July 13th: THE LONG GOODBYE (Robert Altman, 1973)

Private eye Philip Marlowe finds out his good friend may have committed a murder and finds himself caught between various interested parties.



Raymond Chandler is one of the most influential of all crime/detective novelists, and his primary protagonist Marlowe (featured in eight novels as well as various short stories) is the model on which many hard-boiled sleuths have been based in the last 60+ years. The conceit of this adaptation was to bring the character into early-70's Southern California culture with his attitudes, morals, and ethics intact, providing a context through which to critique the current social climate.



Robert Altman is a filmmaker who over his near 40-year career in movies made some of the landmark films of the New Hollywood era, as well as enjoying an acclaimed late-period renaissance beginning in the mid 90's. His naturalistic style stood out against the standard studio releases of the previous generation, and in the 70's alone he released at least one film a year, many now considered classics, such as M*A*S*H, Nashville, Brewster McCloud, California Split, and McCabe & Mrs. Miller.



The screenplay for The Long Goodbye was written by Leigh Brackett, who had also adapted Chandler for the 1946 version of The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The decision was made to forgo a straight adaptation, with Altman dubbing the hero "Rip Van Marlowe", as if the character had woken up and 30 years had passed. He only agreed to make the film after getting the approval to cast Elliot Gould in the role, a man he had worked with three years earlier on M*A*S*H. Also starring is veteran actor Sterling Hayden, Nina Van Pallandt, Henry Gibson, and Mark Rydell (a director in his own right).



Innovative cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond used a technique he and Altman had tried on their previous collaboration, which involved exposing the camera negative to additional light before developing, resulting in a distinct color palette. The film also features an early score by composer John Williams, with a main theme that is arranged in different musical styles throughout the film to mirror the kaleidoscopic atmosphere of Los Angeles.



While received with mixed reviews upon its release, The Long Goodbye is now regarded as a high point in Altman's filmography for its metafiction take on the film noir genre and its satire on the time period. In 2006, Altman received an honorary Academy Award for his contributions to the art form, after five previous nominations for direction.

Film runs approx 110 minutes.