To me, this movie is perfection.

Great Film overall

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

...now I wish it had remained that way.WARNING: If you stumble upon this movie while surfing TV, keep surfing!This isn't even a good one time watch. It's the most boring, senseless piece of trash I've ever watched. I can't believe someone made this move. I can't believe Paul Newman signed on to play in this movie. I can't believe it was ever released.This is a bad, bad, bad, movie.

"Quintet" is definitely not a film most people would find amusing or even interesting for that matter. There is no scene, dialog, acting or plot development that would light a spark. The icy world is one thing, but muddled plot is something you really can't bear. The characters are not only three-dimensional, they're not even one-dimensional, there is no emotion and there is no sense in anything that goes on. There is a world encased in ice, where nobody is doing any meaningful work, except playing Quintet, and the rules to the game are never even hinted. The homes are not heated, even though there is electricity, but who and what produces it? There is wood, but there are no animals, except dogs, so where do clothes come from, or shoes for that matter, since, apparently there is no industry, and everybody is dressed as in 16th century Europe, which is in odd contrast to not so futuristic pavilion backdrop. The entire movie seams to be stuck inside Altman's imagination, and he never bothered to share his ideas or his vision with audience. Desolation or hopelessness have nothing to do with lack of appeal to this movie, the world of George Lucas's "THX1138" is no brighter place and characters are no more fun, but the story has it's path. In Quintet, there is no obvious or even hinted path, and in my opinion it doesn't even provoke thinking about the idea behind it all, as, for example, similar film, John Boorman's "Zardoz". It's not even done in Altman's unique style, so it doesn't appeal to his fans,either, and I'm one of them. All in all, Robert Altman had a dream, and he woke up without telling anybody what it meant, not even to him.

(Only minor spoilers) Offbeat oddity director Robert Altman returns to the screen with yet another non-commercial and highly artistic film. Having gone through a Altman kick in the last couple of days I have found many hidden pieces of gold and this is one of them! The story is set in the future and we follows Essex and his wife Vivia who are on their way into a town where Essex used to live. We're somewhere with loads of ice and we're apparently close to human extinction. As a result the humans have become a cold breed and they all seem to be occupied with this game called Quintet. Altman apparently invented the game in complete form only to use it in this film. now that shows commitment. In the city Essex witness a horrible event which drags him into this game but with an rather interesting twist. The film is incredibly well shot and structured and the acting is as you should expect great! We're talking about Newman, Rey and Andersson here so what else is it to expect. One thing this film manages is to create a mood I have not seen in an other film, sure it's a little close to the one used in McCabe and Mrs. Miller but more like the Norwegian action film Ofelas.Everything about this film is odd. It mixes about every emotion possible and leaves this weird feeling in your stomach. Altman went all the way with this picture, he both reinvented styles used in silent cinema and tried out some new stuff.This is a film you should definitely get a hold of. Especially if your looking for something out of the ordinary while it's also being fairly on the point, straight forward and using a somewhat classical yet offbeat style. An odd but rewarding experience.

This is one of the many very good performances by Paul Newman, who was always underrated as an actor because of his all-encompassing beauty. The main problem with this movie, in my opinion, is the huge Vaseline budget they had. The whole movie was shot with Vaseline at the edges of the lens. I find that very annoying. When I make the effort to remember not to be annoyed by that "Vaseline experiment", I find it is not a bad movie by a long shot. The cast is brilliant, the futuristic plot is innovative for the period and the decor is intriguingly apt. The smearing of Vaseline on the lens applied to a whole movie may have been innovative, it was certainly daring, but I, for one, like to be able to look at the part of the screen I choose, and not be forbidden to have a clear look at the edges. CH