kasper says
I perfectly understand all the criticism, but it only works in relation to the book. I just really like the film for what it is but you have to forget anything to do with Chandler, Marlowe et al...
posted Thursday, August 30 2007
(read kasper’s review)
barry_ergang says
With no disrespect intended toward your opinion, I don't know of any die-hard Chandler fan who liked Altman's abomination. Long before Altman died, there were plenty of Chandler buffs who'd have sent him to an early grave for using THE LONG GOODBYE as a vehicle for satirizing the hardboiled detective story.In fact, it's the WORST choice he could have made because the novel is less hardboiled than some of its predecessors, and it's as close to a mainstream novel as it is to a detective story. Elliott Gould as Marlowe? A triumph of miscasting! Altman's film not only changes the plot, it radically alters Marlowe's character--especially in the climactic scene. Part of the blame should also go to screenwriter Leigh Brackett, whose own hardboiled fiction bore an unabashed, unmistakable Chandler influence with regard to style and tone. She should've known better.
posted Saturday, July 28 2007
(This is a response to a previous comment)
(barry_ergang’s previously rated this books 5 stars, read review)