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57. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Altman's famous (anti-) Western film, McCabe & Mrs. Miller is another showcase of the director's extraordinary talent to make a certain genre completely his own, while also giving it a very interesting, refreshing and often haunting atypical spin. He is one of those directors that could easily put many different important themes into one nicely flowing movie and he very much does that here.
The film starts with the image of a typical loner. Infamous cigar smoking gambler John McCabe (played perfectly by Warren Beatty) enters a town and visits a local saloon. He has come to the place with a vision, with a plan. He's determined to start a luxurious whorehouse.
Soon he starts the constructions, but the "whorehouse business" seems more complex than he thought at first. An experienced professional prostitute, called Constance Miller (played by the always gorgeous Julie Christie), passes by and she offers him her help in exchange for a share of the profits. McCabe accepts the business deal.
Everything starts going well for their business and we learn more about both of our main characters. A special chemistry starts to develop between them, but it's not at all the typical romantic chemistry one would expect. It's much more complex and dark and our characters suffer because of it. Meanwhile a major corporation offers to buy McCabe out, because they have their own plans with the town. When McCabe initially refuses and starts playing hard to get, the darker meanings of the uncontrolled and "free" West become clear...
The reason I like this film so much is because it's able to flawlessly balance poetry with brainy intelligence. The film shows emotions and portrays feelings, but it places them in a realistic and sometimes rather pessimistic environment. Human values and romanticism don't get a safe conduct in this film. Falling in love with a prostitute who has lost hope isn't matter of course and owning a thriving business isn't all that romantic, but at least it feels real and that's the strength of this film.
Now, some people would think that this sense of 'realism' would make a film rather boring, but that's definitely not the case here. Yes, it offers a more believable and intelligent take on the Old West, but it's still full with stuff that makes a film great! The characters are interesting, the script can be funny, tensive and haunting, the directing is Altman at his best, the film has a warm, heartfelt core and the story is very interesting and entertaining to follow.
So yeah, be sure to check this out before the '70s list starts. As you can see, for me, it's still one of the most satisfying film experiences I've ever had and I'm sure many of you will love it as well (or already love it).
3:40 - At the beginning of the film, there is a shot of McCabe lighting a cigarette before crossing the bridge. According to Robert Altman, Stanley Kubrick loved that shot and called him up asking him: "How did you know you had it?"
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Altman's famous (anti-) Western film, McCabe & Mrs. Miller is another showcase of the director's extraordinary talent to make a certain genre completely his own, while also giving it a very interesting, refreshing and often haunting atypical spin. He is one of those directors that could easily put many different important themes into one nicely flowing movie and he very much does that here.
The film starts with the image of a typical loner. Infamous cigar smoking gambler John McCabe (played perfectly by Warren Beatty) enters a town and visits a local saloon. He has come to the place with a vision, with a plan. He's determined to start a luxurious whorehouse.
Soon he starts the constructions, but the "whorehouse business" seems more complex than he thought at first. An experienced professional prostitute, called Constance Miller (played by the always gorgeous Julie Christie), passes by and she offers him her help in exchange for a share of the profits. McCabe accepts the business deal.
Everything starts going well for their business and we learn more about both of our main characters. A special chemistry starts to develop between them, but it's not at all the typical romantic chemistry one would expect. It's much more complex and dark and our characters suffer because of it. Meanwhile a major corporation offers to buy McCabe out, because they have their own plans with the town. When McCabe initially refuses and starts playing hard to get, the darker meanings of the uncontrolled and "free" West become clear...
The reason I like this film so much is because it's able to flawlessly balance poetry with brainy intelligence. The film shows emotions and portrays feelings, but it places them in a realistic and sometimes rather pessimistic environment. Human values and romanticism don't get a safe conduct in this film. Falling in love with a prostitute who has lost hope isn't matter of course and owning a thriving business isn't all that romantic, but at least it feels real and that's the strength of this film.
Now, some people would think that this sense of 'realism' would make a film rather boring, but that's definitely not the case here. Yes, it offers a more believable and intelligent take on the Old West, but it's still full with stuff that makes a film great! The characters are interesting, the script can be funny, tensive and haunting, the directing is Altman at his best, the film has a warm, heartfelt core and the story is very interesting and entertaining to follow.
So yeah, be sure to check this out before the '70s list starts. As you can see, for me, it's still one of the most satisfying film experiences I've ever had and I'm sure many of you will love it as well (or already love it).
3:40 - At the beginning of the film, there is a shot of McCabe lighting a cigarette before crossing the bridge. According to Robert Altman, Stanley Kubrick loved that shot and called him up asking him: "How did you know you had it?"
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