McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

I can't say I've ever been a big fan of the Western. This movie is the classic anti-western, a parody of the classic genre. And it is quite funny, sometimes seemingly unintentionally. Sometimes it is just funny because you don't know what to make of the unusual scene you just saw. The soft songs of Leonard Cohen are a hilarious contrast to the untame, uncouth wild west. And Mrs. Miller's Cockney accent sticks out in the Pacific northwest.

Robert Altman's signature is all over this film. He loves to use zooms, both fast and slow. The slow zooms draw your attention to a small detail that you otherwise would miss. The fast zooms have a comedic effect. They are kind of cheesy at first, but the timing and frequency is perfect as you get used to them. Altman also pioneered complex sound mixing techniques. At first, I thought the sound was bouncing off the walls making it difficult to understand and distinguish dialogue. But that is actually his technique to immerse the viewer in the scene. When everyone is talking over each other, you don't actually hear any of it clearly. Instead, you read the ambiance of the scene rather than the actual dialogue.