The Long Goodbye
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Movie Reviews of The Long Goodbye
Movie Review: I wish I had seen it Sooner
Summary: 4 Stars
I was so surprise by this little known Robert Altmas film because I had read such varied things about it. I wouldn't have even bothered had I not read the Raymond Chandler book of the same name a few years ago. It was my favorite Philip Marlowe novel and the longest. The movie itself has traditions in the old noir and the contemporary 1970s. The novel itself was already 20 years old when they shot the film, and the screenwriter Leigh Brackett co-wrote the BIG SLEEP starring Humphrey Bogart as Marlowe. Here Marlowe is out of his time. He even drives a vintage 1940s car in 1970s Los Angeles.While other Marlowe films are pretty consistent with the novels, The Long Goodbye changes a number of things around. There characters are pretty much the same with some additions. There is still the same business with the $5,000 bill, but it is handled in a completely different way.
Elliot Gould is a strange but inspired choice for a 1970s Marlowe. He has no office in the world of Altman/Brackett, and he takes his messages and phone calls from a local bar. As in all these stories, there are two mysteries that really wrap into one big mystery. Jim Bouton, the ex-baseball player famous for his book Ball Four, plays Gould's Pal, Terry Lennox, the character the whole movie revolves around.
The DVD has two excellent documentaries. The first is a look back at the Long Goodbye with interviews from Altman and Gould. The second is a look at the cinematography of the Long Goodbye with conematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond. There is also a magazine article reprinted on the DVD about the look of the film, the theatrical trailer and some radio spots.
If anyone is a fan of Altman Gould or even Raymond Chandler, this is a much under rated film. I find Altman's output has varied from great to atrocious, but this is one of his best.
Movie Review: $50 Per Day Plus Expenses
Summary: 4 Stars
A youthful Elliot Gould at the top of his form makes for an easy-going yet no nonsense Phillip Marlowe in this contemporized (1973) adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel of the same name. Directed by Robert Altman from Leigh Brackett's screenplay, Gould's Marlowe is an irreverent and "laid-back-until-pushed-too-hard" private detective who goes to the aid of a friend only to become immersed in a mystery of deceit, drug money and double murder. Gould's chain-smoking and cat-loving Marlowe is surrounded with typical 70s-circa Hollywood/Malibu characters including uninhibited hippie-chick neighbors, an assortment of thugs both criminal and badged, a controlling sanitarium administrator, and an alcohol-abusive novelist played by 50s star Sterling Hayden (Asphalt Jungle, Dr.Strangelove). A very cool John Williams/Johnny Mercer musical score helps establish and sustain the film's mood which ends with a scene that's both controversial as well as provocative. - DMMovie Review: For a brief, shining moment in the '70s, Gould was king
Summary: 4 Stars
Director Robert Altman can find a sublimely goofy sort of humor in almost any setting, and he does so here. For one thing, the musical score primarily consists of a single tune played over and over by different performers in different arrangements.What's amazing is how well this self-conscious jokiness fits with the bleak motivations of the flick's traditionally noir characters.
Gould's Everyman-ish anti-Marlowe is one you'd actually like to hang out with. He's just as good with cats as with comebacks, for instance.
If you've ever wondered how someone like Elliott Gould could be the top box-office draw in America for a short period in the 1970s, you should give "The Long Goodbye" a look. For a brief, shining moment, the man was king.
As Marlowe says, "It's OK with me."
Movie Review: Dated, but Ball Four author Jim Bouton saves the movie
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a dated film, but in spite of that, it's very watchable and the performance of Elliott Gould is criminally underrated and sadly forgotten. The highlight of this movie is the screen debut of former Yankees pitcher and "Ball Four" author Jim Bouton. (Bouton wrote a what is rightly considered the most influential sports book of his time--one that literally changed how a generation of boys and young men looked at the world of sports. No small accomplishment, that.) His performance in "The Long Goodbye" is sublime and deserves a second look. Why Bouton never found added fame as an actor is hard to understand. Perhaps some young director will see this film and seek out Bouton for a long overdue acting role.Movie Review: forget the book, enjoy the movie
Summary: 4 Stars
To enjoy this movie you have to forget about the book...Elliot Gould is miscast but it doesn't matter...he's fine in the role of 'marlboro man' and carries the film on his shaggy shoulders. The opening scene is one of Altmans best as Marlowe attempts to fool his cat by buying subpar cat food and disguising it as his cats favorite. The music for the film is a dozen or so different versions of "the Long Goodbye" everything from jazz to muzak to humming etc. Look for David Carradine and Arnold Schwarzenegger in bit roles. I wish the DVD had some extras though...no commentary, etc. It gets docked a star for that but otherwise a great 70's classic.