Where Were You In 1976? A Look Back at Bicentennial Cinema: NASHVILLE (1975)

NASHVILLE (1975) Robert Altman
Special pre-show of Bicentennial year goodies curated by Deserted Films at 6pm/ Film at 6:30pm

"Y'all take it easy now. This isn't Dallas, it's Nashville! They can't do this to us here in Nashville!"

24 main characters…two hours and thirty nine minutes…five days in 1975…so much red, white, and blue…and pretty much everything that was on America’s mind leading up to the bicentennial. Altman’s film is a perfect summary statement for our series. We love the award-winning song “I’m Easy” by Keith Carradine…and it’s just so much fun seeing almost everyone who was acting in the 1970s pass by the camera at some point! Robert Altman, man. This will make you want a Summer-full of Altman.

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The USA turns 250 years old in 2026. It’s a big birthday! Our series looks back at our last big birthday… the Bicentennial in 1976. What films were we watching? What were we thinking about?

Deserted Films, the Palm Springs Public Library, and the Palm Springs Cultural Center, have teamed up to bring you a unique selection of films reflecting what was on our ‘collective minds’ at the Bicentennial. Because looking back can help us make sense of now!

Folks talked a lot in 2026 about the “dark themes” running through the films being considered for Oscars…but 1976 brought us NETWORK, TAXI DRIVER, and CARRIE! It was a year of deep (sometimes brutal) self reflection. And a year of groundbreaking American cinema. We will dig into key films from the moment and offer up some surprises!

And, of course, Hollywood filmmakers were not alone in celebrating and questioning America at 200. Each feature film in our series will be accompanied by archival gems from Deserted Films or from our colleagues in the archival community to help set the mood: home movies of people celebrating the Bicentennial, as well as educational and sponsored films and other oddities from the same moment in American history.