Rating: 
Summary: One of the greats of the greats.
Review: It's ironic to read critiques of this classic film which cite, in one sentence that the plot is too difficult to follow (Leonard Maltin's nostalgic trivia of even Raymond Chandler losing track of who committed one of the less crucial murders is so often pedantically referenced by those wanting to sound learned in their criticism), and then lambaste the movie for lacking in story. The Big Sleep is a proliferation of plot such as would befit the Baroque to Bogie noir. It is a one of a kind, in combining sophistication in acting, scripting and plotting with brutish 50's noir stylings and then to top off the Bogie Hoagie, a sincere romantic sentimentality. Don't believe the (negative) hype. If you've grown up beyond the 6-minute MTV attention span and have a taste for hard-boiled 50's noir, then it's one you'll want on the shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Bogart and Howard Hawks Classic
Review: Despite many misconceptions, THE BIG SLEEP is not film noir. Hardboiled detective fiction inspired film noir, but many of the traditional elements in this Philip Marlowe film are missing. While Lauren Bacall's motives are perplexing and unclear at time, she certainly doesn't fit the traditional film noir female. The traditional film noir female (like several of Barbara Stanwyck's roles, like in DOUBLE INDEMNITY) female is untrustworthy not because her motives are unclear, but because she just isn't any good; or, at best, not especially good. But Lauren Bacall's character is really a very decent girl, who is trapped in a difficult situation. Brigid O'Shaughnessy is a film noir female, but Vivian in THE BIG SLEEP is not. Nor are many of the other elements of film noir a part of this film. The sense of the tragic that is an inescapable element of most film noir is absent; the moral ambiguity is absent. No, this is just a flat out great hardboiled detective film, with some seedy elements. But that, in itself, doesn't make film noir.Howard Hawks was the more versatile and arguably the most gifted filmmaker ever born in America (except for John Ford, his only rival to the crown of "best American-born director", all the other great directors who worked in Hollywood were born in Europe). And except for Preston Sturges, who worked exclusively in comedy, absolutely no director anywhere worked better with words. Of the films with the most stunning dialog in the history of film, several were directed by Howard Hawks. HIS GIRL FRIDAY and BRINGING UP BABY are merely two examples. Apart from Humphrey Bogart's superlative depiction of Philip Marlowe, the greatest joy of this film is its words. The dialog is not merely good; it is scintillating. Yes, the plot is sometimes obscure (though not obscure in the novel, though Raymond Chandler generously claimed that he wasn't sure who killed who and why), but the words are always there to drive the story forward and focus our attention. There are virtually no scenes that are not remarkable for their dialog. Much of the best dialog comes directly over from the novel, but much of it is original to the movie. William Faulkner is listed as the screenwriter. The only sour note in the film is the complexity of the plot. The story is not as perplexing as is often reported, though it could take a second or even a third viewing to understand thoroughly who killed whom. I would be happy to give the synopsis here, but I don't believe in spoilers. Everything else in the film is subject to the most lavish of praise. The dialog, as has already been mentioned, is extraordinary. The soundtrack is provided by the always reliable, and frequently stellar, Max Steiner. I can't think of the movie without remembering his many musical themes. Very few films from the 1940s feature as outstanding a cast as THE BIG SLEEP. This is one of the films that made Humphrey Bogart a legend, and it is one of Lauren Bacall's most satisfying performances. As good as they are, Martha Vickers, for whom you would have predicted superstardom based on her role as Carmen, almost steals the picture in a disappointingly small part. Why her career never took off is a mystery. Bob Steele was a familiar presence in a couple of hundred films from the thirties to the sixties, but he was never better or more memorable as the extremely nasty Canino. Elisha Cook Jr., Charles Waldron as the dying General Sternwood (and who, ironically, died shortly after the film was released), and a host of others round out a stellar cast. And the then-unknown Dorothy Malone has a memorable part as the quintessential bookworm who only needs remove her glasses to transform into a raging beauty. It should also be noted that this is yet another of the remarkable adaptations of a Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe story. Has any character been so well portrayed by so many different actors? Not just Bogart, but also Dick Powell, Robert Montgomery, Robert Mitchum, James Garner, and Eliott Gould (the latter in a successful revisionist version by Robert Altman).
