Rating: 
Summary: THE MOST COMPLICATED MOVIE EVER.
Review: 'The Big Sleep' is the most complicated movie ever. I should know because I wasted my teenage years watching movies. And 'The Big Sleep' was the most complicated movie I ever saw. The dialog is very clever and the characters are cool and likable. But the story is so complex, one will sit there half way through the movie wondering, 'What the heck is going on here??' Unless you are some movie-watching expert, this film will be too complicated for you. Wanna bet on it?
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best
Review: I can't say enough about this movie -- mystery, action and romance. Few movies can match the carefully crafted dialogue direction (a staple of Howard Hawks) and it meshes extraordinarily well with the action. Treat yourself to a smart, if convoluted, film and watch this one soon!
Rating: 
Summary: A BETTER TRANSFER NEEDED ON THIS BOGART CLASSIC
Review: "The Big Sleep" is one of those amazingly potent crime thrillers that legendary Humphrey Bogart made during his Warner Brothers tenure. It's full of hard boiled realism, cynical barbs, sultry sex scenes (with Lauren Bacall, no less) and interesting, if not totally confounding, plot twists. Based on the Raymond Chandler novel, Bogie is a P.I. hired by a rich old man to spy on his two daughters - one a disreputable scamp and gambler, the other, on the verge being accused of a bizarre murder. Overall, this is one thoroughly engrossing who done it from start to finish.
Warner Brothers has given us an adequate transfer of this legendary crime solver. Contrast and shadow delineation are good over all, but there are several scenes where the original camera negative is just too weak to sustain a polished look. Tears, chips and other imperfections are present throughout. There are even several instances where a 'jump cut' between scenes is glaringly obvious. Given all these inconsistancies, the image quality throughout is remarkably smooth. The audio is mono, strident but in general, well represented.
Extras on this disc include a first - the original cut of the film that didn't have as much of Lauren Bacall in it as the final version. The plot of this alternative version also follows a more linear path. Also included is a mini-retrospective and the original theatrical trailer. These are wonderful suppliments that enhance the viewing experience of the actual movie. One merely wishes that more had been done in the restoration of the film itself!
Rating: 
Summary: Aptly named- this was a BIG sleep
Review: This movie was appropriately named, as I kept falling asleep. My sister had to keep waking me up. It made NO sense whatsoever ( I was never ACTUALLY asleep, my sister kept pinching me, so I didn't miss anything). Usually I like to give a breif summary of the plot- the only problem is, there was no plot, so that's hard to do. It was very, very, very boring. I don't see why these other people who have reviewed it like it so much, but I know a lot of people who feel the same way I do. And I have no idea why this was called the big sleep, truthfully, even my sister, who liked the movie (for whatever reason) was stumped. The people who named it were just asking for people to fall asleep! Augh THIS WAS THE MOST BORING 2 HOURS TIME OF MY LIFE. STAY AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE!!! Don't say no one warned you!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent movie to an excellent book.
Review: There just simply isn't enough that can be said about this fantastic film. Hands down,STILL the best of the film adaptations of any of Chandler's Phillip Marlowe novels,"The Big Sleep" always go head to head with Hammett's "Maltese Falcon"as one of the all time great film noir flix. True to Chandler's novel,the movie's plot is labyrinthine,the dialogue between Marlowe(Bogart) and Vivian Sternwood(Bacall)delivered with perfect synchronicity and the noir atmosphere is transposed almost effortlessly. Other than the lack of fightplay and roughhousing that the novel displayed,it's a flawless piece of work. Word of advice:avoid the remake of "The Big Sleep"starring Robert Mitchum AT ALL COSTS! It transports Marlowe and the entire story from Los Angeles to 1970's London,therefore dulling the edginess of Chandler's original plot,entirely.
