Some critics consider it inferior to the big sleep or farewell, my lovely, but others rank it as the best of his work. His films cut across virtually all genresfrom western mccabe and mrs. Robert altmans the long goodbye 1973 attacks film noir with three of his most cherished tools. Robert altman is one of the most inventive, unpredictable, and hotly debated american filmmakers of the past thirty years. Mar 07, 2018 r obert altman borrowed the title of raymond chandlers the long goodbye for both his 1973 film, but it could just have easily been called hooray for hollywood the doris day song is ironically played over the end credits.
Watch robert altmans twopart harold pinter adaptation, the. Apr 02, 2015 robert altman was one of the boldest, most versatile filmmakers of the late 20th century. A companion to robert altman presents myriad aspects of altmans life, career, influence and historical context. The player 1992 official trailer tim robbins, robert altman hollywood drama movie. In robert altmans 1973 adaptation of raymond chandlers novel the long goodbye which i discuss in this clip, the archetypal private eye. The film stars elliott gould as philip marlowe and features sterling hayden, nina van pallandt, jim bouton, mark rydell, and an early. Sep 06, 2011 adrian curry has written a great post on the story behind the poster campaign for robert altmans 1973 crime drama the long goodbye, starring elliott gould.
Following the commercial and critical success of mash 1970, emboldened maverick filmmaker robert altman embarked on a hitandmiss jumble of experimental, genresubverting, and frequently uncommercial studiofinanced features. The best place to start the long goodbye perhaps the most consistently fruitful and audiencefriendly period of altmans career was the early 70s, when he made a string of films mostly but not exclusively critiques, in part, of traditional hollywood genres that expressed altmans sceptical view of the american dream. It was then that he started exploring the art of exploring sound with the. Poster campaigns for robert altmans the long goodbye. Youll have to scroll down to get to the piece on the long goodbye. His 1973 take on raymond chandlers 1953 novel the long goodbye is a case in point. To learn more about the history of this film, go here.
Aug, 2014 looking back at robin williams in robert altmans underrated popeye. Unlike the ultracool version of marlowe embodied by the big sleeps humphrey bogart, elliott goulds marlowe is a man out of his. Robert altman s the long goodbye attempts to do a very interesting thing. And though few of his movies have met with huge commercial success. The book is full of rich characterization, settings, and dialogue. Chandlers 1953 novel leads marlowe into a web of deception so. Miller were behind him, with the long goodbye, california split and nashville still to come.
The long goodbye is a 1973 american neonoir thriller film directed by robert altman and based on raymond chandlers 1953 novel of the same title. Robert altmans the long goodbye is popular again the. The downside of the long goodbye is that in the midst of all that, chandler loses the story several times. Smartaleck, catloving private eye philip marlowe elliott gould is certain that his friend terry lennox jim bouton isnt a wifekiller, even after the cops throw marlowe in jail for. There is none of the overlapping dialogue that altman pioneered and his camera, which he typically inserts into a scene letting.
A topnotch example of what a book tofilm adaptation should be. These problems are rooted in the battle between the need to create some false image of success and the need for truth which is the struggle that exists in every character of this film except jeff goldbloom. Jul 28, 2011 david thomson on robert altman s the long goodbye ed here. The original trailer for cornsapoppin, robert altmans first film, released in 1956. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. The long goodbye is a novel by raymond chandler, published in 1953, his sixth novel. The following is an excerpt from a piece critic david thomson wrote about robert altman in 2000. February 20, 1925 november 20, 2006 was an american film director, screenwriter, and producer. Miller and science fiction quintet to detective story the long goodbye and musical popeyeoffering us what vincent canby once called a gallery of american portraits. Goulds marlowe is a man who fell asleep in the 40s and woke up to the hedonistic, nihilistic 70s. Film theatrical and television director robert altman, auteur of some 40 movies you know what i mean, the stuff that, during what may one day be referred to as americas golden age, was shown on very big screens in.
