The Big Sleep

Rating:
Summary: One Of My Favorites From The 1940's
Review: THE BIG SLEEP was one of the most memorable films of its type during the 1940's. The movie was adapted from the novel of the same name written by Raymond Chandler. The book featured a famous hard-boiled detective named Philip Marlowe who lived by his own unique but high standards.

The movie was produced and directed by Howard Hawkes. William Faulkner contributed to the screenplay. THE BIG SLEEP was made not long after Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall appeared for the first time together in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT which was also produced and directed by Howard Hawkes.

The dilogue between Bogart and Bacall almost achieves a level of tension equal to that of the earlier film. The suggestive scene between Bogart and Dorothy Malone in a bookstore is unforgettable to say the least. The same can be said for different reasons about a scene outside a gambling casino in which Bogart rescues Bacall from a mugging. Martha Vickers does a great job in the role of Bacall's mentally unstable sister. The other members of a strong supporting cast include John Ridgely, Peggy Knudsen, Charles Waldren and Elisha Cook, Jr.

THE BIG SLEEP received no Oscar nominations. The chief winner of awards in 1946 was THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES.

Rating:
Summary: ESSENTIAL FILM NOIR
Review: Humphrey Bogart is Raymond Chandler's private eye in this witty, incredibly complicated thriller. You may not be able to figure out the plot even after the denouement (Chandler reported that while the film was in production, William Faulker and the other screenwriters had to appeal to him for guidance; and apparently the author couldn't figure it out either!) It's the dialogue and the entertaining qualities of the individual characters and sequences which make this movie a fun-fest. It takes place in the big city of displaced persons, the night city, where sensation is all. The action is tense and fast and the film catches the lurid Chandler atmosphere. The characters are a collection of sophisticated monsters: blackmailers, pornographers, apathetic society girls (Lauren Bacall and Martha Vickers are a baffling pair of spoiled sisters; the latter sucks her thumb!)- Drug addicts and nymphomaniacs (a brunette Dorothy Malone seduces the hero in seconds!) And murderers. All of them speak with innuendoes (as if they were novel in 1946 Hollywood!) Howard Hawks directed and as he once stated - "Neither the author, the writer, nor myself knew who killed whom". Just sit back and be fascinated.

Rating:
Summary: Murder, mystery and the magnetism of Bogart and Bacall.
Review: They were one of Hollywood's all-time legendary couples, both on screen and off; producing celluloid magic in the four films they made together between 1943 and 1948 as much as by their off-screen romance, which in itself was the stuff that dreams are made of. He was the American Film Insititute's No. 1 star of the 20th century, Hollywood's original noir anti-hero, who in addition to the AFI honors bestowed on his real-life persona also played two of the 20th century's Top 50 film heroes ("Casablanca"'Rick Blaine and this movie's Philip Marlow); epitome of the handsome, cynical and oh-so lonesome wolf, looking unbeatably cool in dinner jacket, trenchcoat and fedora alike, a glass of whiskey in his hand and cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth; and endowed with a legendary aura several times larger than his physical stature. She, despite a 25-year age difference his equal in everything from grit and toughness to mysterious appeal; chillier than bourbon on the rocks, possessing more than just a touch of class whatever her role; and long since a bona fide AFI movie legend in her own right.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall met on the set of Howard Hawks's 1944 realization of Ernest Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not," where an obvious chemistry quickly developed between 45-year-old veteran Bogart, who had just scored two of film history's greatest-ever hits with "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca" in the two preceding years, and the sassy, exciting 20-year-old newcomer who possessed the maturity and sex-appeal of a woman good and well 10 years her senior. They were reunited two years later for this adaptation of Raymond Chandler's first Philip Marlowe novel "The Big Sleep" (1939), based on a screenplay written, like that of "To Have and Have Not," by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman, together with Leigh Brackett (who had not participated in scripting the Hemingway adaptation). By the time the movie was released in 1946, Bogart and Bacall were married.

Reprising Bogart's noir gumshoe role with a character not unlike Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon," the movie "The Big Sleep" is as infamous as Chandler's literary original for its labyrinthine plot, which reportedly even the author himself couldn't completely untangle (nor did he care to). The plot is essentially faithful to Chandler's novel, from which it takes much of its dialogue; albeit streamlined and with some changes made to fit Bogart's physical characteristics, and eliminating or softening a few scenes considered unfit for display to a moviegoing audience in the 1940s. The story begins when Marlowe is hired by wealthy old General Sternwood to handle a blackmailing attempt involving gambling debts incurred by Sternwood's younger daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers) (whom the detective has already met when she literally threw herself into his arms upon his entry into the house, sucking her thumb and coyly telling him "you're cute"). After his interview with the dying general in the latter's hot and humid orchid house, a disheveled Marlowe is summoned to the rooms of the general's older daughter Vivian (Lauren Bacall), who tries to worm out of him the purpose of his engagement and who, as Marlowe quickly concludes, has more than a minor hidden agenda of her own. Soon the detective is up to his ears in the classical film noir brew of murder, damsels in distress, shady characters and a world where nothing is what it appears to be, and where he'll be able to consider himself lucky if he gets out alive - yet, he is determined to see the case through and will neither be bought off by money nor by sweetness and seduction.

