Byline: Michael Wilmington

At 78, Robert Altman is still the genial movie pricker of pretensions, the irreverent master filmmaker/troublemaker, who took on the U.S. Army in "M(ASTERISK)A(ASTERISK)S(ASTERISK)H," the British aristocracy in "Gosford Park" and all of Hollywood in "The Player."

And he still takes chances. A classic Midwestern maverick and gambler, born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., he's still rolling the dice. After winning some of his best-ever notices with his last movie, the ingenious mystery-drama "Gosford Park" _ with its all-star ...

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