The early seventies were a period of remarkable activity for robert altman, producing masterpiece after masterpiece. Nov 24, 2009 robert altmans the long goodbye attempts to do a very interesting thing. Robert altman put out over 30 movies, some of them masterpieces. The antagonist says of his horrendous, selfish crimes, nobody caresa statement dripping with nihilismand calls marlowe a bornloser for being the only one who. Robert merrill of the ten films based on raymond chandlers novels, robert altman s the long goodbye 1973 is almost surely the most notorious. Robert altman was a very quirky director, sometimes missing the mark, but oftentimes brilliant.
Film theatrical and television director robert altman, auteur of some 40 movies you know what i mean, the stuff that, during what may one day be referred to as america s golden age, was shown on very big screens in halls that held hundreds of people was unarguably a titan of his chosen calling. Essay on robert altmans the long goodbye as a genre. He is always the most youthful of directors, and here he gives us the youngest of philip marlowes, the private eye as a hardy boy. Nov 05, 2009 an online magazine, published weekdays. Robert altmans the long goodbye is popular again the new. The novel is notable for using hardboiled detective fiction as a vehicle. This is the latest in a series of arts and historyrelated videos that appear in this space each monday, wednesday, and friday. And it is this conclusion that sets the big lebowski apart from the direct adaptation of the long goodbye.
Altman is known as fivetime nominee of the academy award for best director and an enduring figure from the new hollywood era with such directors as martin scorsese, woody allen, sidney lumet, and david lynch. After reading meghan orourkes book of poetry, sun in days, i wanted to find out more about the author and wound up on her wikipedia page and eventually on the authors own page. It is very interesting to note how the conventions of 1940s hardboiled private eye fiction translate into the 1970s. In robert altmans version, marlowe does take vengeance. Dec 06, 2014 the long goodbye sits at all these intersections.
Robert merrill of the ten films based on raymond chandlers novels, robert altmans the long goodbye 1973 is almost surely the most notorious. The actors and the films in the 1940s filmnoir period conformed to genre conventions, and it wasnt until robert altman directed elliot goulds philip marlowe in the long goodbye that the detective genre had changed. Altman gracefully kisses off the privateeye form in soft, mellow color and volatile. The long goodbye elliott gould discusses the film with.
Why robert altmans brilliant nashville never had a sequel. I think altmans rendition of the long goodbye gets a bad rap fans of raymond chandlers poetic novels and bogarts iconic portrayal find elliot gould as a smartass, sleepy rip van marlowe too much of a change in character. Altman manages to capture the hardedged sadness of raymond. David thomson on robert altmans the long goodbye ed here. Made up of two programs, the halves were both adaptations of plays the room and the dumb waiter by noble. The picture is the only theatrically released feature film in the ma s h franchise, and it became one of the biggest films of the early. Robert altmans the long goodbye by james mccormick when trying to think of a worthy title for the second installment in the for criterion consideration series we have started here at the criterion cast, one name that kept springing to mind that is a worthy director in the collection is mr. Revisiting altmans the long goodbye the new york times. Peters catholic school at the age six, and spent a short time at a catholic high school. The most expansive and wideranging book yet published on altman, providing a comprehensive account of altmans complete career. Marlowe hides in the bushes, pokes his nose up against a window, complains like a spoiled child, and runs after a.
The hd image renders vilmos zsigmonds cinematography so cleanly, were soon pulled into cathryns enclosed space of psychological confinement. It tries to be all genre and no story, and it almost works. Robert altmans the long goodbye 1973 attacks film noir with three of. The long goodbye is one of the best books i have read this year. Oct 04, 2012 robert merrill of the ten films based on raymond chandlers novels, robert altmans the long goodbye 1973 is almost surely the most notorious. Looking back at robin williams in robert altmans underrated. This book features 23 essays from a range of experts in the field, providing extensive coverage of these aspects and dimensions of altmans work. The long goodbye by robert altman elliott gould, nina van. Robert altmans movie nashville is based on the political, social, and personal problems that our country has to deal with. Long goodbye, the 1973 movie clip all the tigers in. Robert altman, who turns 81 tomorrow, will receive his very first oscar in a couple of weeks.
