Carlo L
Should be archetype of "western" movies
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
09/10/23
Full Review
DanTheMan 2
Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller is the kind of revisionist post-western only made possible due to the ongoing Vietnam War and newfound American pessimism which led to the disappearance of the much-loved and adored classic American western. Altman dubs it an "anti-western" due to it often doing precisely the opposite of what the genre would lead you to expect, as it moves from the sprawling American Frontier to societies' quieter edges involving tired and obsolete men rather than heroic gunslingers. There are no heroes in McCabe & Mrs Miller only feared and flawed characters, the uneven slow pace is really the only criticism I could lobby at the movie which often stretches its scenes out for as long as possible. However, it's the personified pipe dream of a film, a fleeting, almost translucent, vision of what frontier life might have been and with its haunting use of Leonard Cohen songs, McCabe & Mrs. Miller brilliantly deglamorises and revitalises the most American of genres.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
08/29/23
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Gordon H
Perhaps the best cinematic movie ever made.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/28/23
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David K
I first saw this film around the time it was released. I was a youngster, just out of high school, tumbling towards a college life. It just didn't work for me.
Years later, now in my mid-60's, I revisited it. What a difference 50 +/- years can make. There's simply nothing about this movie that conforms to the John Ford westerns I'd grown up with. In retrospect, that was what was so off-putting in my youth.
It rains consistently. The streets and lives are full of mud. There is no hero. The buildings are a work-in-progress. No law. No doctors. The whores are not beautiful; they're deeply scarred, with only Julie Christie having anything on the ball. Yet, she lives a secret life full of opium highs.
There is a reality to this film that would never have sold in the mythological West that arose in the very beginnings of film. A seismic shift, really. And, a film well worth your time.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/24/23
Full Review
David L
Lots of greed, stupidity, and selfishness on display in a bleak cold landscape.
Julie Christie really spices up the look of an opium den customer, though.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
03/01/23
Full Review
matthew d
A bleak realism to Altman's Western viewpoint with surprising hilarity and excitement.
Director Robert Altman's revisionist Western McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) is inspired. Altman's gritty raw style, stunning filmmaking, creative camera placement, smooth panning shots, grounded double talk, and absurdist humor bring the wintery Northwest. I adored Robert Altman's 3 Women, The Long Goodbye, and Gosford Park, so McCabe & Mrs. Miller holding up feels like cinematic justice. I wish Popeye and his MASH movie were better, but McCabe & Mrs. Miller is brilliant. I found his snowy gun duel finale is simply fantastic with gripping tension and constant laughs. Warren Beatty stomping around in the rain or trouncing about in heavy snowfall is just a blast. I love the slower buildup of characters, Altman's drawing out of suspense over this untaken business deal merger, into his lethal duel during winter.
Writers Robert Altman and Brian McKay adapt Edmund Naughton's novel with a grim honesty about the hardships of women selling themselves and men getting gunned down mercilessly in the old West. Lou Lombardo keeps a steady pace with swift cuts, always helping Altman's dreamy tone.
Warren Beatty is hilarious as the idiotic brothel owner and supposed gunslinger John "Pudgy" McCabe. Beatty is so silly with his constant burping, farting, complaining, micro managing, and world weary attitude. He's excellent as the foil to Julie Christie's Mrs. Miller, who just knows what she wants compared to his aimless personality. Julie Christie is fabulous as the brothel madame Constance Miller. She's made up her mind that she wants to own her own brothel business and help other ladies out. She's a startlingly modern woman in the old West that just works wonders opposite Beatty's foolish McCabe with no spine.
René Auberjonois is great as the big mouthed saloon owner Patrick Sheehan, who never learns to just keep quiet. William Devane gets a rising legal speech as the lawyer Clement Samuels. John Schuck is a fun sleazy presence as Smalley. Shelley Duvall has a smaller, yet sincere role as the nervous escort Ida Coyle, who has to suffer all because her man is now gone. Bert Remsen feels like a hopeful Western side character as Bart Coyle, who is immediately and unceremoniously killed off with a lethal blow to the head as if his life never had a chance at mattering.
Michael Murphy pretends to be a friendly deal maker as Eugene Sears, but he quickly gives in and relies on deadlier methods of business acquisition by any means necessary in hiring Butler. Antony Holland looks visibly frustrated by McCabe as ruthless and unforgiving mine owner Ernest Hollander. Hugh Millais' huge stature and intimidating smirk make for a fearsome hunter named Butler. His endgame villain only appears in snowfall on a large horse with a lengthy rifle at his side, then chases McCabe around town after denying him a business deal for the last. He's grim and fun at the same time because you know immediately this man is a real killer with no mercy. Manfred Schulz is creepy as the bloodthirsty gunman Kid, who mercilessly guns down Keith Carradine's amiable Cowboy. Jace Van Der Veen is unnerving as the quiet gunman Breed.
Jeremy Newson's endless jabbering as Jeremy Berg is a riot. Linda Sorensen is a delight as the playful prostitute Blanche. Elizabeth Knight is pretty funny as Birdie. Carey Lee McKenzie is devastating as the young girl escort Alma, who actually looks scared and timid. Wayne Robson is fun as the mustachioed barkeep. Brantley Kearns plays a mean fiddle throughout McCabe & Mrs. Miller.
Art directors Philip Thomas and Al Locatelli show off snowy mountain vistas to wet tree branches during the endless heavy rainfall. The soft focus camera work of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond creates a dreamy visual aesthetic. McCabe & Mrs. Miller looks amazing and pretty. Production designer Leon Ericksen's gritty wooden settlement looks realistic with a period accurate steam engine to totally hand carved church and brothel. I loved all the different guns for props from huge shotguns, long hunting rifles, and a Swedish custom pistol for McCabe himself.
Composer Leonard Cohen's beautiful folk songs provide a somber tone. His melancholic lyrics are written so tenderly and sung with a remorseful wonder. Cohen's folk soundtrack is splendid and a highlight of McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Sound designers Sergio Reyes and John W. Gusselle add in loud, clear gunshots and nice ambient forest noises to create a somber and playful vibe to McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Costume designer Ilse Richter creates an iconic massive fur coat for Warren Beatty over his slick brown and black three piece suit. All the prostitute ladies' dresses are pretty nice and look period accurate. There's plenty to look at and listen to for McCabe & Mrs. Miller's pleasant 120 minute run-time.
In all, Robert Altman creates a bleak and very entertaining Western town in the snowy mountainside full of escorts, gambling, and guns.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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