Short Cuts
Short Cuts is a 1993 American comedy drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film has a Los Angeles setting, which substitutes the Pacific Northwest backdrop of Carver's stories. Short Cuts traces the actions of 22 principal characters, both in parallel and at occasional loose points of connection. The role of chance and luck is central to the film, and many of the stories concern death and infidelity.
Plot
A fleet of helicopters sprays for medflies and reveals all the characters along the path of their flight. Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife, Marian (Julianne Moore), meet another couple, Stuart (Fred Ward) and Claire Kane (Anne Archer) – an out-of-work salesman and a party clown respectively – at Zoe Trainer's (Lori Singer's) cello concert and make a spontaneous Sunday dinner date.
Awards
Cast
- Alex Trebek
- Andie MacDowell
- Anne Archer
- Annie Ross
- Bruce Davison
- Buck Henry
- Charles Rocket
- Chris Penn
- Darnell Williams
- Derek Webster
- Frances McDormand
- Fred Ward
- Huey Lewis
- Jack Lemmon
- Jennifer Jason Leigh
- Julianne Moore
- Lili Taylor
- Lily Tomlin
- Lori Singer
- Lyle Lovett
- Madeleine Stowe
- Matthew Modine
- Michael Beach
- Peter Gallagher
- Robert DoQui
- Robert Downey Jr. De Evans
- Susie Cusack
- Tim Robbins
- Tom Waits
More details
| author | Robert Altman |
|---|---|
| award | Golden Lion National Board of Review: Top Ten Films |
| contentLocation | Los Angeles |
| director | Robert Altman |
| editor | Geraldine Peroni |
| events | incest |
| genre | action comedy-drama |
| keywords | belong birthday cake breaking point cabaret singer car accident dinner date dinner party drink estranged father falling rock family dog father and son fishing trip funeral home helicopter pilot horrify kill license plate little boy makeup artist married medfly murder phone sex pick up pool cleaner robert downey jr. rock run sense of guilt submerge their way wake young woman young women |
| musicBy | Mark Isham |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Director |
| producer | Cary Brokaw |
| productionCompany | Avenue Pictures Cary Brokaw Productions Spelling Pictures International |
| publisher | Fine Line Features |
| recordedAt | Los Angeles |
| theme | death independent |