I am surprised that the IMDb trivia section is so short for this film. After all, it's jammed full of references to earlier films and is full of actor cameos. Because of this, it's clearly a film that bears re- watching in order to catch the many small details many would often miss. Also, because this film is ultra-famous, already has many reviews and is beloved by many, I'll keep my review relatively short. Suffice to say that it's a film lovers and insiders dream movie.

The film begins with an insanely difficult scene that sets the stage for the film. It's all in one long take where the camera moves all over a wide area on a film studio lot. But instead of being intimate, it feels almost like the viewer is hiding and peering at the many different things occurring simultaneously. This is brilliant, as the film does have a real voyeuristic quality...with many shots that are not traditionally framed but are as if you are watching in the near distance.

What follows is a very dark anti-fairy tale set in modern Hollywood. Instead of the usual story of a person working hard and doing good and ultimately being rewarded, this is pretty much the opposite. With a total jerk-face (Tim Robbins) screwing people over and even killing someone...and the consequences of this. It's obviously meant as an attack on many Hollywood types--the users, the superficial and the vaguely talented. Overall, a superb film that works very well due to wonderful direction and a black hole-dark script filled with cynicism.

Robert Altman's THE PLAYER is a comic murder mystery set within the confines of Hollywood itself. The main character, played with skill by Tim Robbins, is a slimy studio executive who spends his days either greenlighting or turning down various scripts proposed to him by writers. When he starts to receive threatening postcards from somebody he's turned down, he takes matters into his own hands...with drastic consequences.

The main emphasis of THE PLAYER is on its self-referencing, some four years before SCREAM came out and became the popular post-modern film satire. THE PLAYER's achievements are more subtle, and the humour is more character focused, but anyone with any interest in Hollywood and its history whatsoever will be in their element here. There's a realistic, chaotic feel to the storyline, where characters go off the rails but are nonetheless constrained by a tightly-ruled empire.

It's hard to mention THE PLAYER without mentioning the endless star cameos. They're plentiful and constant, and you could watch the film on mute just for the faces: Angelica Huston, Cher, Peter Falk, Susan Sarandon, the list is endless. Somebody asked me the other day which film has the most cameos in it and I think this would have to be the one. The ending, with a special pair of celebrity cameos, is absolutely hilarious and a real high point of the movie for me.

Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) is a studio executive who is receiving death-threatening postcards. He confronts writer David Kahane whom he thinks is sending the postcards. Only things get out of control.

This is Robert Altman's sharp biting satirical look at self obsessed Hollywood. Everybody is pitching, everybody is fast talking, and everybody is scheming. This has the Altman style of overlapping conversations. The other interesting thing to watch for is the massive cast of Hollywood stars in cameos. This works as a mystery and satire. There is the minor problem that Tim Robbins is not a likable character. I find no way to root for this man. But it's a good movie none the less.