The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1988)

Before becoming one of the most respected film directors of all time, Robert Altman started his career directing television in the '60s. The 1988 made-for-TV movie The Caine Mutiny Court Marshall continues to prove he is a masterful director regardless of the medium he is using. Although Altman may have lost touch with a mass audience during this period of his career, his skill at casting never left him. Already having put Cher in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, and Philip Baker Hall in Secret Honor, Altman assembled a superb cast for Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Headed by Eric Bogosian, playing mostly against type, and featuring excellent turns from Jeff Daniels, Peter Gallagher, Altman regular Michael Murphy, and especially Brad Davis as the deteriorating Queeg, the cast makes this material their own by managing to overcome any resistance viewers might have because of the portrayals by Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, and E.G. Marshall in the 1954 film. Altman consistently uses close-ups to draw the viewer deeper into the psychological gamesmanship going on between all of the characters. By the time Bogosian's Greenwald directly confronts the crew of the Caine, his words cut through the characters and the audience making for a riveting climax. For both artistic and budgetary reasons, Robert Altman adapted numerous stage plays during the 1980s. The Caine Mutiny Court Martial is one of his finest films from that period. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide