3 WOMEN | Dir. Robert Altman | 1977 | 124 min | PG

Altman’s successes through the 1970s allowed him the freedom to make a film with a bare bones script based on a dream he had. That film was 3 WOMEN (1977). Legend has it that Altman successfully pitched the film while making a brief stop at Alan Ladd Jr.’s office on the way to the airport the night after his dream. Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek’s engrossing performances garnered acting awards from Cannes Film Festival, New York Film Critic Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Set in a small Californian town, 3 WOMEN is the story of a bizarre, mysterious relationship between a woman (Duvall) and her roommate and co-worker (Spacek).

3 WOMEN is the second film in this season’s Master Series. Between September and November Calgary Cinematheque is presenting a selection of Robert Altman’s films released between 1971 and 1977, a period in which his work exemplified the Maverick style for which he became known. The films inherent to this collection showcase Altman’s unrelenting tendency to de- and then re-construct Hollywood genre, his unmistakable blending of scripted and improvised dialogue, and the trademark of a uniquely mobile camera.