Rating: 
Summary: The Big Sleep: An American Classic
Review: Humphrey Bogart set a high benchmark for actors in the detective genre when he played Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. In The Big Sleep he returns as Philip Marlowe and equals and in some ways improves upon his earlier performance. Opposite him is a true femme fatale, the young and beautiful Lauren Bacall.The dialogue between Bogie and Bacall sparkles. The story may be hard to follow and not make much sense, but we don't care. Bogie and Bacall are magic together. This film has plenty of action, but the words are what make the picture memorable. In this film Humphrey Bogart shows why many critics consider him to be our finest American movie actor. Behind the gruff exterior, the wheels are always turning in his head as he analyzes the clues, takes on various roles and disguises, and moves into action to solve the case. We don't care much about plot inconsistencies. Most of the scenes are little gems in their own right. We start with Bogie sweating profusely in the orchid hothouse as he is given the case by old General Sternwood. Bogie then meets the General's two daughters played by Martha Vickers and Lauren Bacall. Vickers almost steals the show as the problem child in a mess of trouble with big sister Bacall trying to help her out of it. The young and lovely Dorothy Malone shows up later as a book seller who points Bogie in the right direction. One of the great scenes in the film has Bogie pretending to be a rare book buyer in order to penetrate the cover of the boss of a criminal network. William Faulkner is said to have contributed to the script and we don't doubt it. Each of the above scenes as well as the rest of the film shows us what we are missing today at the movies. Good writing has been replaced by action and special effects. The Big Sleep demonstrates convincingly how much we have lost.
Rating: 
Summary: plink plink, diddle-diddle-bink
Review: Pretty good flick. Definetely much better than a lot of so called "film noirs" I've seen in my day. This definetely stands the test of time. Great dialouge, good twists, broads, booze, double entendres. It's got everything you think of when you think of a good noir. Bogart is really good too. You start to see why he's such a legend. It's funny though, he has this lisp that sometimes sounds really funny, at least to me. Lauren Bacall looked good too. And actually I liked her more in this than I've liked her in the past things I've seen her in. The movie really is all about the good dialouge though. Some of it seems really cheesy and dated, but it's kinda cool to see where we get all our cliches from. I enjoyed it. Check it freaking out. B
Rating:
Summary: Bogart and Bacall equalls magic
Review: Hum,phrey Bogart was and is one of the better actors in last century and the addition of the beautifull and gorgeous Lauren Bacall is not a bad addition. Bogart is awesome as the private eye and he embodies the film style of the Film Noir; Bacall is no slouch herself and she is very pretty and a treat to watch. The story line is also very well developed and nowhere in the movie does the dialogue seem forced nor phony.
Rating:
Summary: Classic -- Bogart, Bacall and a heck of a yarn...
Review: A great murder mystery, with Bogart in the starring role tormented by Bacall again (a la To Have and Have Not) on a great DVD. Wonderful cover art, too. This has a lot of old fashioned tension and suspense despite a lack of the gore that a modern remake would have. Really top-notch acting and directing...shares some elements with Rear Window, even... Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Atmosphere piece
Review: When screenwriter William Faulkner and director Howard Hawks wanted clarification on one of the plot points of THE BIG SLEEP, they sent a telegram to the book's author Raymond Chandler. Their question, "Who killed the chaffeur?" was met with the answer, "I don't know." Chandler's three word response sums up the best attitude to take towards the movie. You won't remember the complicated twists and turns of the story, nor should you. Memorable moment: Bogart as Marlowe going to the "first editions" bookstore after doing some research at the Hollywood Public Library (a building still standing and still serving the same purpose, I might add!), asking, (the description in the book: Marlowe says he lets "a bird twitter" in his voice) "Do you have a Ben-Hur eighteen-thixty?" "First edition?" is the response. "No, na-no, na-no...the third, the third...the one with the erratum on page 186." Enormously entertaining!
Rating: 
Summary: Great film
Review: This came as part of The Humphrey Bogart Collection. I have seen the movie many times and just had to own the DVD. There are some problems with this version, however. In the scene immediately before Bogart is roughed-up in a dark alley, there are what can best be described as "splash" marks on the image - an aging print possibly - and there are some "artifacts" in a couple of other scenes. Other than the problems above, a great film if you can handle Bogart's overly mannered Marlowe.
Rating:
Summary: THE BIG SLEEP (PRE-RELEASE VERSION)
Review: I am very pleased and impressed with this version. It is more coherent and less flashy than the other version, and views more like the original novel. The deleted scenes were cut to highlight the emerging career of the young and glamorous Lauren Bacall, and I sincerely believe the result damaged the final product. A couple of the deleted scenes were integral to the plot, giving the viewer the distinct impression that something indeed was missing. This version is a delight to watch. I like it much better than the final cut, and intend on watching it exclusively from now on.
Rating:
Summary: Bogey And Bacall InThe Picture They Were Born For
Review: "The Big Sleep" is the second Warner Brothers feature that pairs Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall under the direction of Howard Hawkes. The screenplay of "The Big Sleep" is based on the Raymond Chandler novel and written by William Faulkner (who collaborated with Hawkes in "To Have And Have Not") and Leigh Brackett. The combination of these artists produced one of the most distinctive motion pictures of the 1940s. Its twisting, non-linear storyline, the fine cast of supporting characters, and its rapid-fire witty dialogue will lead many viewers to watch "The Big Sleep" again and again, discovering something new after each time. Even individual scenes that might have been mere connective elements in other movies are wonderfully embellished. The meeting between Bogart's Philip Marlowe and General Sternwood is pure Faulkner and the witty flirtation between Bogart and the bookseller played by Dorothy Malone is a pure delight. But it is the complicated relationship that develops between Bogart and Bacall and the journey that the viewer travels with Bogart as he untangles the webs of intrigue and deceit that will one will remember most and will want to experience again. The DVD contains the 1946 general release and the 1944/45 prerelease seen mostly by servicemen overseas. If one has never seen "The Big Sleep" before, watch the documentary first, then the prerelease version, and then the 1946 version. In this way, one can see how and why the film evolved into its final form. If you are a fan of film noir, detective stories, Bogey and Bacall, or just great movies in general, make sure this DVD gets into your video library.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: THE BIG SLEEP has always been one of my favorite Bogart films. I already had it on video at the time I got this DVD. When I bought the DVD, I was surprised to discover that I had bought not one but two movies: The 1946 film and the 1945 pre-release version. The 1945 version had some scenes that were cut from the later version and had a different actress playing Eddie Mars' wife. Of the two versions, I actually liked the 1945 version better. Maybe someday Warner Brothers will take the two versions and edit them together and make an even better film than it already is. I highly recommend this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Film noir has never been better than this
Review: Sure, it's very difficult to understand. However, as I watched this film, I began to care less and less about exactly who killed whom. There is so much about this film that is dead-on accurate. It is the epitome of film noir. Bogart and Bacall are at the tops of their forms. The script by William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett is so dense with wonderful dialog that I found myself wanting to read the screenplay; everyone is trying to learn as much as possible while giving away as little as they can. This film is rightly regarded as an American classic.
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