Looking back at the movie and its stars' almost mythical fame, it is difficult to imagine that, produced at the height of the studio system era, it was originally just one of the roughly 50 movies released by Warner Brothers over the course of one year. But mass production didn't equal low quality; on the contrary, the great care given to all production values, from script-writing to camera work, editing, score (Max Steiner) and the stars' presentation in the movie itself and in its trailer was at least partly responsible for its lasting success. Indeed, the release of "The Big Sleep" was delayed for an entire year - and not only because its first version was completed around the end of WWII and Warner Brothers wanted to get their still-unreleased war movies into theaters first, but also, and significantly, because Lauren Bacall's agent convinced studio boss Jack Warner and director Howard Hawks to reshoot several scenes to better highlight the sassy, mysterious new star Bacall had become after "To Have and Have Not." And it certainly paid off: "The Big Sleep" firmly established then-22-year-old Lauren Bacall as one of Hollywood's new leading ladies, and even more than her first film with Humphrey Bogart laid the foundation for the couple's mythical relationship.

Bogart and Bacall would star together two more times after "The Big Sleep": In "Dark Passage" (1947) and "Key Largo" (1948). But of their four collaborations, the first two - and in particular, "The Big Sleep" - remain unparalleled for their secretive, shadowy aura, tight scripting, snappy dialogue, cynicism and underlying seductiveness; due in equal parts to the story crafted by Raymond Chandler, its adaptation by Faulkner, Furthman and Brackett, Howard Hawks's masterful direction and its starring couple's irresistible chemistry. After three failed marriages, after having produced on-screen magic with Mary Astor in "The Maltese Falcon" and, even more so, with Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca" (and although he would go on to star in such memorable pairings as next to Katherine Hepburn in "The African Queen" and Audrey Hepburn in "Sabrina"), Humphrey Bogart had finally met his match - and while his and Bacall's marriage was painfully cut short by the cancer to which he succumbed in 1957, the magnetism they created on screen will live on, and nowhere more brilliantly than in "The Big Sleep."

Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Sleep!!
Review: When my wife and I finished watching this classic the first time I asked her what she thought. She said, "That was great, what in the world happened?!?" So began our love affair with this wonderful movie. The details are all there and we've had a wonderful time over the years playing and replaying, stopping and rewinding until we, like Phillip Marlowe, have it all figured out. This DVD is of special note because it contains the 1945 pre release version of the movie as well as the original release along with a special segment on why Jack Warner changed the film and reshot several sequences before its release. The snappy dialogue, the cast of dark underworld characters, the wardrobe, and the smoldering film noir style make this one of my favorite Bogart films. The censorship of the '40s meant that the writers and the director had to use subtle clues and stylish filming to portray this motley crew of pornographers, heroin dealers, homosexuals, and other sordid characters. It's all done in a way that would probably barely get a PG rating today. If you're a Bogart fan you've got to own this one. If you've never seen Bogart, this film and Casablanca are must see for any film lover.

Rating:
Summary: Side A Has the Sizzle. Side B Has the Steak.
Review: What a rare treat. To have both the theatrical release of The Big Sleep as well as the pre-release version on one DVD is a film-lover's dream.

If you're not familiar with the story behind these two versions, there's a nice documentary on the DVD that explains it. Briefly put, Lauren Bacall is at her sultriest on Side A of the disc (the version that made it into theaters); Side B has some scenes that do a better job at fleshing out the plot, but at the expense of some of Ms. Bacall's glamour.

My advice is watch the pre-release first: It fills in a couple of gaps left open by the inclusion of re-shot Bogie & Bacall scenes in the official release. Then you don't have to worry about anything distracting you from their on-screen chemistry.

There is some film degradation present in this release. While it is nice to have this preserved on DVD, hopefully AFI or some other group will make preservation and restoration of this movie a priority.

In a future release of The Big Sleep it would be nice to have a hybrid version of the movie. That way we could have the re-shot Bacall scenes from the theatrical release along with the more expository scenes from the pre-release (Marlowe searching Geiger's house, Marlowe meets the D.A., etc.). It would be a slightly longer film, and film purists might disagree, but I think it would truly be the best of both worlds.

