Average Bufph Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
David Thomson
2020-10-15
The Big Sleep: Marlowe and Vivian practising kissing; General Sternwood shivering in a hothouse full of orchids; a screenplay, co-written by Faulkner, famously mysterious and difficult to solve. Released in 1946, Howard Hawks' adaptation of Raymond Chandler reunited Bogart and Bacall and gave them two of their most famous roles. The mercurial but ever-manipulative Hawks dredged humour and happiness out of film noir. 'Give him a story about more murders than anyone can keep up with, or explain,' David Thomson writes in his compelling study of the film, 'and somehow he made a paradise.'
When it was first shown to a military audience The Big Sleep was coldly received. So, as Thomson reveals, Hawks shot extra scenes, 'fun' scenes, to replace one in which the film's murders had been explained, and in so doing left the plot unresolved. Thomson argues that, if this was accidental, it also signalled a change in the nature of Hollywood cinema: 'The Big Sleep inaugurates a post-modern, camp, satirical view of movies being about other movies that extends to the New Wave and Pulp Fiction.'
Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' is a noir masterpiece that envelops the reader in a haze of mystery and moral ambiguity. The narrative is a labyrinth of intrigue, each turn revealing more about the complex web of relationships and secrets that define the world of Philip Marlowe. The prose is as sharp as a switchblade, cutting through the fog of Los Angeles with a precision that is both mesmerizing and unsettling. A true gem from the golden age of detective fiction, it's a book that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.
Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' is a noir masterpiece that envelops the reader in a haze of mystery and moral ambiguity. The narrative is a labyrinth of intrigue, each turn revealing more about the complex web of relationships and secrets that define the world of Philip Marlowe. The prose is as sharp as a switchblade, cutting through the fog of Los Angeles with a precision that is both mesmerizing and unsettling. A true gem from the golden age of detective fiction, it's a book that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.
Diving into 'The Big Sleep' was like stepping into a noir painting—every page dripped with atmosphere and intrigue. Chandler's prose is as sharp as a switchblade, slicing through the fog of Los Angeles with a precision that's both mesmerizing and unsettling. The interplay between Philip Marlowe and the labyrinthine plot is a dance of wit and danger, leaving me both exhilarated and contemplative. A true gem from the golden age of detective fiction.
