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Warren Beatty,
Warren Beatty,
Julie Christie,
more...
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Robert Altman,
Robert Altman
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: Warner Home Video
: Drama, Westerns
: 121 min.
: English, French
: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese
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Memorably described by Pauline Kael as "a beautiful pipe dream of a movie," Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller reimagines the American West as a muddy frontier filled with hustlers, opportunists, and corporate sharks -- a turn-of-the-century model for a 1971 America mired in violence and lies. John McCabe (Warren Beatty) wanders into the turn-of-the-century wilderness village known as Presbyterian Church, with vague plans of parlaying his gambling winnings into establishing a fancy casino-brothel-bathhouse. McCabe's business partner is prostitute Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie), who despite her apparent distaste for McCabe helps him achieve his goal. Once McCabe and Mrs. Miller become successful, the town grows and prospers, incurring the jealousy of a local mining company that wants to buy McCabe out. Filmed on location in Canada, McCabe & Mrs. Miller makes use of such Altman "stock company" performers as Shelley Duvall, René Auberjonois, John Schuck, and Keith Carradine. The seemingly improvised screenplay was based on a novel by Edmund Naughton and the movie features a soundtrack of songs by Leonard Cohen. McCabe & Mrs. Miller joined such other Altman efforts as M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye, and Thieves Like Us in radically revising familiar movie genres for the disillusioned Vietnam era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
Dead Man
Jim Jarmusch's own demythologizing of the Western came later
The Claim
Another "anti-Western" is also beautifully shot and seems like it was filmed in the same town set as McCabe
Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
Another Robert Altman revisiting of the American West, with Paul Newman as the title character
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| Masterful direction, chilly film
by underdog
March 28, 2003 - 4:23 PM PST
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6 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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One of Altman's best. Anyone who wants to learn about filmmaking -- particularly direction, sound, editing, mise en scene -- should check this one out. The climax, nearly dialogue-less, is pretty brilliant. Ultimately kinda downbeat and bleak view of the American West -- but that's realistic. If you really want a bummer (but good) double-feature, rent this with "The Claim."
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.86)
198 Votes
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