Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 06/04/2002
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol/Por/Japanese
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 121 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Substance Abuse (Alcohol, Drugs)
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
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