Here are some short notes I took while watching the director and producer’s commentary. 1. The film was shot in sequence. 2. This was producer David Foster’s first movie. He then followed with The Getaway, The Drowing Pool, The Mask of Zorro (among others). 3. film is in the Museum of Modern Art 4. Altman: ordinary story, gambler, whore with heart of gold. Audience knows the beats. 5. Altman doesn’t care about story, it’s a painting. 6. they flashed the film 7. got the soft look with lot’s of filters on the lens 8. Vilsmos - not nominated for cinematography because not member of guild 9. Leon Ericson - Production designer 10. Constructed the town - Altman - dialogue is the character - not the words that are important. 11. Foster: Altman good at variance. If the audience expects the story to go one way, he takes it a different way. Keeps the audience paying attention. 12. Foster: Producer/ Director set a tone...crew becomes family and friends ... 13. Altman: “trust one’s instincts. There’s a reason its there.” 14. took nine days to shoot the final “chase” sequence. Snowed the whole time. 15. Foster’s theory for lack of box office. It was a “true” ending. If they’d made a happy ending with Mrs. Miller “saving” McCabe, more box office. You make choices, for the “film” or for the box office.

Thanks, Mark, for those additional notes. All of these 70s post are archived, so your thorough and excellent analysis of the movie will be available to writers from here on out. I must say I'm surprised Altman shot the film in sequence. I wonder if he did that with most/all of his films.

I offer a few thoughts on Julie Christie, who Al Pacino called “the most poetic of all actresses.” I was sixteen when I saw this film on its initial release. I obviously had not lived enough life to appreciate some of its themes. I just knew that Julie Christie was probably the most beautiful woman on earth and that Warren Beatty was really cool. The joy of revisiting so many of these great movies from those years is after living some life you see and appreciate different things these movies offered. I re-watched Fahrenheit 451, released in 1966, a few weeks ago. Julie Christie played the female lead. Frankly, I didn’t think she was much of an actress in that movie. But she and Warren had a chemistry which matched the onscreen chemistry of Bogart and Bacall. They did McCabe, Shampoo (1971), and Heaven Can Wait (1978). I marvel at how Christie and Beatty captured the feel of the emerging modern woman and how a leading man should react to that new woman . Julie Christie grew as an actress as much as any actress that I can think of. Maybe it’s that crush from 1971, but I think Julie Christie is a treasure for film. I can’t wait for the coming review of Shampoo.

Off topic: I sent my 70s post a few days ago but saw I was still listed as not having sent it -- so I sent it again. Fingers crossed it was received...?