In the meantime, get this DVD. You'll love it you're a movie-history or -trivia buff, and if you're not maybe it'll make you one. The worst it could do is class up your DVD collection a notch or two.

Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Sleep!!
Review: When my wife and I finished watching this classic the first time I asked her what she thought. She said, "That was great, what in the world happened?!?" So began our love affair with this wonderful movie. The details are all there and we've had a wonderful time over the years playing and replaying, stopping and rewinding until we, like Phillip Marlowe, have it all figured out. This DVD is of special note because it contains the 1945 pre release version of the movie as well as the original release along with a special segment on why Jack Warner changed the film and reshot several sequences before its release. The snappy dialogue, the cast of dark underworld characters, the wardrobe, and the smoldering film noir style make this one of my favorite Bogart films. The censorship of the '40s meant that the writers and the director had to use subtle clues and stylish filming to portray this motley crew of pornographers, heroin dealers, homosexuals, and other sordid characters. It's all done in a way that would probably barely get a PG rating today. If you're a Bogart fan you've got to own this one. If you've never seen Bogart, this film and Casablanca are must see for any film lover.

Rating:
Summary: The Best!
Review: The Big Sleep is famous for its masterful use of noir . However, this great film is just a good murder and action movie. Even though it can be a little confusing, the Big Sleep is way ahead of its time with the charged scenes between Humphrey Bogart and Lautren Bacall. Even movie fans who think an old movie is anything made before 1980, can get something out of this film. Humphrey Bogart manages to make you think that his short, skinny frame is tall and big with his tough guy portrayal of private detective, Phillip Marlowe. This is the best movie, although the book is good too and has a lot of the dirtier details that censors wouldn't let them put in the film.

Rating:
Summary: Treating Noir Like a Trained Seal, and it Works, Too!
Review: You've just gotta love that event known as the "happy accident." One such happened when my parents rented this out from the local library and started watching it half-heartedly. I passed by the living room, saw the movie, and was promptly hypnotized. Then I got the DVD and have loved it ever since.
There is much to like about this movie. Howard Hawks' direction is "Hollywood" the way I think "Hollywood" ought to be. No, it's not really faithful to the book, but the sets, actors, and lines of incredible dialogue make it so that you don't care too much. This movie has a feeling of being self-contained yet accessible, a feat to be appreciated when you consider how few movies before or since have attained such a feeling. Another thing to think about is the influence of noir on this film, particularly its use of the elements while reversing noir's traditional direction of first-person self-destruction. Humphrey Bogart's Philip Marlowe not only isn't destroyed at the end, he saves 2 damsels in distress from destrucion, solves the case, kills the bad guys, and gets the girl. And with all of the Hollywood touches that old movie buffs just can't get enough of.
But what enchants and endures in this era of sound bites is the incredible writing. A closer look at the credits reveals a co-writing credit given to none other than William Faulkner, the noted author. And that writing gives Bogart some of the snappiest comebacks of all time, making Marlowe the epitome of the cool, trenchcoated, womanizing detective that has since passed into cinema's collective subconscious. I would even go so far as to say that, even more than Casablanca, this film established Bogart as more than just a star. With "The Big Sleep", he became "Bogey": A myth, a legend, even an ideal worth aspiring to. Forget about reality. The trenchcoat fantasy starts here and still hasn't stopped.

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific DVD
Review: One of the most pleasant surprises in my DVD collection is this DVD. It contains not only the theatrically released version, but the pre-release 1945 version. Several scenes in the film were reshot to give Lauren Bacall more exposure, but when this was done some key scenes explaining the plot were deleted. I have always enjoyed the movie but finally had to read the book to figure out the plot because the theatrically released version just didn't make any sense. The pre-release version pretty well stands on its own from a storytelling standpoint and is more faithful to the book. Both versions are fun to watch, but having the pre-release version, I finally learned how Marlowe got the house keys he had when he goes back to A. G. Geiger's house (the scene where he finds them, which is in the pre-release version, is deleted in the theatrically released version). There is also a commentary comparing the changes made between the two versions. Having both versions to watch makes a great movie better!.

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Minor Film Quality Issues
Review: I'm a sucker for mystery/thrillers, so I've always loved this film. Some of the dialogue is corny, but it's a Humphrey Bogart movie, so what do you expect? As for the DVD itself, it includes an A side featuring the 1946 theatrical version and a B side featuring the 1945 prerelease version, whose plot is actually a little easier to follow. The picture quality gets a little grainy once in a while, but overall it's a very nice package.