Remembering Bud Cort (1948 – 2026)

After a small role in M*A*S*H, director Robert Altman hired Bud Cort to lead this fantastical tale of a boy who lives inside the Houston Astrodome, and dreams to fly thanks to a handmade device. Simultaneously, a series of inexplicable murders take place across Houston, connected only by the bird droppings found at each crime scene. This leads police and visiting detective Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy) to suspect Brewster. This also served as the debut of Shelley Duvall, who would go on to star in several films by Altman, including Nashville, 3 Women, and Popeye. 

A year after this film’s release, Bud Cort would land his second leading role, in Hal Ashby’s classic Harold and Maude. With his distinctive appearance and varied performances, Cort would enjoy a long career as a character actor, appearing in films like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, But I’m A Cheerleader, Pollock, and an uncredited role in Michael Mann’s Heat.

“Coarse by design and protean by virtue, these are easygoing works of peerless imaginative acuity. As the first of these zany triumphs, ‘Brewster McCloud’ offers up a bitter and beautiful spectacle.” ~ Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer, Screen Slate

Screening 4/4 + 4/8

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