Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[The Great Owl]

I've never really felt confused by the movie adaptation of The Big Sleep. The unanswered questions just sort of drift to the back of my mind while I'm watching it, and I just sort of take in the general idea on its own terms.

I wrote this in the dedicated thread for the Blu-ray after I revisited the film last year...

The Big Sleep, like the Chandler source novel, has a loose narrative end, but it's of little consequence. Like the James Bond 007 movies, The Big Sleep is not so much about plot mechanics as it is about capturing a vibe of coolness and intense sensuality. The exchanges between Bogart and Bacall in the final version of the film elevate the pre-release version to a new level of cinematic bliss.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've never really felt confused by the movie adaptation of The Big Sleep. The unanswered questions just sort of drift to the back of my mind while I'm watching it, and I just sort of take in the general idea on its own terms.

I wrote this in the dedicated thread for the Blu-ray after I revisited the film last year...

The Big Sleep, like the Chandler source novel, has a loose narrative end, but it's of little consequence. Like the James Bond 007 movies, The Big Sleep is not so much about plot mechanics as it is about capturing a vibe of coolness and intense sensuality. The exchanges between Bogart and Bacall in the final version of the film elevate the pre-release version to a new level of cinematic bliss.

That's pretty much the same exact reaction I had while watching it. I was just going with the flow and loving every second of it.

[javy]

Talk about being hypnotized by Humphrey Bogart's studness and Lauren Bacall's beauty because I just watched this the other day and I didn't notice any of the said plot holes either. Beautiful.

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by javy

Talk about being hypnotized by Humphrey Bogart's studness and Lauren Bacall's beauty because I just watched this the other day and I didn't notice any of the said plot holes either. Beautiful.

Speaking of them... I watched Key Largo last night and as good as they are, Edward G. Robinson owns that movie.

[javy]

Originally Posted by rocknblues81

Speaking of them... I watched Key Largo last night and as good as they are, Edward G. Robinson owns that movie.

Key Largo and the Big Sleep are my favorite of the Bogart/Bacall films.

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by javy

Key Largo and the Big Sleep are my favorite of the Bogart/Bacall films.

They were both so mellow in Key Largo.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by rocknblues81

Speaking of them... I watched Key Largo last night and as good as they are, Edward G. Robinson owns that movie.

Agreed. He and Claire Trevor are the reason I'm a fan of the movie.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Yeah Key Largo is a great film.

[Vlad Draculi]

I had trouble with Key Largo. I didn't think it was as lackluster as Odd Man Out, but it is probably my second least favorite Noir at this point. I will agree that Robinson was the best thing about it.

My top 3 favorite Bogart ones though are The Maltese Falcon, In a Lonely Place, and The Big Sleep.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

I had trouble with Key Largo. I didn't think it was as lackluster as Odd Man Out, but it is probably my second least favorite Noir at this point. I will agree that Robinson was the best thing about it.

My top 3 favorite Bogart ones though are The Maltese Falcon, In a Lonely Place, and The Big Sleep.

In a Lonely Place is my second favorite Bogart film after Casablanca (even though Casablanca isn't a film noir)

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

I had trouble with Key Largo. I didn't think it was as lackluster as Odd Man Out, but it is probably my second least favorite Noir at this point. I will agree that Robinson was the best thing about it.

My top 3 favorite Bogart ones though are The Maltese Falcon, In a Lonely Place, and The Big Sleep.

I think one of the main problems is that we're not as invested in Bogart's character as we're supposed to be. I think we needed more confrontation scene's between Rocco, Nora and McCloud. Moreover, the importance put on bathtub scene let's us know that it is Rocco that we have to keep our eyes on.

Plus, the ending kinda takes the easy way out. There really isn't a lot of moral complexity to it.

[kristoffer]

Thanks for the explanations. I really much enjoyed the film overall despite the mess of a plot. =)

[kristoffer]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

The movie makes less sense than the book because the film had to censor some of the more explicit material from the novel that wouldn't fly due to the production code.

