Mini response for UW's CMS 270: New Hollywood class regarding the 1971 film "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and its sound design.
McCabe and Mrs. Miller overall has a fascinating use of sound, particularly as it pertains to diegetic vs. non-diegetic audio tracks and cues. This innovative and complex style creates a world that is teeming with life, which is particularly useful in a film regarding the building of society within a town. Added tracks of layered dialogue provide world context while also integrating the audience into the already disorienting landscape. As we follow McCabe, we are distanced from him – learning conversations he has not overheard and taking part in exchanges just on his periphery. Cinematically, these choices steer us further from the platonic ideal of a Western and further toward the truth of McCabe’s insecurity and, at times, ignorance. In the opening scene, overlapping dialogue, external world noises, and the general bustle of the space coat the film in a thick fog, not unlike the visual style accomplished by overexposure and camera lenses. Later in the film, and particularly in the final chase sequence, sound is used to give Presbyterian Church a sense of space; events taking place concurrently can be heard in a vague background, stifled by snow. Altman’s goal to capture the look of old photographs extends to the soundscape, utilizing an overstimulating amount of information in order to present a fractured but realism-steeped narrative. There is almost no non-diegetic audio, with the exception of Cohen’s music. This not only calls attention to the lyrics and tone of Cohen, but also contextualizes the world in a frankly fantastic show of cinematography. Music presented is quickly acknowledged by display of a townsperson or music box playing, and the story continues around that context. The rich sound landscape provides an insightful and character-building view of the town, giving it as much character in its speech as we get from the titular characters.
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