Health (film)

HealtH
The names of five cast members—Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Lauren Bacall and Dick Cavett—are seen at the top of a thickly bordered box; the first names and stacked atop the surnames. Below "Robert Altman's" is the word "HEALTH", with the sides of the Hs tilted to the left and right. A blurb from the Variety magazine reads, "Genuinely humourous! (sic) Incisively funny!" The theater information, the MPAA logo and rating (PG), and the Fox studio logo are shown at the bottom of the box.
An advertisement for the film in The New York Times, April 1982
Directed byRobert Altman
Written byFrank Barhydt
Robert Altman
Paul Dooley
Produced byRobert Altman
StarringCarol Burnett
Glenda Jackson
James Garner
Lauren Bacall
Paul Dooley
Alfre Woodard
CinematographyEdmond L. Koons
Edited byTony Lombardo
Dennis Hill
Tom Benko
Music byJoseph Byrd
Production
company
Lion's Gate Films
Distributed by20th Century-Fox
Release dates
Running time
105 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$6 million[2]: 84 

HealtH (also known as Health[3] and H.E.A.L.T.H.)[4] is a 1980 American ensemble comedy film, the fifteenth feature project from director Robert Altman. It stars Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Lauren Bacall, and Paul Dooley, and was written by Altman, Dooley and Frank Barhydt.[5] The film's title is an acronym for "Happiness, Energy, and Longevity through Health".

A parody and satire of the U.S. political scene of the time, HealtH is set at a health food convention at a Florida luxury hotel, where a powerful political organization is deciding on a new president. The election is rife with backroom deals and scandal; a businessman, Colonel Cody, is out to rig the votes and the outcome. Dick Cavett and Dinah Shore, two television talk show personalities of the time, are mentioned prominently in the film.

HealtH was made by Robert Altman's company, Lion's Gate Films (no relation to Lionsgate Films), in early 1979. It was the director's last film for the 20th Century-Fox studio, which shelved its official release for over two years.[3] Despite this, it received festival showings and a brief Los Angeles run during 1980. The film was broadcast on various U.S. television stations over the years, including The Movie Channel and Fox Movie Channel, but it has never been issued on home video.

  1. ^ Canby, Vincent (1982-04-07). "Robert Altman's Satire 'HealtH'". New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. C19. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  2. ^ Wolf, William (1980-11-17). "The Filmmaker as Houdini". New York. 13 (45). New York Media LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  3. ^ a b Maltin, Leonard (2007). "Health". Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2008. Signet Books. p. 587. ISBN 978-0-451-22186-5.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Daniel (1995). Robert Altman: Hollywood Survivor. New York: Continuum. p. 135. ISBN 0-8264-0791-9.
  5. ^ "Health". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved October 24, 2016.