Julie Christie in McCabe & Mrs Miller

1927/28 through 1997
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Reza
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Post by Reza »

Penelope wrote:Personally, I prefer Christie in McCabe over The Go-Between, which isn't nearly as good as L.P. Hartley's novel (a cliché, true, but there we are); I can't recall if the movie retains the classic opening line of the book, which is familiar to all history majors: "The past is another country; they do things differently there."


As much as a die hard fan I am of Christie, she should really not have been nominated for McCabe (or The Go-Between, for that matter - a film I really otherwise like). Ruth Gordon should have been nominated, instead, for Harold and Maude.

Checking my own list of nods for that year, I notice that I HAVE included Christie and also Gordon while bumping off Janet Suzman (Nicholas and Alexandra). My choices are as follows:

Julie Christie, McCabe & Mrs. Miller
*Jane Fonda, Klute
Ruth Gordon, Harold and Maude
Glenda Jackson, Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Vanessa Redgrave, Mary, Queen of Scots
The Original BJ
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Post by The Original BJ »

I just watched the film, and although Christie doesn't enter it until the half-hour mark, she's never gone for very long after that.

It actually strikes me as odd that anyone could consider this anything BUT a leading role.
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Post by Penelope »

Well, see, I'd completely forgotten. That's how much I disliked the movie!
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Post by Mister Tee »

It was also the quote used in the ads for the film.
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Post by Big Magilla »

Yes, the opening line of the book is spoken by the narrater, Sir Michael Redgrave as the older version of the title character played by Dominic Guard.
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Post by Penelope »

Personally, I prefer Christie in McCabe over The Go-Between, which isn't nearly as good as L.P. Hartley's novel (a cliché, true, but there we are); I can't recall if the movie retains the classic opening line of the book, which is familiar to all history majors: "The past is another country; they do things differently there."
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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Post by Sabin »

Julie Christie was on-screen for at least a half hour. I'm sure of it. I've seen the film five or six times. I think she's pretty special in it. I haven't seen terribly many of Christie's performances, so I can only assume if this is one of her lesser works, then Christie at her best must be absolutely luminous.

I haven't seen 'The Go-Between', but I'm ecstatic that 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' was nominated for anything. It's one of the most glorious movies of the seventies, and should have seen nominations for Altman, Beatty, the screenplay, and Vilmos Zsigmond's astonshing cinematography. Granted 1971 was an outstanding year for nominees (still haven't seen 'Nicholas and Alexandra', and probably won't), but I prefer 'McCabe' to all.
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Post by Big Magilla »

In 1971 it would have been inconceivable for a star of Julie Christie's then magnitude to be nominated in support. She was nominated in the right category, albeit for the wrong film. She should have nominated for The Go-Between.
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Post by rudeboy »

I only saw this film for the first time quite recently, and was taken with just how brief Julie Christie’s lead actress nominated performance was. I may be wrong but it seemed her total screentime was somewhere in the region of 10-15 minutes, while Beatty was in almost every scene. I also found that, particularly next to Warren’s remarkable performance, hers was rather flat and artificial – she seemed to be pushing the feisty cockney act a little too far (I’ve always preferred Christie as characters with a little more class/breeding). I much prefer her in The Go Between, eligible the same year.

Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly and she had more impact than I think - but could this be the shortest performance ever nominated for a lead oscar? How did Christie make it into the lead race? Was her nomination a surprise, and would a supporting nod have been more appropriate?
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