The contrary Robert Altman was never going to make a conventional Western, but unconventional though it is McCabe and Mrs Miller is the director's best film.

Deciding against shooting in the Western plains, Altman took his cast and crew to British Columbia, where they all lived the authentic 19th century mountain life in a specially constructed town.

The story has Warren Beatty as McCabe, a small time hustler with plans of opening a brothel, and Julie Christie as Mrs Miller, a cockney madam with girls in tow who wants a piece of McCabe's stake.

But, all plans go sour when a mining company attempt to pressure McCabe into selling up.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller features tense duels and climaxes with a memorable shoot-out in the snowy wastes, but the real joy lies in watching the perfectly created world Altman and his crew created, people with a cast encouraged to become their characters.

Beatty, at the height of his sex symbol fame, is almost always wrapped inside layers of unflattering clothes, sporting an unkempt, bushy beard.

Altman also employed famed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond to create images that replicated the sepia tones of old photographs and Leonard Cohen to provide songs that wryly complement the onscreen action.

Rob Daniel