Director Robert Altman wanted his 1971 western to look like faded photographs from the late 1800s. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond chased that look on McCabe & Mrs. Miller by sacrificing contrast and sharpness.
Warren Beatty starred as gambler John McCabe, with Julie Christie as Constance Miller. Christie earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role.
The American Film Institute’s June 2008 ranking of the top 10 westerns placed it at No. 8.
Fifty-five years on, the film holds an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 62 critic reviews. Audiences rate it a point higher, with an 86% Popcornmeter from more than 5,000 ratings.
Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus goes further:
“McCabe & Mrs. Miller offers revisionist Western fans a landmark early addition to the genre while marking an early apogee for director Robert Altman.”
Turns out, getting that look onto the screen meant keeping Warner Bros. in the dark.
How Robert Altman Hid His Risky Camera Trick From Warner Bros.
Zsigmond got there by “flashing” the negative, hitting the raw film with a little light before filming. Once the footage existed, the effect couldn’t be reversed, which suited Altman fine.
Mental Floss reported that studio executives would never have approved it in advance. It was a gamble, too, since one bad exposure guess could ruin entire batches of footage.
Zsigmond recalled the reaction to Filmmaker Magazine. “The studio hated it,” he said.
To save Zsigmond’s job from angry executives, Altman lied. A Vancouver film lab took the fall for the murky footage.
The cinematographer stayed behind the camera through the rest of the shoot.
Zsigmond also recalled Stanley Kubrick praising its zoom shots when the two directors crossed paths in London. Told Zsigmond handled them, Kubrick asked whether Altman trusted him.
The cinematography couldn’t compete for an Oscar because Zsigmond belonged to no guild, according to Mental Floss. He joined the American Society of Cinematographers in 1973.
Zsigmond later won an Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, one of four nominations.
Related: Mikhail Kalatozov’s 1964 Classic Holds a Perfect 100% Score on Rotten Tomatoes
