Reviews of The Big Sleep 1946
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I collect blondes and bottles too.
-Philip MarloweThe second film to feature Raymond Chandler's hard boiled detective Philip Marlowe in less then two years, but usually the one that's remembered as Marlowe's earliest incarnation. The first film, Murder, My Sweet, is actually a very good film, but director Edward Dmytryk and star Dick Powell are simply no match for Big Sleep's Howard Hawks and Humphrey Bogart.
Hawks and his screenwriters crafted a film where the dialogue is almost a…
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"Oh, well then we'll just have to get wet inside!"
When I watch a film I'm like a cerebral egg waiting to be fertilised. I sit back and let the film do the work. I like things that challenge the mind but if I have to do the work, like at school, my cerebral egg drifts off out of the window, in to a fallopian no-mans land and has a Big Sleep.
I thought this was a decent film but…
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The Big Sleep is true classic film noir, based on a Raymond Chandler's novel and scripted by another fellow writers, William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett. The latter's first novel was following Chandler's hard boiled roots, while the former knew how to write complicated storylines well enough. The director was legendary Howard Hawks, and the most enchanting couple of that time, Bogart and Bacall, played our main heroes. What could go wrong? Well, nothing did. The movie was absolutely great -…
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If you’re looking for a noir that plays around with angles, this is not the way to go. If you’re looking for a noir were tone is essential, this is the film for you.
Hawks’ adaptation of Chandler’s universe is dark and filled to the edge with shadows. The plot takes you everywhere; it’s a world of intrigues and twists. Ambiguous, double-crossing and manipulative characters are waiting around every corner; you really don’t know who’s going to die next. As if that wasn't enough; the film is topped with snappy dialogue. Fantastic!
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Indecipherable.
As a fan of director Howard Hawks, a fan of writers Raymond Chandler & William Faulkner, and a very attentive moviewatcher. . . no.
No, this doesn't work at all. Mystery movies should be comprehensible at some point; characters & motives should be comprehensible on some level in narrative cinema, in my opinion. This movie doesn't achieve any of that.Points for Bogart-Bacall banter, humorously weird dialogue, and nifty scenery.
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It's a convoluted experience, not about answers in a case but a smoke and mirrors investigation about mood, dialogue, faces, mystery, intimidation, an urban jungle of would-be criminals, and everyone has a secret. This is an era in films unmatched to this day. One of the great marriages of writing and acting.
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Philip Marlowe is hired as a private detective by a rich family. When his case is over, he can't help but go further, after most people involved tell him to stop.
I had the privilege to see this film back to back with 'To Have and Have Not' at the Astor Movie Theatre. Having not seen either of these before, to my knowledge, I didn't really know what to expect. Without a doubt, seeing these films has recouped my need…
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Now here’s a classic that actually deserves its reputation; although, shockingly, this wasn’t nominated for a single Academy Award – which provides further evidence of the Oscars irrelevance. Bogart and Bacall are both excellent and the screenplay – co-written by William Faulkner no less – is consistently witty, smart and complex. The only negative aspect of the film is its over-the-top score. If you’re trying to work your way through the classics, I suggest moving this one up to the top of your list.