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MOVIES / ON DVD / A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
A Prairie Home Companion

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A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

80%
67%
78%
N/A
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N/A
80 %
Reviews Counted: 179 Fresh: 144  Rotten:35 Average Rating: 7.1/10
 
Consensus: The final film by the great Robert Altman, A Prairie Home Companion, the big screen adaptation of Garrison Keillor's radio broadcast, showcases plenty of the director's strengths: it's got a gigantic cast and plenty of quirky acting and dialogue. Much like the radio show, Companion features clever jokes, rousing tunes, and endearing characters. With strong work from Lindsay Lohan, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Tommy Lee Jones, it's a worthy swan song from one of the cinema's best.
 

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Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Theatrical Release: 05-01-2007

Synopsis: Director Robert Altman and writer Garrison Keillor join forces with an all-star cast to create a comic backstage fable, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, about a fictitious radio variety show that has managed to survive in the age of television. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin star as the Johnson... Director Robert Altman and writer Garrison Keillor join forces with an all-star cast to create a comic backstage fable, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, about a fictitious radio variety show that has managed to survive in the age of television. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin star as the Johnson Sisters, Yolanda and Rhonda, a country duet act that has survived the county-fair circuit, and Lindsey Lohan plays Meryl's daughter, Lola, who gets her big chance to sing on the show and then forgets the words. Kevin Kline is Guy Noir, a private eye down on his luck who works as a backstage doorkeeper, and Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are Dusty and Lefty, the Old Trailhands, a singing cowboy act. Add Virginia Madsen as an angel and Tommy Lee Jones as the Axeman and Maya Rudolph as a pregnant stagehand and Keillor in the role of a hangdog emcee, and you have a playful story set on a rainy Saturday night in St. Paul, Minnesota, where fans file into the Fitzgerald Theater to see "A Prairie Home Companion," a staple of radio station WLT, not knowing that WLT has been sold to a Texas conglomerate and that tonight's show will be the last. Shot entirely in the Fitzgerald, except for the opening and closing scenes which take place in a nearby diner, the picture combines Altman's cinematic style and intelligence and love of improvisation and Keillor's songs and storytelling to create a fictional counterpart to the "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show. The film uses the musicians and crew and stage setting of the actual radio show, heard on public radio stations coast to coast for the past quarter-century (and which, in real life, continues to broadcast). The result is a compact tale with a series of extraordinary acting turns, especially Kevin Kline's elegant Keaton-esque detective and Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep's singing ("Goodbye to My Mama") and their beautiful portrayal of two sisters who talk simultaneously. And Virginia Madsen's serene angel. And Lindsay Lohan's version of "Frankie and Johnny". --© Picturehouse [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline

Director: Robert Altman
Screenwriter: Garrison Keillor
Producer: Wren Arthur, Robert Altman, George Sheanshang, Tony Judge, Joshua Astrachan, William Pohlad, John Penotti, Fisher Stevens
Composer: Richard Dworsky

DVD Info

Release:

Oct 10, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - English
  • Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Surround - English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Additional Scenes
  • Extended Music Performances
  • Commentary - Robert Altman - Director; Kevin Kline - Actor
  • Featurette - Behind The Scenes Documentary

Reviews

 
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01/09/07
BBC
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N/R

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01/06/07
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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N/R

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01/04/07
Time Out
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Ratings Image
4/5

A fitting swansong for Altman's career, this is an enjoyable comedy drama with strong performances, lively musical numbers and a handful of decent jokes.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/04/07
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image
4/5

This ode to a bygone style of entertainment is a fitting swan song for Altman.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/30/06
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
3.5/5

Altman's star-studded cast is natural and energetic -- with the exception of a surprisingly detached Keillor -- and the Hollywood folks mingle easily, in character, among the real show's performers, a technique Altman perfected in Nashville.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/08/08
Robert Davis
Paste Magazine
Ratings Image
7/10

...a lovely and bittersweet fable about morality, the fleetingness of fame, drawing strength from the past and finding the inevitable beauty in the darkest of situations.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com
Ratings Image
N/A

In its neatest trick of all, the script circumvents any criticism of its lack of timeliness by very literally casting the proceedings under a shadow of death.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/01/08
Karina Longworth
Cinematical
Ratings Image
3.5/4

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
3.5/4

This adaptation is highly-recommended for loyal devotees of the long-running radio show as a cinematic capstone on Keillor's magnificent career.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/16/07
Kam Williams
Richmond Post
Ratings Image
2/5

La despedida de Robert Altman no está entre lo mejor de su obra, pero es una cálida evocación de tiempos y ritos pasados animada por un atractivo elenco.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/03/07
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
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N/A

[Altman's] trademark techniques...lend themselves perfectly to the setting, but his ability to coax remarkable performances from an array of actors has rarely served him better.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/22/07
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International
Ratings Image
80/100

Plenty of artistry, even if it is a minor Altman film. So long, Robert.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/20/07
Dan Jardine
Cinemania
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/06/07
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
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5/5

Poucos cineastas têm ou tiveram a oportunidade de se despedir com tamanha graça e charme de seus fãs... algo que Altman conseguiu com este filme simultaneamente melancólico e alegre.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/29/06
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
3/4

Altman se despide de este mundo con una muestra más de su principal talento cinematográfico: crear obras que parecen tener vida propia, gracias a su marcado rostro humano.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/12/06
Flavio J. Arosemena
Doncinema.com
Ratings Image
N/A

A Prairie Home Companion is surely the bounciest, cheeriest musical I've ever seen on the subject of death and failure.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stuart Klawans
Nation
Ratings Image
N/A

The gentle, wistful quality that floods Robert Altman's latest film is accompanied by a robust sensibility about life's raw elements, a sense of humour and a playfulness.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/10/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
10/08/06
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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6/10

...essentially a sentimental musical comedy, with the barest rudiments of a story lingering in the background.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/07/06
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
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