10 Great Filmmakers Best Remembered For The Wrong Films

5. Robert Altman

Best Remembered For: MASH (1970), Nashville (1975), Gosford Park (2001) Should Be Remembered For: McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Robert Altman is the godfather of the ensemble picture, so of course the films he's best known for are those featuring sprawling casts and wandering narratives. The film that tones down his hit-and-miss ensemble approach most satisfyingly, however, is quite probably also his best film, and one of the finest westerns ever made: McCabe & Mrs. Miller. The story of a gambler (Warren Beatty) and a cockney madame (Julie Christie) opening a brothel in a quiet northwestern town, McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a revisionist western requiring Altman to trust his instincts with just two primary actors. He doesn't change the mould completely - he applies his taste for realism and overlapping dialogue even here, resulting in what feels like one of the most genuine films made in the western genre. And for all those people hankering for a gunfight, McCabe & Mrs. Miller has one, but it comes after Altman has successfully made it feel like there's a great deal at stake, raising the tension to almost unbearable levels. Roger Ebert was a fan - he said of the movie: "Robert Altman has made a dozen films that can be called great in one way or another, but one of them is perfect, and that one is McCabe & Mrs. Miller" - but there's also an argument that The Long Goodbye, made with regular Altman collaborator Elliot Gould, is the director's best. An adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel that uproots private detective Philip Marlowe to 1970s LA, it's a looser film than McCabe & Mrs. Miller, but that's part of its laid back charm.