Rate It
|
||||||||||||||||
Rating Averages
My Friends |
Not rated. () |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
All Flixster |
(1539) |
793 |
3672 |
Female |
(440) |
227 |
1049 |
Male |
(1099) |
566 |
2623 |
More Like This
If you liked this, then you'll also probably like...
Got another recommendation for someone who liked this movie? Add it to the list!
Got an opinion? Use the buttons to vote on all the suggestions people have added.
If lots of people vote, the best suggestions will rise to the top.
| Miller's Crossing (86%) |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (29%) |
|
|
| Sin City (56%) |
|
|
| The Man Who Wasn't There (75%) |
|
|
| Farewell, My Lovely (83%) |
|
|
Plot:
Chain-smoking, wisecracking private eye Philip Marlowe drives a buddy from LA to the Tijuana border and returns home to an apartment full of cops who arrest him for abetting the murder of his friend's...( read more 
)
Meet Other Fans
Recent Reviews
-
MCT:June 24, 2008ross and monicas dad reprises the role of phillip marlowe only to be undressed at by the terminator while he tries to fathom his mates suicides and wifes murder. it doesn't help that his cat only eats one brand of cat food and that the girls next door walk around topless all the time. directed by robert altman who seems to be generally so so with his projects, he's created another average affair. nice to see phillip marlowe still kicking ass mind. if anyone's seen brick it's quite similar to that only not as smart
-
MCT:June 8, 2008Like a lot of Altman's stuff, it lags in parts, but overall the performances save the day. Especially Elliott Gould, who is fucking phenomenal and I also enjoyed Sterling Hayden as well. And hands down, there is absolutely nothing that Vilmos can't make look amazing. Take it from me, because I saw Jersey Girl.
-
MCT:June 3, 2008
Robert Altman brings gumshoe Phillip Marlowe to seventies LA. Elliot Gould is a natural in this excellent film
-
MCT:May 25, 2008
Before watching this movie, I never would have pictured nebbish Jew Elliot Gould as hard-boiled private eye Phillip Marlowe, but he sure did a bang-up job.
-
MCT:April 8, 2008My vote for possibly the coolest ever performance? Elliott Gould is just so good in this, its no suprise that in later years he is called upon if ever a director needs a a dependable character actor, he made many an episode of 'Friends' watchable as Monica and Ross's dad. When you couple a great actor with a great director, Robert Altman based on a book by Raymond Chandler you can't really go too far wrong. Essential viewing for detective fiction/movie fans.
-
MCT:March 28, 2008
One of Robert Altman's finest films and he brings out the best performance of Elliot Gould in a great 70's update on a classic Phillip Marlowe story.
-
MCT:March 15, 2008
altman's great screwy adaptation of raymond chandler's book stars elliot gould as the strangest marlowe ever in a knockout performance. able support from mark rydell as the villain and sterling hayden as a washed-up drunken writer. with cool cameos by former yankee pitcher jim bouton and an unknown arnold schwarzenegger! a terrific artifact of the seventies and a whole lot of fun
-
MCT:March 6, 2008
My favourite Robert Altman film, this enraged many a Raymond Chandler purist when it came out, but it's probably the most intelligent Chandler adaptation ever made. Besides reinvigorating a first-rate murder-mystery, by adopting a contemporary setting and audaciously altering several of the book's key plot developments, Altman and screenwriter Leigh Brackett create a perceptive commentary on moral bankruptcy in the 1970s. Whereas a 1940s or 1950s Terry Lennox would have been innocent of his wife's murder because, as Philip Marlowe's friend, he could be trusted implicitly, the 1970s Terry Lennox is not only capable of murder, but also has no scruples about directing a vicious, double-crossed hoodlum and a police investigation Marlowe's way.
The one anachronism here is Elliot Gould's Philip Marlowe, and not just because he drives a vintage car and wears a suit--albeit rumpled--at all times. Beneath the grubby facade of a chain-smoking, apathetic slob, he is every bit as morally centred as Chandler's creation: he doesn't work divorce cases, he cannot accept Lennox's/Augustine's dirty $5000 bill and, most tellingly, he's prepared to step outside the law to punish the man who escaped justice by betraying their friendship.
