The most interesting aspect of The Company is the way it treats the passage of time. Edits can mean minutes, hours, days or months have passed, and there are no rules. The background story is snipped until only the barest incidents remain --the ones most telling about the situation and the emotional context. A fine piece of experimental filmmaking from Altman. It's a shame it was shot on video. (It looks good for video, but still).

Movie 900. The Altmanesque interactions between characters are well-done, but none of the characters are as good as those of Nashville, Short Cuts, A Wedding etc, so it isn't as interesting. Also, there is a lot of ballet. While the visual aspect is quite nice, I tired of the dances quickly. I can see why someone would like this and I can see why someone would hate it. I'm in the middle.

I was a bit disappointed. There isn't a dramatic structure. We see one performance after another, with outtakes from the life of the dancers in between, but the characters remain superficial, and we don't get more than a brief glimpse of their lives. Without any story development and turning points this gets boring after a while. Bit like a well-shot but superficial documentary about an interesting dance company. Interesting and watchable for the dance parts but a bit boring besides that.

There's more visual artistry, thematic intelligence and dramatic poise in any single scene of Robert Altman's exquisite The Company than the entirety of Darren Aronofsky's miserably banal Black Swan. Where Aronofsky's derivations benumb one's appreciation for theatrical, expressionistic art, Altman's multiple victories evoke one's love of cinema as much as the beauty of dance without skimping on personal, emotional depth. For cinephiles the question is: Altman's mastery or Aronofsky's banality?

"This elegant movement in still life unravels as a profound metaphor for both the filmmaking process and life itself." - Ed Gonzalez

I liked everything outside the dance sequences, which I found flatly staged and uninteresting. And what the fuck is up with that final performance? The blue snake? Wow, that was godawful.

significant portions taken up with some quite awful contemporary "ballet" with the final performance getting toward mind numbing. A lack of overall structure leaves you wondering what is the point of the piece and why should i care about any of these people?

horrible altman bullshit

Probably the greatest dance film since "West Side Story," until "Black Swan."

A perfect snapshot of life in a ballet company.

Good dancing. Little story.