I¹d be less gentle than Jim B...Jim D. you need to watch it,
and watch it again, and again...and maybe in between repeated
viewings you need some Glenfiddish or Lagavulin...or
somethin¹...because the film is excellent!
Moreover theres¹ Jim Bouton in it, the pride of Newark (and
Yankees) as Terry Lennox...and for this Frenchman this is
invaluable!
Steve Novak
Cinefrog@comcast.net
Heres¹ a readin¹ for you:
(
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/01/08/the_long_goodbye_1973_review.shtml)
The Long Goodbye (1973) Reviewed by Michael Thomson Updated 8
January 2001
When "The Long Goodbye" was first released, Raymond Chandler
fans dropped their jaws at what they perceived as an utter
outrage. How could Robert Altman - one of America's most
creative, irreverent film makers - turn Chandler's
super-sleuth, Philip Marlowe, into a not particularly sharp
slob? And of course, this is exactly the kind of fuss Altman
has always relished.
Now, more than 30 years on, "The Long Goodbye" can be
re-evaluated since it is currently being re-released as part
of an Altman season at the National Film Theatre. Altman
cleverly hired Leigh Brackett, who had co-scripted "The Big
Sleep" (still Chandler's definitive screen moment), and she
helped Altman layer a picture that is as much a crisp comment
on contemporary LA
(and its full-on egotism) as a tale delineating Marlowe's
crime-busting pursuits.
As the gumshoe comes to the aid of a rather odd friend who is
suspected of killing his wife, Altman employs both
laser-sharp irony and broad jokiness
(the latter often via John Williams' score) as he places Los
Angeles under the microscope, while Elliott Gould in the lead
seems to relish the joke of serving up Marlowe in a radically
different way.
Excellent support is provided throughout. You might recognise
Austria's most famous film star in an early, uncredited
bit-part.
On 1/24/07 1:58 PM, "Jim Beaver" <
jumblejim@prodigy.net> wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "JIM DOHERTY"
>> >
>> > It still does cause outcries from Chandler
fans, as
>> > well it should, since it's a piece of crap
that has so
>> > little reason to exist that, had Altman's
parents
>> > known that conceiving Robert Altman would
eventually
>> > result in his version TLG being put on
film, they
>> > would have remained celibate.
>
> Ooh, that's hard. I love Altman's TLG -- love it.
It's not Chandler, it's
> Altman, as they say. More than that, if it were a
song, it wouldn't be the
> Dinah Shore "Blues in the Night," it'd be the
Charlie Parker.
>
> Jim Beaver
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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