Rating: 
Summary: All style and no substance.
Review: With William Faulkner writing the script based on a novel by Raymond Chandler, there is no way that a film can go wrong, especially if you have Howard Hawkes directing and Bogie and Bacall starring. That's the theory. The reality, however, is rather different. The plot is so complicated as to be meaningless. If the people who make the film have no idea who shot whom, what is the audience suppose to make of it. The plot is the hook from which you hang the story. If you can't follow the plot, you can't follow the story. Call me old-fashioned if you want, but I watch films to follow a story. No story: No movie. There is much to commend this film: The dialogue is as sharp as a knife and Bogie and Bacall deliver it with their typical panache. The cinematography is striking. Never has a film looked so noir. However, a story is required, and story is what The Big Sleep lacks.
Rating:
Summary: The Big Sleep
Review: In my opinion, The Big Sleep is probably the best example of a film noir murder mystery. It has a complex plot, excellent character development and interesting subplots. It's a movie that can be viewed and enjoyed many times over without boring its audience. The Big Sleep is in the same category as High Sierra and Casablanca.....one of the all time greats.
Rating:
Summary: A well told version of Raymond Chandler's classic
Review: While there have been later versions of this story filmed, this one is the best of them all. Raymond Chandler is one of favorite mystery writers. This film brings out Chandler at his best with strong characters from Humphrey Bogart as the cynical detective, Lauren Bacall as the beautiful lady with a dubious past, and even Bob Steele as the treacherous Cannino, a killer with no conscience. A must see for those who love fine mystrery writing and equally fine acting.
Rating: 
Summary: Badly needs a better print
Review: Despite the welcome inclusion of the earlier version and an informative commentary on the evolution of the film, this is not the definitive release we could hope for on DVD. The picture quality varies wildly, from excellent to very poor indeed -- as at least one other reviewer has noted, the right side of the picture is washed out in many scenes (while the left side often seems too dark), and one or two other scenes have a lot of "noise" in the image.
Rating:
Summary: another great Bogart Film-Noir
Review: Humphrey Bogart delivers another great performance with the big sleep playing a tough private eye, a role that he is great in. He's hired by a woman to keep an eye on her sister, but why? Does his client have something to hid? Over 55 years after this movie was released, it still is very entertaining to watch.
Rating:
Summary: She tried to sit on my lap and i was standing up.
Review: A great mystery film with Bogie as PI, Phillip Marlow. Lots of twists and turns in this one as Bogie gets deeper into the investigation than some would like. Lauren Bacall is a great co-star. DVD plays great. Clean and crisp.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic private eye tale with Bogart and Bacall in fine form
Review: This classic of American cinema, actually made during the war and released in 1946, got a whole nation of young men affecting Bogey mannerisms, raising their eyebrows or showing their teeth while grimacing, and especially pulling on their earlobes while deep in thought, a smoking cigarette dangling between their lips. It was the genius of Howard Hawks, who directed, to do everything possible to make Humphrey Bogart a matinee idol, including having Lauren Bacall slump down in the car seat so as not to tower over him. With this movie a new kind of cinematic hero was created, the existential PI, a seemingly ordinary looking guy gifted with street smarts and easy courage, admired by men, and adored by women. Hawks fashioned this, part of the Bogart legend, with a noire script penned by William Faulkner, et al., adapted from Raymond Chandler's first novel, that sparkled with spiffy lines, intriguing characters, danger and a not entirely serious attention plot detail. Hawks surrounded Bogey with admiring dames, beginning with the sexy Martha Vickers who tries to jump into his lap while he's still standing (as Marlowe tells General Sternwood), and ending with the incomparable Lauren Bacall, looking beguiling, beautiful and mysteriously seductive. In fact, every female in the cast wants to get her hands on Bogey, including a quick and easy Dorothy Malone, bored in her specs while clerking at a book store. Hawks also employed some