The Big Sleep
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Movie Reviews of The Big Sleep
Movie Review: Watch This Movie! This Is Why People Talk About Old Films.
Summary: 4 Stars
I've liked this film, and Raymond Chandler's books, for decades. Modern movie audiences may want to watch this film if they've seen "The Big Lebowski", which is based on the story.
I never realized that the film was so complicated, until I read the other reviews. Well, what can I say? I figured out what was happening, who the bad guys were, what everyone was talking about, and I was a teenager who never even knew there was a book! So don't panic, those film classes like to scare folks, to drum up business.
Philip Marlowe--Humphrey Bogart (who also played Sam Spade, in Hollywood's San Francisco backlots) is hired to find out what happened to an old pal of the Colonel. The Colonel has daughters--one of them is a coquettish, thumb sucking, drug freak, and the other is Lauren Bacall, so you know you're in for a very interesting afternoon. Someone is taking pictures from a camera within an Oriental statue, in a very picturesque Hollywood bungalow, and the younger daughter with the drug issues is the one they've been photographing. It turns out that there's some really bad people involved. Lots of old cars (they weren't old when the film was new, but who cares?) and enough atmosphere to get you up off the couch, into your suit and off to a downtown hotel for cocktails and espionage. Or a dinner date. Or another cocktail and a sandwich on the couch... If you're not Bogarting your mirror, on breaks, you may be too serious to reach... Oh well.
This is the sort of old film that made Hollywood famous. This is why so many respectable people talk about old films. Hollywood made as many, if not more, bad films in the old days, but rarely do modern film makers produce ordinary films like this one. This was not intended to become a classic, but it illustrates how ordinary films can distinguish themselves from the flood of mediocrity. So, give it a chance. Relax. Black and White is your friend. Drink better wine. Do better drugs. Use real butter and buy organic popcorn, get a good popcorn maker. Whatever.
Watch This Film!
Movie Review: Classic film noir...
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Big Sleep" is one of the great film noir films. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in this convoluted, and atmospheric, tale of blackmailing and murder. This particular DVD has the 1945 (film noir) and 1946 (movie star/theatrical) versions of the movie on Sides A and B. A year after the film was initially finished it was thought that Lauren Bacall's character could use a little more edge, so before the movie was actually made into prints, scenes with Bacall and Bogart were completely remade. It is believed that these changes have enhanced what was already a great movie. Though a scene, between Marlowe and the Los Angles District Attroney, was also cut out of the theatrical release, which could had aided in the coherence of the story up to that point. Because of a backlog of WWII war films the release of this film was delayed, even though initially it was finished in 1945. The revised film was released in August 1946.
This DVD has an excess of dust spots throughout the entire movie. The film also has diminished contrast on the left side of the frame on numerous scenes of the film. It is surprising that some of these obvious imperfections were not rectified before being released onto DVD.
Movie Review: A little overrated but a worthwhile watch
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bottom Line:
The Big Sleep doesn't strike me as a "classic" movie whose elements have retained their power over all the years, but Bogart and Bacall retain their aura of romance and mystery even as the plot elements don't fully congeal and the marks from the censor's scissors become annoyingly visible; if you like Bogart or are in the mood for a twisty crime picture you should see this film (because it's considered a treasure of cinema) but I suspect many modern viewers might come away a little disappointed.
Movie Review: DESERVES A BETTER DVD!!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a fantastic film. I highly reccomend it to fans of noir, classic films, crime dramas and "The Big Lebowski". My only problem is with this DVD itself. Dirt and scratces on the original film are evident in almost every scene. "The Big Sleep" is a great old film that deserves the rejuvenation treatment that Citizen Kane, the 3rd Man, the 2-disc Cassablanca and others have recieved.Movie Review: Excellent DVD for a truly wonderful movie
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent DVD of a superb movie.. Its a highly recommeded movie for any fan looking for a thriller and at a time one feels only a man like Bogie could have pulled of Ms. Bacall from this web of lies, deceipt and other confusions.. Truly a movie which any generation would love..