Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 17, 2016

Nominated for Oscar Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Robert Altman's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival interviews with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond; behind the scenes featurette; new documentary film with cast and crew interviews; new filmed conversation with film historians Cari Beauchamp and Rick Jewell; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Nathaniel Rich's essay "Showdowns" and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"There comes a time in every man's life when he just got to stick his hand in the fire and see what he is made out of."

Note: The text below first appeared in our review of Criterion's Blu-ray release of McCabe and Mrs. Miller, which was published in 2016.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller is exactly the type of film that can no longer be made today. There is so much great ‘bad’ material in it that if a major studio considered funding a film like it in the current political environment, the moral watchdogs and vocal defenders of political correctness would instantly light the internet on fire and then make sure that the studio goes bankrupt. Robert Altman is very, very lucky to have been able to direct McCabe and Mrs. Miller some forty-five years ago.

The film is set in a small mining town called Presbyterian Church somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. The place is still new and small, looking for an identity and a leader that will make its residents feel good about its future. The gambling gunslinger John McCabe (Warren Beatty) arrives convinced that he can give the town exactly what it needs -- a brand new brothel. Some longtime residents remain skeptical about his plan, but instead of openly questioning his business instincts, they all sign up to work for him.

McCabe runs the brothel exactly as he wants until the classy whore Constance Miller (Julie Christie) arrives in town and offers him a deal that he is forced to consider. If McCabe makes her a partner, Mrs. Miller will bring more classy whores that will profoundly transform his business. It will be bigger, more prestigious, and a lot more profitable than McCabe ever imagined possible.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller begin working together and the whoring business quickly grows exactly as predicted, but then a big mining company sends its two best negotiators to convince McCabe to sell his holdings and leave town. At first, McCabe refuses, but when it becomes clear that the company is ready to use 'alternative methods' to force him to sell, he panics. Then he slowly regains his composure and rather reluctantly vows to bravely defend his ground.

The film is brilliantly awkward -- or, if one accepts that the glorious image of the American West which the early westerns promoted was seriously flawed, perhaps refreshingly authentic. Altman’s cinematic vision of the West is a dark, gloomy and at times seriously depressing place that apparently attracted all sorts of wacky characters who at least in the beginning preferred to follow their instincts rather than the laws they had created to give their communities some structure. They also loved to follow the money, and the more money there was to make, the more willing they were to gamble their lives.

There isn’t much of a plot, so the focus of attention is primarily on the flaws and weaknesses of the settlers and partially their struggles to adapt to their quickly evolving reality. As such, the film feels more like a period study of a wide range of unfiltered human emotions and reactions, rather than a western telling a unique story about perseverance.

It has to be said that the film also has a pretty big mischievous alter ego, and it seems quite proud of it. For example, next to the well-calculated political jabs -- like the ‘revelation’ that for centuries now big corporations have been trying to screw the little guys -- the film also flips some of the biggest clichés about the tough settlers (men and women) in the West with a very sharp sense of humor. Some of the best material also isn’t PG material, though even the most outrageous bits do not aim to offend.

The cinematography is very unique. Altman and director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond gave the film a wonderfully poetic ‘antique’ look that is defined by various oversaturated and desaturated colors, unusual contrasts, and very careful light and shadow management.

The uncharacteristically lyrical soundtrack employs three songs from Canadian singer, composer, and poet Leonard Cohen.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K 16-bit resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. The color was matched to a reference print made by the Academy Film Archive of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and timed by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's Film DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX4.

Colorist: Lee Kline.
Transfer consultant: James Chressanthis, ASC, GSC; Declain Quinn, ASC; Michael Pogorzelski/Academy Film Archive.
4K Scanning: Motion Picture Imaging, Burbank. CA."

