Long Goodbye

Pros: Toys with genre conventions
Cons: About as dated as a Nehru jacket

The Long Goodbye (1973) "It's OK with me." Phillip Marlowe Anarchic director Robert Altman deconstructs the detective movie with his 1973 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye. Rather than cast a sardonic tough guy for ...

Pros: everything: conception, execution, writing, acting, cinematography, music
Cons: nothing for those not wedded to the book

I saw the first twelve features films directed by Robert Altman in their theatrical release (along with many others, found Quintet unwatchable, walked out and didn't even hear of his next movie ("A Perfect Couple" until looking to see what the number ...

Pros: everything: conception, execution, writing, acting, cinematography, music
Cons: nothing for those not wedded to the book

I saw the first twelve features films directed by the recently deceased Robert Altman in their theatrical release (along with many others; I found "Quintet" unwatchable, walked out and didn't even hear of his next movie ("A Perfect Couple" until looking ...

Pros: Altman. Gould. Utterly unique take on the character of Marlowe, and the book itself.
Cons: some noir purists insist Altman is the devil for making this.

I hadn't thought about writing a review on The Long Goodbye - that is, until I noticed that nobody had. I couldn't believe it, I'd like to think that it has gone un-reviewed this long because there were others like me, who figured someone...

Pros: What a re-interpretation of Chandler's Noir world!
Cons: Ya gotta be totally hip to Noir AND Altman!

It's unfortunate for us Postmoderns that Raymond Chandler didn't write more prolifically or within a wider scope of genre style. "The Long Goodbye" is one of his best works. Out of his small output of nine or so pulp-fiction noir novels, Chandler ...

Pros: Pretty much everything except...
Cons: The ending.

Philip Marlowe is the quintessential noir character; the hardboiled private eye created by Raymond C ...

Pros: Unusual picture with a great cast.
Cons: Too-quick resolution at the end.

Such an unusual film, I put Altman's Long Goodbye in my Netflix list based on two inadvertant recommendations on the same day. This film is somewhat surreal, and at times I was reminded of Chinatown -- odd, considering this was made first and is not set ...