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Altman Tries His Hand at Television.

Film director Robert Altman. He's best known for the 1975 film "Nashville," a free-form mosaic of American life as seen through 24 characters involved in a political rally. His other films include "3 Women," a hypnotic film about the troubled friendship of three troubled women. Altman has been working in television recently, directing the remake of the classic 1953 movie "The Caine Mutiny" that aired earlier this month on CBS. He is also the director of the HBO spoofs of the Presidential campaign, "Tanner 88: The Dark Horse," written by "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau.

27:21
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Other segments from the episode on May 24, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 24, 1988: Interview with Robert Altman; Commentary on Funkadelic; Interview with William Boyd; Review of Geoffrey O'Brien's book "Dream Time."
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06:59

The History of Funkadelic.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles The Funkadelic, a black psychedelic band whose big hit was the 1978 song "One Nation Under A Groove." Several members of the band, including leader George Clinton, started out with The Parliaments, a fifties Doo-Wop group.

Commentary
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09:54

William Boyd's "New Confessions."

Scottish writer William Boyd. His latest novel, The New Confessions, follows the political and cinematic adventures of a monomaniacal filmmaker. Boyd's earlier novels include Stars and Bars and An Ice Cream War.

Interview

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Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

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22:25

Michael Murphy Discusses His Career.

Actor Michael Murphy. Murphy's first work was on television when he was still a high school English teacher. He debuted on the TV series "Combat," and later acted on "Ben Casey," "Dr. Kildaire" and "Bonanza." The director for the "Combat" series was Robert Altman, with whom Murphy has had a long association. He later acted in many films by Robert Altman, including "M*A*S*H," "Brewster McCloud," "McCabe and Mrs.

Interview
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03:45

T. V. Movie is Better than the Actual Movie.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews the CBS remake of the 1954 film classic "The Caine Mutiny," based on Herman Wouk's acclaimed novel. Brad Davis stars as Commander Queeg, the role Humphrey Bogart made famous in the original film. Other actors include Jeff Daniels and performance artist Eric Bogosian. The performance is directed by Robert Altman.

Review
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03:54

HBO's Political Mockumentary.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews the HBO spoof of political campaigns, "Tanner 88: The Dark Horse." Unlike earlier fabricated campaigns like "Pat Paulsen for President," "Tanner 88" takes its politics seriously. The script is written by "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau, and the direction is by Robert Altman.

Review

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