It's been a while since I've seen the film, so I can't remember how much was altered, but here's how it's explained in the novel:

The Geiger murder and Reagan's disappearance aren't directly connected. Marlowe wanted to follow up on Reagan because he had an affinity for General Sternwood and wanted to let him know what happened to his son-in-law, even though it wasn't officially part of his investigation.

The dead guy on the bed is the photographer who was taking dirty pictures of Carmen Sternwood. Those pictures formed the basis for the blackmail that General Sternwood calls in Marlowe to investigate.

Here, maybe this will help:

[Show spoiler]

Thanks, but that just confused me more!

[tallguy58]

The Big Sleep makes perfect sense if you read the original short stories the novel was assembled from.

All were published in Black Mask magazine. Killer In The Rain and The Curtain form the bulk of the novel with Finger Man and Mandarin's Jade supplying small details.

There is a compilation available of all his short stories and I highly recommend it as I found it more entertaining than the novels. If you're familiar with the novels it's fun to read a short story and sense you've seen that somewhere before.

[Juels Winnfield]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

The movie makes less sense than the book because the film had to censor some of the more explicit material from the novel that wouldn't fly due to the production code.

It's been a while since I've seen the film, so I can't remember how much was altered, but here's how it's explained in the novel:

The Geiger murder and Reagan's disappearance aren't directly connected. Marlowe wanted to follow up on Reagan because he had an affinity for General Sternwood and wanted to let him know what happened to his son-in-law, even though it wasn't officially part of his investigation.

The dead guy on the bed is the photographer who was taking dirty pictures of Carmen Sternwood. Those pictures formed the basis for the blackmail that General Sternwood calls in Marlowe to investigate.

Here, maybe this will help:

[Show spoiler]

Best use of a diagram ever...

[javy]

Originally Posted by rocknblues81

They were both so mellow in Key Largo.

Edward G plays a phenomenal psychopathic gangster in Key Largo, as well as Little Caesar.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by tallguy58

The Big Sleep makes perfect sense if you read the original short stories the novel was assembled from.

All were published in Black Mask magazine. Killer In The Rain and The Curtain form the bulk of the novel with Finger Man and Mandarin's Jade supplying small details.

There is a compilation available of all his short stories and I highly recommend it as I found it more entertaining than the novels. If you're familiar with the novels it's fun to read a short story and sense you've seen that somewhere before.

Speaking of the source material: The Annotated Big Sleep, a 480-page edition of the novel (which is originally 231 pages), is coming out this September. Here's how the publisher describes it:

The first fully annotated edition of Raymond Chandler's 1939 classic The Big Sleep, with an introduction by Jonathan Lethem and hundreds of illuminating notes and photographs alongside the full text, is an essential addition to any crime fiction fan's library.

A masterpiece of noir, Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep helped to define a genre and remains one of the most celebrated and stylish novels of the twentieth century. Now, this comprehensive annotated edition offers a fascinating look behind the scenes of the novel, bringing the gritty and seductive world of Chandler's iconic private eye Philip Marlowe into full color. Notes on the historical context of Chandler's Los Angeles; excerpts from the author's personal letters and source texts; explorations of the issues of gender, sexuality, and race that permeate the story; and important interpretations and clarifications enrich the reader's understanding and situate the novel within the tradition of crime fiction that Chandler both built upon and made new.

[tallguy58]

Thanks for the heads up.

I'll keep an eye out for it.

[Vlad Draculi]

So I finally saw Blood Simple, Taxi Driver, and LA Confidential and they were all fantastic movies.

[Old Geezer]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Already answered above, but the subtitles are there, because I revisited the movie with them on.

The Indicator Blu-ray of The Lady from Shanghai is the full meal deal, and it is a perfect package for this film.

I just received and watched my Indicator Blu-ray of The Lady From Shanghai and I was blown away. This is, indeed, "the full meal deal". The cover art upgrade alone was almost enough to make me happy I quadruple-dipped on this release( I own both the original and corrected versions from TCM along with the Mill Creek release). I was just going to watch a little but once I started I couldn't stop.