Sightlines · reception

How Mikey and Nicky was received

1976 · Elaine May · Mikey and Nicky on Sightlines

The arc

Paramount dumped it into a handful of theaters in December 1976 after a legendary war with Elaine May over budget and editing, and it vanished as a flop. Decades later — capped by a 2019 Criterion release — it's routinely called one of the great American films of the '70s and the crown jewel of the May reappraisal.

What’s debated

The perennial fan debate: does May's film out-Cassavetes Cassavetes himself — and is this, not A New Leaf or The Heartbreak Kid, actually her masterpiece?

Its footprint

It's the ur-text of 'release the director's cut' and 'director jail' discourse — Exhibit A whenever film Twitter argues about how Hollywood buried Elaine May, and the reason 'she made four features, all great' became a cinephile refrain.

Where it stands

A cult object turned canon climber: a Letterboxd-beloved 'you have to see this' pick for New Hollywood completists, sealed by Criterion.

Did you know? May shot a staggering amount of footage — reportedly around 1.4 million feet, several times what Gone with the Wind used — and during her fight with Paramount over the cut, reels of the film famously went missing, turning up hidden away with a friend until she regained leverage.