A fine example of this would be robert altmans iconoclastic take on raymond chandlers philip marlowe in the long goodbye 1973, a detective film based on the final book in chandlers philip marlowe series. The hd image renders vilmos zsigmonds cinematography so cleanly, were soon pulled into cathryns enclosed space of. A lot had changed in hollywood since the books release in 1953 and the beginning of altmans involvement in the early 1970s. Watch robert altmans twopart harold pinter adaptation. Like raymond chandler, robert altman 19252006 was a difficult, harddrinking, selfdestructive artist. Applying his deconstructive eye to the film noir tradition, robert altman updated raymond chandler in his 1973 version of chandlers novel, the long goodbye. When robert altman made a movie of the novel chandler considered his best, the long goodbye, marlowe, played by elliott gould, seemed. Smartaleck, catloving private eye philip marlowe elliott gould is certain that his friend terry lennox isnt a wifekiller, even after the cops throw marlowe in jail for not cooperating with their investigation. Arrow academys bluray of images does good things for altmans movie, which i previously thought would only play well in a theater, on a large screen. It makes no serious effort to reproduce the raymond chandler detective novel its based on. Looking back at robin williams in robert altmans underrated popeye. The long goodbye is a novel by raymond chandler, published in 1953, his sixth novel featuring the private investigator philip marlowe.
An endlessly fascinating concept for an adaptation of raymond chandler, the long goodbye finds private dick philip marlowe a never better elliott gould waking up after a big sleep. It tries to be all genre and no story it makes no serious effort to reproduce the raymond chandler detective novel it just takes all the characters out of that novel and lets them stew together in something that feels like a privateeye movie. Long goodbye, the 1973 movie clip all the tigers in india. Set in the 1970s, robert altmans masterly take on raymond chandlers novel exposes the eras decadence, writes philip french.
Robert altman s the long goodbye by james mccormick when trying to think of a worthy title for the second installment in the for criterion consideration series we have started here at the criterion cast, one name that kept springing to mind that is a worthy director in the collection is mr. Chandler, in a letter to a friend, called the novel my best book. It might take a second viewing to appreciate whats really going on in the film. Maybe the calmest thriller ever made, so when the ending comes its like a thunder clap on a quiet evening. Robert altman great director profile senses of cinema. Robert altmans the long goodbye isnt only in my mind his greatest achievment, it is one of the ten greatest film ive seen to date. That isnt to say it doesnt get the blood pumping with a coke bottle moment that may be the most shocking thing since cagneys grapefruit, with an undertone of menace, violence, and mystery its just that it saunters along on skinny legs for two hours, a slow burning cigarette, a. He was often hitormiss, and certainly more on the miss side when he got into the 1980s. Even people who like the film see it as a deliberate departure from chandlers literary intentions, and chandlers fans regard the film with what one critic calls ontological loathing. We rank the best altman movies, including gosford park, popeye, nashville, short cuts, the player, and more. Its hard to remember a detective novel where the detective took so little interest in solving the central mystery of the book.
The screenplay was written by leigh brackett, who cowrote the screenplay for chandlers the big sleep in 1946. Robert altmans film of raymond chandlers novel the long goodbye, produced by jerry bick from a screenplay by leigh brackett, is as witty. Robert altman is the most quintessentially american of contemporary directors. It follows the private detector phillip marlowe who had had. Robert altman was born on february 20th, 1925 in kansas city, missouri, to b. R obert altman borrowed the title of raymond chandlers the long goodbye for both his 1973 film, but it could just have easily been called hooray for hollywood the doris day song is ironically played over the end credits. Robert altman s the long goodbye isnt only in my mind his greatest achievment, it is one of the ten greatest film ive seen to date. The original poster was illustrated by richard amsel who has designed some muchloved movie posters, like the ones for raiders of the lost ark and the sting. In writing this book, jan stuart enjoyed the benefit of full cooperation from altman, who sat for many hours of interviews, as well as most of the motley.
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