McCabe & Mrs. Miller
 | Directed by Robert Altman Starring: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane, John Schuck Warner Bros. Pictures, 1971, DVD Customer Rating: 78 reviews Recommend |
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With winnings from a small-time card hustle, McCabe buys three girls and sets up a makeshift whorehouse and casino. A madame talks him into backing a
Iconoclastic director Robert Altman (Nashville, M.A.S.H., The Player) deconstructs and demythologizes Hollywood's typically romantic vision of the Old West in this haunting, breathtaking masterpiece. A stranger, McCabe (Warren Beatty's best performance), the film's nonheroic protagonist, rides into a dead northwest mountain town (to the mournful sounds of Leonard Cohen), possessing ambitious entrepreneurial dreams of expansion. As the town grows, Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie's finest role, as well), a tough madam, arrives and convinces McCabe to join her in a partnership. Neither are typical Western archetypes: McCabe's an insecure braggart, bumbling lover, and horrible businessman, while Mrs. Miller, hardly a whore with a heart of gold, favors her opium pipe to her partner's romantic advances. Altman, meanwhile, buries these central characters within the town's complex, richly detailed tapestry of characters, preferring to eavesdrop on their overlapping conversations and study the bleak, harsh conditions of their lifestyles. At its core, the film addresses the sacrifices of individualism needed in order to build a community, an American concept that the independent Altman views with skeptical irony. The inevitable final shoot-out underscores the theme. Because McCabe refuses to sell the town he built to a corporation, hired bounty hunters are sent. Instead of a showdown at high noon, the finale — one of Altman's most beautiful set pieces — takes place in the snow, guerilla warfare style. As McCabe runs and hides for his life, the town he created preoccupies itself with saving a burning church instead of their creator, while Mrs. Miller, stoned and grinning, detaches herself from either concern. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond captures the town's brutal textures in luminous Cinemascope, which, sadly, is transformed into ugly murk on the nonletterboxed video version. Widescreen laser discs are available, however. — Dave McCoy
Iconoclastic director Robert Altman (Nashville, M.A.S.H.), deconstructs and demythologizes Hollywood's typically romantic vision of the Old West in this haunting, breathtaking masterpiece. A stranger, McCabe (Warren Beatty's best performance), the film's nonheroic protagonist, rides into a dead northwest mountain town (to the mournful sounds of Leonard Cohen), possessing ambitious entrepreneurial dreams of expansion. As the town grows, Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie's finest role, as well), a tough madam, arrives and convinces McCabe to join her in a partnership. Neither are typical Western archetypes: McCabe's an insecure braggart, bumbling lover, and horrible businessman, while Mrs. Miller, hardly a whore with a heart of gold, favors her opium pipe to her partner's romantic advances. Altman, meanwhile, buries these central characters within the town's complex, richly detailed tapestry of characters, preferring to eavesdrop on their overlapping conversations and study the bleak, harsh conditions of their lifestyles. At its core, the film addresses the sacrifices of individualism needed in order to build a community, an American concept that the independent Altman views with skeptical irony. The inevitable final shoot-out underscores the theme. Because McCabe refuses to sell the town he built to a corporation, hired bounty hunters are sent. Instead of a showdown at high noon, the finale — one of Altman's most beautiful set pieces — takes place in the snow, guerilla warfare style. As McCabe runs and hides for his life, the town he created preoccupies itself with saving a burning church instead of their creator, while Mrs. Miller, stoned and grinning, detaches herself from either concern. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond captures the town's brutal textures in luminous Cinemascope. — Dave McCoy
Title: McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Sales Rank: 10966 in DVD
Actor: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane, John Schuck
Director: Robert Altman
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2002-06-04, Theatrical Release: 1971-06-24
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 2.35:1
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Japanese (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.2 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches, 0.2 pounds
- Gorgeous, unique 'Western' that turns a genre upside down
- A beautiful tone poem of a film. The story is a bit thin, but the cinematography, the Leonard Cohen songs, the style of the acting creates a western unlike any other, at once surreal and dreamlike, and yet somehow also hyper-real, as though we were eavesdropping through history. The first half has an intentionally meandering feel, that tightens ever more to a terrifically… More reviews
- An Original Approach To The Western Genre...
- I got very interested in this movie when I read about AFI's 10 Top 10 list that was presented in 2008. According to the list, McCabe & Mrs.Miller is the eighth best movie in the Western genre.
In fact, as it is presented to be one of the best examples of its own genre, I was expecting to see a better movie. Although Robert Altman tells the story in an original… More reviews
- McCabe & Mrs. Miller DVD
- A realistic-looking and different kind of Western with fine cast, cinematography, etc. In my opinion, the vocal piece in the score could have been eliminated. The scene in which Keith Carradine is shot is powerful and realistic and illustrates the futility of violence. The 2.35:1 picture is enhanced for widescreen TVs and of high quality. More reviews
- SORRY, THIS EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES
- Before Altman fans eviscerate my review, let me start by saying I'm one of you. I think Altman was a true genius and one of our most consistently brilliant filmmakers. I admire and enjoy his films going as far back as "Countdown" and continuing through "Gosford Park." I especially enjoy his films from the seventies, and consider "Brewster McCloud" and "California… More reviews
- Altman Agonistes
- If you like Altman, you may like this, but Christie is horribly miscast as the female lead and Beatty, as the male lead, might as well have "mailed in" his performance. With Altman, it's not so much about the actors as it is Altman.
This was agonizing, although possibly not as agonizing as Buffalo Bill and the Indians.
As… More reviews
