Quintet (film)

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Quintet
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Altman
Produced by	Robert Altman
Written by	Frank Barhydt Patricia Resnick Robert Altman
Starring	Paul Newman Vittorio Gassman Fernando Rey Bibi Andersson Brigitte Fossey Nina Van Pallandt
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	February 9, 1979
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Quintet is an post-apocalyptic science fiction film by Robert Altman produced in 1979. It features among others Paul Newman, Brigitte Fossey, Bibi Andersson, Fernando Rey and Vittorio Gassman.

[edit] Plot

The story takes place in a future where the world is covered by a new ice age. The seal hunter Essex (played by Paul Newman) and his wife arrive at a city where some survivors of the disaster live among technological artifacts in a primitive way. All people in the city have lost hope of surviving and the ice continuously threatens to destroy the city.

When visiting a relative, Essex's wife is killed by a bomb. When he tries to uncover the reason why the entire family was killed, he learns that in their despair the survivors are playing a game of life and death called Quintet. Being alive is the only reward in this game, and none of the people involved can quite explain why they keep playing it.

The game works this way: there is a list of names created by a referee, who may be consulted if the players are not sure of the rules. Some of the players will be allies, others will be enemies, which must be killed or they will kill you. Each player has a list of names of the people involved arranged in a certain order, which determines the friend/enemy scheme. When someone is killed, the person who was previously your ally will perhaps be a killer, so you have to learn who is still alive at any moment.

[edit] Production

Quintet was filmed on the site of Montreal's Expo 67 world's fair.

[edit] External links

• Quintet at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Films directed by Robert Altman The Delinquents (1957) • The James Dean Story (1957) • Countdown (1968) • That Cold Day in the Park (1969) • MASH (1970) • Brewster McCloud (1971) • McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)• Images (1972) • The Long Goodbye (1973) • Thieves Like Us (1974) • California Split (1974) • Nashville (1975) • Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) • 3 Women (1977) • A Wedding (1978) • Quintet (1979) • A Perfect Couple (1979) • Health (1980) • Popeye (1980) • Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) • Streamers (1983) • Secret Honor (1984) • O.C. and Stiggs (1984) • Fool for Love (1985) • Beyond Therapy (1987) • Aria (1987) • Vincent & Theo (1990) • The Player (1992) • Short Cuts (1993) • Prêt-à-Porter (1994) • Kansas City (1996)• The Gingerbread Man (1998) • Cookie's Fortune (1999) • Dr. T & the Women (2000) • Gosford Park (2001) • The Company (2003) • A Prairie Home Companion (2006)