Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

avik-basu1889 Right from the first shot of 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller', Robert Altman leaves no stone unturned to subvert, toy with and deconstruct every trope of the conventional Western. Warren Beatty's Mccabe turns up in a town as the mysterious stranger. He has the reputation of being a gunslinger. But unlike, the badass characters of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood of past Westerns, Mccabe is revealed to the viewer to be a bit of an insecure schmuck. Altman shakes up the gender politics by making Julie Christie's character of Mrs. Miller(Constance) a strong, independent woman who is clearly intellectually superior to Mccabe. She is the main reason why Mccabe achieved success as a businessman in the town of Presbyterian Church. The relationship between Mccabe and Constance throughout the film remains professional. Even though there are moments where the viewer can sense a bit of affection simmering beneath the surface in the way they behave with each other and talk to each other, but they never allow the professional wall standing between them to get breached(especially Constance) which mirrors the cutthroat nature of the surroundings and time. The film is also a commentary on capitalism and a deconstruction of the individualism which is exhibited by the lead characters of the classic Western. It offers a fatalistic attitude on the inevitable future that awaits anyone who refuses to sell out or assert his/her independence in a cutthroat economy. However the ending also offers a socialist and hopeful attitude to the strength and power of a community when everyone collectively put their forces together to achieve something. The entire ending can again be seen as a subversion of the ending to 'High Noon'.What enriches the film is the way Altman and his cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond capture the Pacific Northwest and simulate the feel, the visual essence and atmosphere of the Old West. The flashing technique used on the print gives the visuals a very hazy, murky look which is so perfect to underline the gritty, dirty nature of the surroundings. This is a town where civilisation in its conventional form is still nothing but a distant echo. The dynamics between the church, the small time capitalists, the general public and the oncoming industrial progress(the steam engine is used as an overt symbol of progress) is really fascinating. Altman uses his characteristic technique of overlapping dialogue to create the Renoir-esque inclusive style to simulate and properly conjure up the feel of a community. All the supporting characters of the town look, sound and feel authentic. The interior scenes of the renovated brothel stand out from the rest of the film due to the beautiful reddish hue/glow that can be found ornamenting the scenes. Leonard Cohen's beautiful songs lend an air of appropriate melancholy to the Altman's atmosphere.Warren Beatty is brilliant. He is not playing the quintessential hard man in a Western. He beautifully sells the insecurity, the vulnerability and tentativeness of Mccabe. On the other hand, Julie Christie plays the character of Constance Miller with a sense of gravitas and steely conviction. The dynamics between these two characters plays out brilliantly.Highly Recommended.

JohnHowardReid NOTES: Negative cost: $4 million. Shot on location in Canada.COMMENT: "McCabe and Mrs Miller" could be tightened a bit as the scenes between the two protagonists are actually the dullest in the film. Altman's anti-clericalism is very noticeable. The crook-backed minister loping through the town is caricaturised as a figure of fun in the early scenes and as an evil fanatic in the later. As in MASH every character is strongly individualized and there is a 3- dimensional quality in the writing and acting that brings them vividly to life. Every scene is full of acutely observed touches, though the final shoot-out is perhaps too bizarre, it is almost ludicrous at times, but this too could well be intentional.The support cast is superb, everyone wearing his character like a glove, but the principals seem miscast. Beatty is too intellectual and has to live down too clean-cut a screen image to be wholly convincing as an unprincipled, uncouth, small-time entrepreneur of low cunning. The sequence with the lawyer is especially unconvincing and, as the scene's point has already been made, the whole scene would have been better left on the cutting-room floor. The lawyer doesn't convince either and Altman's disinterest in the scene is shown by his over- use of undemanding and uninvolving close-ups. Miss Christie also has too high-class a screen image to be convincing as a low-class, dope-addicted madam. Her fans will be disappointed by her frowzy appearance too, but the film is nothing if not squalidly realistic. The photographic texture of the film is remarkable.I don't usually quote studio publicity departments, but this one provides some interesting info: Altman entered the picture-making business in his hometown of Kansas City, Mo., where he started off in industrial films, learning his craft from the cutting-room floor up to the director's suite. An Altman film engages his talents in all of the creative aspects of the medium. He wrote the screenplay of McCabe and Mrs Miller with Brian McKay.At the University of Missouri, he majored in a most non- theatrical subject, mathematical engineering. His switch to more creative action came during World War II; as a B-24 pilot, he had leisure time on his hands, enough of it to take up letter-writing. He composed long and humorous letters about anything and everything, and writing soon developed into a pleasurable undertaking for him. After the war, he stopped off in Los Angeles to collaborate with a friend, George W. George, on original screen treatments, several of which sold. He also wrote successfully for magazines and radio shows. Then he spent a year in New York writing plays and novels. He formed his own company and produced documentary films, and when he traveled to Hollywood it was a one-way trip. In 1955 he wrote, produced and directed his first feature film, The Delinquents, for United Artists. Two years later, Altman and George W. George, made the award-winning documentary The James Dean Story.Alfred Hitchcock was impressed, too. He offered Altman a contract but Bob elected to direct individual shows for him instead. For the next six years, Altman was one of television's busiest behind-the-camera talents. He wrote, produced and directed such shows as Roaring Twenties and Bonanza. In 1963 Altman formed his own motion-picture production company and began acquiring and developing properties. He directed Countdown and then directed That Cold Day In The Park. Producer Ingo Preminger then signed him to directed M.A.S.H.