It is most unfortunate that Vilmos Zsigmond is no longer with us because he would have been very pleased with the way McCabe & Mrs. Miller has transitioned to Blu-ray. Indeed, the film now looks exceptionally healthy and for the first time while viewing it at home one can begin to appreciate its unique visual style. The special color nuances and the manner in which light and shadow are captured by the camera, in particular, create unusual contrasts that are simply missing from Warner's old DVD release (you can see great examples in screencaptures #1, 2, 3, and 4). There is also an added dose of raw vibrancy in the outdoor footage -- and especially during the long shootout at the end of the film -- that the DVD release could not reproduce (see screencaptures #10 and 24). Detail and clarity are optimal, but because of the various filters and lighting techniques that were used to give the film a certain 'antique' appearance there are quite obvious fluctuations. (Some similar examples can also be seen in Vilmos Zsigmond's work in The Long Goodbye, Heaven's Gate, The Rose, and Jinxed). Grain is wonderfully exposed and resolved, but you will probably notice that it does tend to evolve when the action moves from one location to another. These reoccurring effects are also part of the film's stylistic identity. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are absolutely no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or torn/warped frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film also has a very unique organic design. There are select segments with minor dynamic fluctuations -- most of which are noticeable during some of the footage from the brothel -- and in some cases even clarity fluctuations. However, there are no traces of purely age-related anomalies (background hiss, pops, distortions, etc.). During the music excerpts, stability and fluidity are excellent.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Music only. (2 min, 1080p).

• Way Out on a Limb - this brand new documentary focuses on the production history and style of McCabe & Mrs. Miller, the socio-cultural environment in which the film emerged, and Robert Altman's working methods. Included in the documentary are brand new interviews with actors Rene Auberjonois (Sheehan), Keith Carradine (the horny cowboy), Michael Murphy (Sears), casting director Graeme Clifford, and script supervisor Joan Tewkesbury, as well as various original production stills. The documentary was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (55 min, 1080p).

• Cari Beauchamp and Rick Jewell - in this brand new filmed conversation, film historians Cari Beauchamp and Rick Jewell discuss some of the cliches that have been used during the years to describe McCabe & Mrs. Miller, the film's unique style and structure, and its placement in Robert Altman's body of work. The conversation was filmed exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (37 min, 1080p).

• Behind the Scenes - presented here is an archival featurette that chronicles the building of the Northwestern mining town that is seen in McCabe & Mrs. Miller. All of the archival footage was shot on location in British Columbia, Canada in 1970. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

• Leon Ericksen - presented here is a segment from an archival filmed conversation between production designer Leon Ericksen (McCabe & Mrs. Miller), production designer Jack De Govia (Die Hard, Speed), and art director Al Locatelli (McCabe & Mrs. Miller) in which the three gentlemen discuss the filming of Robert Altman's unconventional western. The conversation was shot at the Art Directors Guild Film Society in Los Angeles in 1999. In English, not subtitled. (38 min, 1080i).

• Vilmos Zsigmond - in this featurette, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond discusses his work with Robert Altman on McCabe & Mrs. Miller, the time period in which the film emerged, and some of the trends and creative ideas that defined it. The featurette combines footage from two archival interviews which were conducted in 2005 and 2008. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Steve Schapiro Photo Gallery - presented here is a collection of archival stills from the shooting of McCabe & Mrs. Miller gathered by photojournalist Steve Schapiro, who was hired by Robert Altman to shoot "special photography" for his film. (1080p).

• The Dick Cavett Show - presented here are two archival segments from The Dick Cavett Show.
  
  1. Pauline Kael - in this segment, film critic Pauline Kael dismisses some early negative reviews of McCabe & Mrs. Miller, including a fairly popular one written by Rex Reed. The segment is from an episode of the show that aired on July 6, 1971. In English, not subtitled. (11 min, 1080i).
  
  2. Robert Altman - in this segment, director Robert Altman discusses the sound design of McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Warren Beatty and Julie Christie's performances, the film business, etc. The segment is from an episode of the show that aired on August 16, 1971. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080i).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary with dierctor Robert Altman and David Foster also appeared on Warner's original DVD release of McCabe & Mrs. Miller. In it there is an abundance of information about the film's production history, the type of atmosphere it promotes and how it does it, the various conflicts between different characters, etc.

• Leaflet - illustrated leaflet featuring critic Nathaniel Rich's essay "Showdowns" and technical credits.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller is one big experimental film that managed to effectively accomplish two things. First, it introduced a credible and very different cinematic vision of the American West. Second, it redefined how westerns were directed, shot, and even evaluated. It is a fascinating film, though I do not think that it is as easy to like as its biggest fans and defenders claim. Criterion's Blu-ray release of McCabe & Mrs. Miller is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration that is very beautiful. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.