Rating:
Summary: Definitive Film Noir
Review: In my eyes, "The Big Sleep" is the definitive film noir and razor sharp entertainment. It embodies all the hallmarks of classic film noir: dark shadows, complex storyline, disillusioned characters and fictional crime like anything else assembled by Warner Bros. It easily surpasses everything from the overrated "Maltese Falcon" and thinly plotted "In a Lonely Place", even its complex source material (which stands as a rarerity in itself). It is undoubtedly one of the highlights of Hollywood's so-called golden era of the 1940s. Philip Marlowe is perhaps Bogart's finest personification of cool on screen- a simultaneously tough and romantic persona which would become his trademark characterisation and the common typecast for subsequent film noir detectives. The complex storyline, penned superbly by William Faulkner from Chandler's occult novel, is what makes drives the plot so remarkably well; even more so than his equally innovative dialogue and the breathtaking b/w coreographed cinematography. The dazzling chemistry between screen legends Bogart and Bacall is second to none, Hawks' sultry mood and soundtrack remain priceless. There is enough intracy, directorial flair and energy to fill several pale immitations. Hollywood doesn't make movies like this anymore. Only Chinatown since has matched "The Big Sleep" scene for scene in the film noir genre. Hollywood couldn't budget the two leads to be on screen today. The line "The stuff dreams are made of" from The Maltese Falcon is an infinitely more deserving description of The Big Sleep, famous as "the all time rocker-shocker".
Rating:
Summary: my my my...
Review: "Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains. You know, you're the second guy today who seems to think a gatt in the hand means the world by the tail."
The plot makes enough sense that you don't sweat over it too much. It's a little dark. No one's quite 'good' and that's all you need to know. the bookshop girl scene is great. How does it manage to not be corny? I think the actress that does Carmen is as good or better than lauren bacall. Her best line is when she's all drugged, and bogart slaps her and she says youre cute, and then he looks down at the dead guy and and says whos that, and she says, "he's cute, too."
Rating:
Summary: The Big Bogey
Review: As with many film noirs, the opening sequence sets up the mood and alliances of the movie -- white knight private dick Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart; and nobody does it better) lights femme fatale Vivan Sternwood's (Lauren Bacall) cigarette for her, and they share an ash tray. I can't help but evoke the cliche that this is classic Bogey and Bacall, because unlike the characters in the movie, it's hard to shy away from the truth. Their lines and scenes together are dynamite, and the William Faulkner interpretation of Raymond Chandler is sharp and snappy. Of course, the story is convuluted and has more twists than Mulholland Drive. And of course, it still lacks a few knockout punches that the novel daringly throws. Still, the film loses nothing by not being long enough to include a few more loops of evil. The steam, the cigarette smoke, the exoticism of pornography are executed to perfection.
Rating:
Summary: Bogey, Bacall, butlers & black nights.
Review: MMM. MM. I do love a film with atmosphere...and great acting...and great sets...and a great script. They just don't make 'em like they used to. I saw this film for the first time (forgive me Lord) in a film class. Afterwords, I was embarrassed that it had taken me some twenty plus years to see it. If you even half-heartedly consider yourself a film critic/enthusiast and you have not seen this, it is to your own shame. Hang your head in disgrace, high-tail it over to your nearest video store, and rent this. Better yet-go somwhere and buy it. There is no finer example of classic Hollywood Film Noir/Crime drama. It gets no better. The DVD picture and sound are quite good considering the age of the source material. The extras include commentary, shorts, trailers etc. A good deal for an older film. The story is as Labyrinthian as ever, still hard to follow, but somehow still a blast. If nothing else, it's fun to watch Bogey and Bacall trade quips and barbs. Essential.
Rating:
Summary: Lauren Bacall
Review: I have already written a review on this video but after reading some other reviewers comments I feel moved to add 2 more points.
1.Lauren Bacall is so briliant- not 'quite good' and is definatly better than Martha Vickers and even Humphrey Bogart comes no where near her.
2.The plot makes sense and I am only 14 I can't see how other people think it doesn't.
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