Scott LeBrun Meticulous period recreation and superb rural atmosphere blend in this very good film, director Robert Altmans' follow-up to his big hit "MASH". A wonderful Warren Beatty stars in the title role of two bit gambler John McCabe, who gets the idea to open a saloon & whorehouse in the small mining town of Presbyterian Church. His business partner in this venture is a madam named Constance Miller (Julie Christie). Unfortunately, a much more powerful business tries to muscle its way into this now thriving territory. McCabe is too content with business as is to accept their offers, which only serves to get him into trouble."McCabe & Mrs. Miller" is a fine example of putting a fresh spin on the mythology of the Old West. It does indeed work as a precursor to the later TV series 'Deadwood'. Widescreen cinematography, by Vilmos Zsigmond, and production design, by Leon Ericksen, are first rate. The location shooting in wintry British Columbia, Canada, is another appreciable element. The theme of progress and of big business making life miserable for the independent operators is one that's still quite relevant today. The two main characters are extremely engaging, with Christie a delight in an Oscar nominated performance. Songs by Leonard Cohen are utilized throughout.Altman works with another of his superb ensemble supporting casts: Rene Auberjonois, William Devane (who has just one scene, but makes it count), John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine, Michael Murphy, and Hugh Millais. Familiar faces in smaller roles include Janet Wright, Wayne Robson, Jack Riley, Wayne Grace, and Don Francks.The finale is incredibly tense and plays out without too much dialogue. Millais makes for a genuinely spooky antagonist.All in all, this is a film well worth watching for fans of the cast, director, and genre.Eight out of 10.

Donald Buehler I loved it in 1971 and I still love it. There is so much to like about McCabe and Mrs Miller: Warren Beatty is superb as the blow-hard, big shot - who has trouble adding in his head - has next to no business sense - but is smart enough to take Julie Christie (Mrs Miller) as a partner in the brothel business. Not a great fan of Mr. Beatty (Is Carly Simon's famous song about him? I think so), he is great in this role - showing that bluster and chutzpa can get you somewhere - although in the end of course it gets him killed.Julie Christie is beautiful, fiery, and mysterious as Mrs Miller. An opium addict, she tries to escape her quite sordid world through drugs ( sound familiar?) as she prods and cajoles McCabe to be what he pretends to be. One of my favorite scenes is when she is challenging him to "think big - you always think small." This is interesting as he always talks big, but in fact has a very limited vision of what can be.I love to see growth (both good an bad) in characters. Check out the progression of evil in Walter White in Breaking Bad. McCabe, although he is 90% bluff (he is a gambler) does rise to the occasion when threatened by the gunslingers at the end. It is great to see him step up when the time came - even thought the end is tragic and very poignant.But the best part of the movie for me is the ambiance and setting and the cinematography. The bleak scenery and town provide a perfect backdrop for what I believe life was like in the early days of Western expansion. Mud, cold, unwashed people, ugly women, uglier men - this is what I imagine life was like in the Old West. Loving snow scenes, the weather portrayed in the movie is excellent, especially the heavy snow at the end. The way the film was shot with the haunting Leonard Cohen music gives this film an atmosphere of dark intrigue.BTW Leonard Cohen is still at it - check him out on one of the tracks in Sons of Anarchy (Come Healing).Finally there is the mystery. Is Warren Beatty actually John McCabe - the gunslinger who killed Bill Roundtree? Or is that part of the disguise he is willing to assume to gain respect? You can point out to events in the movie which support either theory. I'm interested in your take on this - let me know what you think. Hopefully I have motivated you to see this classic film. It is in my all-time top ten (although my Mom and Dad hated it!).Thanks for reading the review of one of my favorites. DonB