'Images' ranks at the very top of the films about (female) madness along with Ingmar Bergman's 'Persona' and Roman Polanski's 'Repulsion'. Perhaps inferior to 'Persona' in most aspects, Altman's 'Images' is still hauntingly interesting film with amazingly dedicated performance from lead actress Susannah York who is nearly in every scene of the movie. The haunting and eerie score by John Williams complimented with percussion sounds by Stomu Yamashta over magnificent cinematography by visionary Vilmos Zsigmond alone is the reason to watch the film because it is fantastic visual treat.The film follows children's author Cathryn who receives disturbing phone call that suggests that her husband is having an affair. After that, Cathryn tries to cope with her own sins and inner demons until she loses the boundaries between reality and imagination. The film has eerie surreal atmosphere so the story and events are confusing so it is easy to loose track as a viewer as much as the protagonist is confused. Although the film feels like some twisted meditation, the story line is actually coherent and seemingly out of place details fall into right place by the end.Visually magnificent film with powerful and layered performance by Susannah York. 'Images' is recommended for the fans of psychological horror and thriller. Definitely much more than just an art house horror experiment.

Altman's only horror film. It stars Susannah York as a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She's married but keeps seeing--and hearing--dead lovers from the past who torment her. Then she starts seeing people who are still alive and can't tell if they're real or not. What will she do?Unsettling film. It's shot in stark, bleak landscapes and has a VERY unnerving score from a young John Williams. This is unlike anything Altman ever did. Him and York in fact wrote the movie together. The acting is excellent and the film has a satisfying ending. It was not a big success and Altman never tried another film like this. It's fallen into obscurity which is a shame--it's really not that bad. Worth a look.

Robert Altman's engrossing drama Images stands alone in his vast collection of directorial achievements. Though he directed other intense dramas, this opus of unsettling psychological intrigue is about as far as one can get from his more familiar fare of offbeat comedies populated by equally offbeat characters. In a landmark performance that garnered her a best actress award at Cannes, Susannah York portrays Catherine, a troubled soul who desperately tries to escape her innate demons and memories of past relationships. Increasingly, reality and fantasy start to blur as Catherine develops a coping mechanism she thinks will solve her mental dilemmas. Unfortunately, there's an inherent danger in her method's madness. Images was beautifully filmed in Ireland by master cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, and veteran composer John Williams provided the score. Altman protégé Rene Auberjonois effectively portrays Catherine's somewhat clueless but good-natured husband.

Susanna York plays a woman who you realize very early on is a schizophrenic. What is surprising is that although she's completely out of her mind and actively hallucinates, her dopey husband (Rene Auberjonois) seems VERY slow to realize and accept this. But, as you see and hear the world through her perspective, it's obvious she's lost much of her contact with the real world. Her life is full of paranoia, delusions and hallucinations.There is a very small group of people who would enjoy this film or Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" (which is also about a woman undergoing a psychotic break). The two films are very similar but have almost no commercial appeal at all and are the sorts of film intellectual and film snobs would adore--but most folks would find terribly tedious. Even with my mental health background (having been a therapist and having taught psychology), I found the film dull and soon lost interest. I can respect what these folks did but that doesn't mean I have to like it or recommend it.