Robert Altman’s the player was a major comeback for the artist who was right there on the Mount Rushmore of the American new wave of cinema in the 1970’s. I’ve seen the film at least a half dozen times. It’s a solid top 10 film of 1992 even if it falls short of spike lee’s Malcolm X, eastwood’s unforgiven and maybe even reservoir dogs, husbands and wives and twin peaks. What struck me most about this most recent viewing of the player is the opening long take which is, deservingly, quite famous. It’s a wonderful long take that pays