You're certainly not alone Chan. I enjoyed the film but was
annoyed by the ending (and the fecking harmonica - why not a
banjo, double bass or piano accordian, sheesh!) and I guess
'auteur theory' must apply - it's Altman's The Long Goodbye,
not Chandler's.
They may not be the greatest critical authorities
there are, okay they are not, but my Virgin Film Guide says:
"Altman offended fans of RC's Philip Marlowe by completely
subverting the role here"... "Gould shatters the Marlowe mold
in this film, playing the detective as a disheveled
eccentric, much the same
character he portrayed in other Altman films M*A*S*H
and California Split. From that viewpoint Chandler's fans had
reason to be upset, but Altman's approach to the film noir
crime drama is not without its good points."
My Time Out Film Guide notes the howls of outrage from
Chandler fans but then goes on to call the film one of the
best of the 70s.
And this from Wikipedia: Initial reviews for the film
were mixed and the box-office returns were poor, on account
of the unconventional changes from the novel. Sight and Sound
and The Film Quarterly attacked the depiction of Marlowe
stating that "one can not satirize or destroy a hero image
until one defines it" (Gerald Plecki, "Robert Altman"). Some
critics objected to a 1970's Marlowe characterized
differently by an ending changed from the book. Altman liked
the new ending so much that he insisted on a clause in his
contract that guaranteed the ending wouldn't be changed
during production or editing.
What do critics know anyhow?
I guess any 'period drama' updated has to make pretty
major changes to the whole shebang - although as someone
earlier noted he/Brackett aren't too unfaithful to much of
the plot.
I've really enjoyed the discussion of TLG which I've
found very illuminating, thank you, I shall watch it again
this week and re-read the novel, again. Now, we can all wait
and see what Frank Miller does with Trouble is My Business
(which I've seen with a 2009, or even 2010! release date
attached to it) - many novels are, I believe, simply too
complex to fit into a feature film, so perhaps a short
story/novella is the ideal form from which to adapt? - and
argue over whether Clive Owen is fit to fill the shoes that
walk down those mean streets.
Cheers all,
Colin.
Join my Church:
www.myspace.com/thereverendspadgedooley
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