to talk over each other, his films benefit more than most from the extra detail in both picture and audio that Blu-ray provides.  The music also sounds fantastic.

The print is a bit grainy at times, especially in the darker scenes, but I believe that the look of the film is accurate to its original release.  In fact, the print looks just about as perfect as one could want.  This is likely the best presentation that this weird little film will ever see on home video.

You can purchase the double feature disc directly from the Warner Archive or from other online retailers (Amazon link below).

Streaming: At the time this review was written, Brewster McCloud was streaming as part of an Amazon Prime subscription.  It can also be rented or purchased through other digital outlets.

More to Explore: While Brewster McCloud baffled most audiences, Robert Altman followed the film with some of the most beloved films of his career, including McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971, his most prefect film), The Long Goodbye (1973, a cult classic), and Nashville (1975, his most celebrated film).  All of them are highly recommended.

Trivia: Brewster McCloud was Shelley Duvall’s first film.  She encountered Altman and members of the crew when trying to sell some of her boyfriend’s paintings.  Despite the fact that she was a non-actress, Altman saw that she had a special quality and hired her for the large, featured role of Suzanne.  She went on to make six additional films with the director — McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Thieves Like Us (1974), Nashville (1975), Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976), 3 Women (1977), and Popeye (1980).

For More Info: There is an excellent oral history of all of Robert Altman’s productions, Robert Altman: The Oral Biography by Mitchell Zuckoff.