"The Long Goodbye" is a wonderfully playful film. There are jokey references to screen legends of the classic Hollywood era, and John Williams and Johnny Mercer's title song is reworked delightfully throughout, even appearing as supermarket Muzak and a doorbell chime. Elliott Gould makes the most of the best role of his career, Sterling Hayden is larger than life and Henry Gibson is very creepy as a 'drying-out' clinician, but film director Mark Rydell steals the acting honours as the gangster Marty Augustine. Simultaneously hilarious and unsettling, he's far more terrifying than, for example, Joe Pesci is in "GoodFellas" because he's controlled and calculating rather than just an apoplectic hothead. I cannot recommend this film strongly enough. Tell your friends it's Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie; I do! -
MCT:March 5, 2008
The perfect combination of lead actor and low key material for Altman. This lazy, atmospheric mystery is perfect for the viewer who wants to chill out and really enjoy the rough edges of a film; the atmosphere.
-
MCT:February 4, 2008
The character of Phillip Marlowe seems to have been played by a wide variety of actors and I gotta say, before seeing this film, Elliot Gould would have been one of my last picks. But let me tell you, now he's my favourite.
Having seen The Big Sleep starring the great Bogey I still have to say that I prefer this one. Maybe it's because it's unique and edgier, or that I tend to just like the 70s feel better than the 40s, or maybe it's Robert Altman, who's made two of the most intriguing films I've ever seen: this and 3 Women. To be honest the only Altman films I've seen, but after seeing them only once they have rocketed to one of my prefered films.
This film really does keep you guessing to the very end and it's definetly more entertaining (maybe because of Altman over Hawks) than Big Sleep. Plus Gould is hilarious and very likeable. Bogart just seems a little coy and sexist.
I don't want to rag on old Hollywood or films of the 40s they have their merit, I just think the 70s allows for a shit load more entertainement and art even. -
MCT:January 25, 2008
A masterpiece from two standpoints: Zsigmond's groundbreaking photography and Gould's pitch-perfect performance. Altman facilitates.
-
MCT:December 9, 2007I'm finally starting to catch up on my Robert Altman. Good for me.
This Robert Altman was very different for me. Yes, it was a detective mystery story, but that was the least interesting this about it, and it was still awesome! Rather, it is more of a study of Elliott Gould's very cool character who seems to somehow be grounded in real life. We've seen the cool private dick (heh) before, but they always seem larger than life. I can't ever imagine meeting half of Bogie's characters, or Jack in Chinatown. I honestly believe that Elliott Gould's character exists out there somewhere, and you really have to give credit to Mr. Gould and Mr. Altman for shaping this character so well. Sure, the topless girls doing yoga all day across the way seems absurd, but that's really just a fun bit to make this real world a little more cinematic for the better.
The plot is really good, but a little hard to follow. I was amazed how many people knew each other and why they would involve Gould's character. It seems like Gould would be the one guy you'd want to leave in the dust and not hand him any puzzle pieces, but it seems almost like eveyone wants him to solve this puzzle. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, but the movie was so good, that I kind of want to sweep that under the rug and ignore it. Sometimes I have the luxury of doing that and in this case, I'm going to take full advantage of that luxury. -
MCT:July 27, 2007
Altman, per usual, redefines the genre. This time, it is film noir. Elliot Gould plays Philip Marlowe unlike anyone before him.
-
MCT:July 25, 2007
Robert Altman and Elliott Gould at their best in this wry drama...makes me wish I was alive for 70's filmmaking on par with this film
-
MCT:June 10, 2007
Probably the best Marlowe movie, even better than The Big Sleep, which I adore. Elliot Gould and Altman's LA sensibility really nail the late Chandler.
-
MCT:March 22, 2007
Pleasantly surprised by this film, a great piece of film-noir. I especially loved the impressions of Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart
-
MCT:March 21, 2007
This movie is amazing. From the fish out of water performance of Gould to the marvalous direction from Altman.
-
MCT:March 20, 2007
'Its ok with me'. - Marlowe.
Altman has so many remarkable films, but this to me is his best of any period. He wakes up Philip Marlowe into the 1970's, and creates a character who doesn't have a clue, but it is such a corrupt moment in time that even the laid back Marlowe becomes active.
Superb! -
MCT:March 12, 2007
Enjoyable twist on the detective genre from the late Robert Altman. Elliot Gould is great as a 1960s Philip Marlowe (although I'm not sure if he's better than Bogie)
-
MCT:September 8, 2006
such an awesome portrayol of the loser Marlowe. The film has fantastic moments and ties the violence in with comedy superbly. I love this film
My Friends Said...
The Long Goodbye Recent Reviews
Register or sign-in to see your friends' reviews !