very fine character actors, most notably Elisa Cook Jr., and Bob Steele, the former as always, the little guy crook, (Harry Jones), and the latter, as often seen in westerns, the mindless heavy with a gun (Canino). Charles Waldron played the world-weary general and Charles D. Brown was the butler. I was reminded somehow of the old Charlie Chan movies with the dark, mysterious, ornately-decorated interiors heavily carpeted and studded with ethnic statuettes, especially the house on Laverne Terrace that Bogey keeps coming back to, and the glass-paned doors and glass-separated cubicals of his office and others. The atmospheric L.A. created here has been much admired and imitated, cf., Chinatown (1974) and L.A. Confidential (1997), two very superior movies that continued the tradition. In comparing this to the book, I have to say it's a little on the white-washed side, and not as clearly drawn--"confused" some have said. Of course liberties were taken with Chandler's novel to make it romantic. Chandler's novel emphasizes cynicism, and romance takes a back seat to manliness and loyalty to the client. An especially striking difference is in the character of General Sternwood's younger daughter, Carmen. She is vividly drawn in the book as something of monster, a degenerate sex kitten who would try and do just about anything. She is twice encountered (...) naked by Marlowe, once in his bed. Being the sterling guy he is, he turns her away. (Right. I could do that.) Another difference is in all the sleazy details about the low-life underworld of Los Angeles that are omitted or glossed over in the film, including Geiger's homosexuality and his gay house guest, Carol Lundgren. (Of course there was a code in those days.) Bacall's character in the movie is actually a fusion of Vivian and Mona Mars from the book, made nice for movie fans. In the book, Marlowe kisses Vivian, but turns down her invitation for more intimate contact. In the movie, of course, there is no way Bogart is going to say "no" to Bacall. In the book Marlowe seems to prefer whiskey to women. Most of the sharp dialogue comes right from Chandler's novel, including Bogart's grinning line, "Such a lot of guns around town, and so few brains." Interesting is the little joke on Bogart in the opening scene. In the novel, Chandler's hero is greeted by the purring Carmen with the words, "Tall, aren't you?" Well, the one thing Bogey ain't is tall, and so in the movie Carmen says, "You're not very tall, are you?" Bogart comes back with, "I try to be." In the novel, Marlowe says, "I didn't mean to be." By the way, the film features Bacall singing a forties tune and looking mighty good doing it.
Rating:
Summary: Bogart & Bacall bring magic to the screen & now on DVD!
Review: Warner Brothers had the greatest stars & stories during the 1940's. With the ever growing popularity of Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall took advantage of their screen magic. This their second appearance together (they were now married in real life). Since their first movie "To Have And Have Not" Bogie's & Bacall's chemistry and magic continued to explode off the screen. What is so amazing about "The Big Sleep" is there were two versions filmed (which are included on this DVD!). The first one was shot during WWII (1944-45) & pre-released only to the armed forces overseas. It was evaluated and held back from general release for two reasons. 1.) The war was winding down so Hollywood wanted to release all their war movies first. 2.) Lauren Bacalls dynamic screen presence with Bogie was not utilized, so her effectiveness & their chemistry was missing. By holding the general release back to 1946 after WWII they reshot key screens and played the Bogart / Bacall angle to the max. Bottom line, an excellent, complex storyline which was accepted by the public with open arms. Bogie & Bacall made several more pictures together and were Americas sweethearts. Summary: Bogie plays author Raymond Chandlers private detective Philip Marlowe. On one of the most perplexing case ever. We as the audience are swept along because of the great acting and screen chemistry of Bogart & Bacall. A movie which pure entertainment and the genius of Bogie is never better. As a Classic Videophile, I find the Hollywood of the 30's & 40's at its best. The Golden Age of Hollywood with the greatest stars, writers & directors (like Howard Hawks) is for us to enjoy forever. This DVD provides us with 2 versions of the movie and background information about their differences. Enjoy !
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