I saw this movie while I was in college and loved it then, and having seen it again recently can say that it has held up well. It is funny; weird; has a terrific cast; and is one of my favorite Robert Altman films. Bud Cort is rightly known for his work in "Harold and Maude" but I actually think he's better in this. His character, to me, was a lot tougher to "sell" than his character of Harold in "Harold and Maude." The entire cast is great, but another favorite in this film is Stacy Keach. His scene with Brewster as his limo driver, and the sudden soiling of the car, is so funny. I've never understood why this film isn't more highly regarded among Altman's work, but recommend it to anyone.

Bookish virgin Brewster lives in the fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome and dreams of flying one day with the mechanical wings of his own creation. Every time he leaves his sanctuary he's affronted by some manner of uptight goon who seeks to hinder Brewster for one reason or another. These antagonists all end up dead and covered in bird poop -- is it Brewster? His guardian angel (with two scars where wings would've been) Abraham? Does it matter? Not really.Like most great art films, this will take some reading and reflection to truly get the most out of. The theme is freedom, obviously, and how our attachments and desires and fears keep us from reaching it. Brewster is told he needs to stay a virgin or he won't be able to fly, but in typical human fashion, temptation takes over as he falls for the beautiful Suzanne in Shelley Duvall's first role as an actress. The bulbous-shaped Astrodome is a metaphor for the birdcage in which Brewster lives. The ending is tragic and even silly and absurd at the same time. It is a strange, funny and poignant movie, and probably Altman's best.

Robert Altman directs "Brewster McCloud". The plot? Brewster is an eccentric inventor who lives beneath the Houston Astrodome. He spends his days working on a pair of man-powered wings which he hopes will enable him to fly. But while he is busy collecting materials to build his contraption, mysterious deaths occur throughout his city.Altman's running joke is that "Brewster McCloud" is essentially a giant birdwatching film. Indeed, the film is narrated by Rene Auberjonois, who treats the picture as a grand safari, Altman planting bird references everywhere in the form of food, signs, clothes, license plates, characters, costumes, dialogue etc etc. Why Brewster wishes to fly is given a neat twist. Rather than some kind of Icarus complex, Brewster seems to be acting upon suppressed memories. He was born to fly. His entire race was born to fly. He belongs in the skies. It's all in his DNA!Brewster is aided in his quest by Louise, a sort of guardian angel. She has scars down her back, which suggests she once had wings herself. She's like a God or guardian angel, who descends to teach Brewster the mysteries of man's ancient wings. It's all pretty odd, particularly when Altman likens flying to sex, and Brewster's avian urges to psychosexual lusts.Later in the film, Louise is dismayed to learn that Brewster slept with a girl he barely knew (Shelly Duvall). The once pure and naive Brewster thus becomes tainted by the "sins of the flesh". He's contaminated, his earthly sins affixing him to the ground. They seal his mortality and prevent him from entering the angel world up above.To redeem himself, Brewster must therefore seek forgiveness from Louise, who now appears in the guise of Dorothy from "Wizard of Oz". From here on, Altman swathes the film in "Oz" references. Flying monkeys, red slippers, golden roads, they're all subtly woven into the crazy plot. This being Altman, chunks of the film then become covert commentaries on major aspects of American life (sexuality, class-struggle, race, ambition, bigotry, success, economics, crime, politics, religion). These themes are then bound to a plot which is really about the loss of virginity, or rather, idealism. During its climax, Brewster's broken wings and crumpled, twisted body, point toward the climax of Altman's "Nashville", in which characters sing "It Don't Worry Me" after an assassination. Both films take place in cities yearning for economic power, both use large structures as metaphors for America (The Astrodome, the Parthenon), and both posit the creative spirit and personal conscience as being overrun by corporate American, capitalism and commercialism in general.8.5/10 - Worth two viewings.

Admirably odd, though mean-spirited comedy-drama about a strange young man who hopes to fly like a bird through the Houston Astrodome. Robert Altman-directed quasi-comedy with eccentric characters is so overloaded with weirdos that it starts to creak early on from the weight. Some of the cinematography is evocative, Shelley Duvall is a stitch in her debut as a tour guide, and Sally Kellerman looks every inch the glamourpuss as Bud Cort's vision of a "mother bird" (imagine Altman and producer Lou Adler explaining that role to her!). In the lead, Bud Cort is--once again, after "Harold & Maude"--a true original; not off-putting like, say, Michael J. Pollard, Cort manages to be geeky, wacky and inoffensive, a tough act to pull off. Unfortunately, this is one of Altman's misfires. He can put together a cast and a showpiece like no one else, but let him get fired up with some misguided inspiration and he spirals downward. ** from ****