Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Reframing the American West
- ISBN-10
- 0700615512
- ISBN-13
- 9780700615513
- Category
- Performing Arts / Film / General
- Pages
- 208
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2007
- Publisher
- University Press of Kansas
- Author
- Robert T. Self
Description
Robert Altman has made a dozen films that can be called great in one way or another, but one of them is perfect, and that one is McCabe & Mrs. Miller.—Roger Ebert in The Great Movies
When he died in 2006, director Robert Altman left a rich legacy of films, from MASH, his breakthrough black comedy, through masterpieces like Nashville, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park. But many would agree that his crowning achievement was McCabe & Mrs. Miller, a daring downbeat film about a gambler and a prostitute. Robert Self now provides an illuminating new look at this long neglected classic.
A snowbound version of High Noon, Altman's film has been described as a revisionist western, an antiwestern, and even a hippie western. Featuring cinematic icons Warren Beatty and Julie Christie at the zenith of their careers and a haunting soundtrack from legendary troubadour Leonard Cohen, it provided a new way of looking at the western and the West.
Placing the film within the contexts of Altman's career, its critical and popular reception, and the history of American cinema, Self shows how Altman's idiosyncratic interplay between story and style reframed the American West for a new generation. Viewing McCabe as a kind of precursor to the New Western History, he argues that it both embraces and revises the conventions associated with the Western movie genre, especially with its antiheroic protagonist. He also highlights the film's portrayal of the contemporary counterculture, pitting the loner against corporate power and mainstream religion and granting women a newfound voice.
In addition, Self sheds light on the film's production, showing how its rare sequential filming reflected the seamless collaborative efforts of director, actors, cinematographer, and set designer. Here, too, are Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue, painterly visuals, signature pan and zoom shots, crowded and communal mise-en-scenes, and a musical soundtrack mirroring the narrative—all in the service of Altman's inimitable storytelling and indelible gallery of fascinating characters. Self's beautifully written, admiring, and insightful study of this great film should significantly enhance its reputation and reinforce Altman's place in the pantheon of American filmmakers.
Get the book
Similar books
-
The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture
By William A. WellmanWith Ginger Rogers , Adolphe Menjou , George Montgomery , Lynne Overman , Nigel Bruce , Phil Silvers , Sara Allgood , William Frawley , Spring Byington , Helene Reynolds , George Chandler , George Lessey , Iris Adrian , and Milton ...
-
Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema
By Jeff YangArmour of God ( 1986 ; Hong Kong , Ac , Cm ) D : Jackie Chan C : Jackie Chan , Alan Tam , Rosamund Kwan , Lola Forner , Bozidar Smiljanic In this flamboyant actioner - clearly inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark - Chan plays Asian Hawk ...
-
Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen
By Timothy Shary... WOMAN INTO CINEMA Janet McCabe MELODRAMA : GENRE , STYLE , SENSIBILITY John Mercer and Martin Shingler FILM PERFORMANCE : FROM ACHIEVEMENT TO APPRECIATION Andrew Klevan NEW DIGITAL CINEMA : REINVENTING THE MOVING IMAGE Holly Willis ...
-
Guide to British Cinema
By Geoff MayerTHE CHALLENGE 59 Greiffer , based on the play by Jacques Gillies ; Cinematography : Arthur Grant ; Music : Wilfred Josephs ; Cast : Peter Cushing ( Fordyce ) , Andre Morell ( Hepburn ) , Richard Vernon ( Pearson ) , Norman Bird ...
-
Hollywood Dreams and Biblical Stories
By Bernard Brandon ScottBrandon Scott ' s sage and savvy analysis of more than fifty recent popular American movies , from Dirty Harry to ... BERNARD BRANDON SCOTT is Darbeth Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Phillips Graduate Seminary , Tulsa ...
-
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
By Thomas S. HischakHollywood's Greatest Year Thomas S. Hischak. Published by Rowman & Littlefield A ... British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hischak, Thomas S. author.
-
Film Consciousness: From Phenomenology to Deleuze
By Spencer ShawThe first half of the book focuses on understanding the elements of the film experience--and its associated consciousness--through the descriptive tools of phenomenology.
-
Looking at Movies: Buch
By Dave Monahan, Richard Meran BarsamLooking at Movies: Buch
-
Fashioning Film Stars: Dress, Culture, Identity
By Rachel MoseleyLee's criticisms tap into widely documented histories of black representation within American popular cinema , which have seen white film - makers present black people in ways that are clearly derogatory and two - dimensional .
-
I Want to See This Annie Mattygraph: Cartoon History of the Coming of the Movies
By Stephen BottomorePer tale motivo , nel 1908 in America la Germantown sullo schermo , e mettendosi a cantare sul filo dell'accompagna- Citizens ' Association mise al bando questi copricapi da " vedova mento musicale . Un simile coinvolgimento era ...