← Back to Reviews
in
42. The Long Goodbye (1973)
And yet another film appears that could be categorized under the (neo-)noir genre. This time it's Robert Altman's highly original, darkly comical '70s version of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective story, The Long Goodbye!
There isn't really anything I don't love about this movie. I love every single quirk of it and I admire how everything it seems to do can be seen as some sort of clever commentary on the clichés of the classic noir genre or the '70s itself as a time period, which beautifully contrasts, but also at the same time brilliantly accompanies the main character (flawlessly played in a very unique way by Elliott Gould) who still kind of seems stuck in the '40s or '50s.
Besides the fact that it's simply a very smart film conceptually, I also believe that you have to be a fan of all the small elements in it that make it so unique and the atmosphere it provokes. If you're not, then it will be much harder to love this film.
The different versions of the music score, Marlowe lighting a cigarette in every scene he's in, Marlowe's dry mumbling throughout the film ("It's okay with me"), the naked girls who live next door, all the great supporting characters and background characters (Arnold Schwarzenegger is in this film!), Marlowe trying to feed his cat, the guy imitating famous movie stars, etc. I love all of it! They make the film livelier, more realistic or more stylish. Every single moment or scene in this film somehow adds to its quality for me. It's a very rich film that offers much more than just a complex detective mystery with some cool dialogue (not that I have any problems with that kind of films). This film seems to aim for something higher and even more satisfying, both concept-wise and execution-wise. It totally worked for me (like most Altman films).
I'm very pleased to see that it seems to have gained a large popularity during the last few months around here and that it ranked so high on the '70s list. This film definitely deserves all that praise! I think it's very plausible that this film will rank even higher the next time I'll make a top 101 list (2 years from now or something), because it's one of those movies that only gets better and better for me.
One of my favorite opening sequences of all time! It perfectly sets the tone for the film, it's effortlessly funny and you just know you're in for a unique treat!
--------------------------------------
And yet another film appears that could be categorized under the (neo-)noir genre. This time it's Robert Altman's highly original, darkly comical '70s version of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective story, The Long Goodbye!
There isn't really anything I don't love about this movie. I love every single quirk of it and I admire how everything it seems to do can be seen as some sort of clever commentary on the clichés of the classic noir genre or the '70s itself as a time period, which beautifully contrasts, but also at the same time brilliantly accompanies the main character (flawlessly played in a very unique way by Elliott Gould) who still kind of seems stuck in the '40s or '50s.
Besides the fact that it's simply a very smart film conceptually, I also believe that you have to be a fan of all the small elements in it that make it so unique and the atmosphere it provokes. If you're not, then it will be much harder to love this film.
The different versions of the music score, Marlowe lighting a cigarette in every scene he's in, Marlowe's dry mumbling throughout the film ("It's okay with me"), the naked girls who live next door, all the great supporting characters and background characters (Arnold Schwarzenegger is in this film!), Marlowe trying to feed his cat, the guy imitating famous movie stars, etc. I love all of it! They make the film livelier, more realistic or more stylish. Every single moment or scene in this film somehow adds to its quality for me. It's a very rich film that offers much more than just a complex detective mystery with some cool dialogue (not that I have any problems with that kind of films). This film seems to aim for something higher and even more satisfying, both concept-wise and execution-wise. It totally worked for me (like most Altman films).
I'm very pleased to see that it seems to have gained a large popularity during the last few months around here and that it ranked so high on the '70s list. This film definitely deserves all that praise! I think it's very plausible that this film will rank even higher the next time I'll make a top 101 list (2 years from now or something), because it's one of those movies that only gets better and better for me.
One of my favorite opening sequences of all time! It perfectly sets the tone for the film, it's effortlessly funny and you just know you're in for a unique treat!
--------------------------------------