Although never a rabid fan of every single piece of his output, making the opening scene of The Player occupy an entire reel, without editing, took a maverick instinct. That instinct served him well in an industry known for its fickleness.

Rather than link to a traditional obituary, try Bloomberg’s retrospective.

All of us who love movies certainly needed Altman, who died today in Los Angeles at the age of 81, ending the most improbable career of any major American movie director.

[…]

When he died, Altman was the youngest “old” director in the business. He never stopped experimenting; he never lost the ability to be astonished.