Why the Poster Matters | The Long Goodbye Video Essay
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2021
- you like the long goodbye? lets talk about it. or not. maybe just listen to me talk about it?
The Long Goodbye (1973) is a classic noir from 1973 from the brilliant mind of Robert Altman with the help of incredible performances from Elliot Gould, Sterling Hayden and Nina Van Pallandt. This video is an analysis or interpretation of The Long Goodbye.
#TheLongGoodbye #ElliotGould #RobertAltman #NinaVanPallandt #SterlingHayden #Analysis - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
using this space to talk about anything movies is a great time so feel free to comment
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When he shoots Terry Lennox at the end, the last thing Marlow says is "I lost my cat". And your praise of the opening shot with him in his bed, with hit cat bothering him for food....this is the normalcy to which our protagonist wishes to return throughout the entire film. Even that sad little pathetic life of his own, he'd rather have that being continue to be used by other people like a dog.
Well, let me weigh in here. I was actually AT that Tarrytown screening in January 1973 (thanks for mentioning it). I was applying to NYU filmschool and my parents gave me the Judith Crist Weekend as a Christmas present. Unlike the previous time Altman was there, playing nothing but his films, this time they chose to play all the previous Marlowe films, after which we piled onto buses and drove to a "sneak preview" of TLG the weekend before it was to open. Altman, his editor Louis Lombardo, and the United Artists suits were all in the back of the mall theatre. And the audience - many of whom had just watched six or seven vintage Philip Marlowe films - HATED it. And (I'm not kidding) directly attacked Altman to his face at a Q&A back at Tarrytown ("you're just a 45-year-old man trying to be 'with-it.'") UA pulled the next weekend's release and didn't bring it out for eight or nine months (with the MAD Magazine artwork). (You can track down a "Saturday Review" article about this, written by Playboy's film critic Bruce Williamson - I'm the film student mentioned in the article.). Fortunately the film survived all this crap, and now it's considered as one of Altman's finest - but this weekend's screening definitely slowed down his momentum. And I was there.
The ending scene, the shot down the tree lined road....that was in homage to the end of Reed's The Third Man.
I read the main five Marlowe novels in my youth and eventually it dawned on me that he went out of his way to deescalate everything, to a point of taking a lot of beatings. In the Chandler-inspired Chinatown, The Big Lebowski, Altman's The Long Goodbye, I see a real flowering of the noir hero as absorber of suffering. The sadness is the consummation most devoutly to be wished.
That's an interesting point. I've really liked that theme, when I was a kid my favorite show was Daredevil which is very much about a sad man suffering for others. There's a certain helplessness to this theme as well. For the Long Goodbye I wonder if Phillipe Marlowe bears the suffering or just wishes he could. It does seem as if he's powerless to do much of anything.
I just watched this. I finished it & just sat & thought “man I think that was a great movie!” Think! Couldn’t get it out of my head the next day & now I’m looking forward to watching it again.
This is a great analysis. Love how you incorporate the presence of Vietnam in America at the time this film was made, and the cultural implications it has on a character such as Marlowe. Thank you for sharing!
I love The Long Goodbye so much, and your analysis of it only deepened my appreciation for the film. Thank you for that.
I really liked your analysis! Helped me after watching the movie. And thank you for not recapping the whole movie first since we have all seen it already.
haha yea, I think the beauty of a video essay is that there's no need for a recap. We see the images and immediately remember the film. Thanks for the comment and the compliment. Cheers.
Your point about the camera seeming disinterested and focusing on the edges of the story is really interesting - when the Chandler novel came out, it was dismissed as being just 'window dressing'.
Very interesting to learn about the book’s reception instead of the films. All the best!
My (born in the 40s) dad's initial thoughts on this movie were as you described for the audience familiar with previous incarnations of the characters. On introducing me to the movie, he told me it took him a second viewing to appreciate what Altman was doing. Loved your analysis of a movie; it was the first time I had seen characters in a movie talking over each other. Made me think that stories can be successfully told in an unfamiliar way. subscribed for more of your thoughts : )
this really helped me with a college assignment I was working on ill make sure to cite you as a source your thoughts and ideas on the film were very helpful!!
That's awesome! I think all ideas are inspired by other people's ideas in one way or another so I'm glad I'm contributing to the discussion. Good luck
@@maxwellcouturefilms thank you!
That's a really really great video. Glad I found your channel
Thanks for the compliment and I’m glad you found it too!
In "The New Yorker" my favorite section is the film reviews/analysis section. This essay is like the film section in The New Yorker. Thank goodness for content like this. Without it, TH-cam is a vast wasteland of cat videos.
Good essay, thanks. I always had my problems with TLG. I like the ingredients, the camera, the laidback coolness and the actors, especially Elliot Gould. But these elements do not mesh for me as a whole. I think I have to try it again soon, since I usually enjoy the 70ies moviewise, and always loved anything resembling noir or neo noir. Night Moves, Klute, even the mostly ignored The Drowning Pool (which I enjoyed more then its predecessor Harper) are on my hotlist.
I added some of those to my watchlist. The long goodbye definitely comes from a different era and so personally I don’t think I had the context to enjoy it until I watched more films and did more research. It’s a little rough around the edges too
Loved watching this movie and quite enjoyed this essay!
Eliot Gould miscast. Loved the book. Read all of Chandler's books.
Was going to watch on Amazon but your review saved me.
Robert Altman is like Fellini. For someone like me, who for some reason got lost to the point of his films or just missed it because you where not ever there - you need to go back for a better education of becoming yourself. Good essay. Thanks.
At the time very inltersting casting. Nina Van Palandt I think her name was, was involved in teh phony Howard Hughes novel, and got this role. Jim Boton, a former baseball player had a few years before written BALL FOUR, which made a lot of baseball players angry because he exposed many to how they were. Finally even Arnold Scwarzenneger, who had really no acting up to that time, maybe this one HERCULES IN NEW YORK I Think. What was also interesting to note, and not mentioned any where of the analysis that I have seen yet, in Chandlers book SPOLER ALERT, Marlone does not kill Bouton character. First time I saw the film, was on networki TV. Yes cut of course, but what I actually found more effective, was when Marlowe kills the guy at the end, we only see him pulling out the gun and firing. I saw it in the theater later, and sure enough felt the seeing Bouton's characer falling into the water not as effective.
Finally while the iflm first time really bombed, I think it was rereleased the same year, and did much better.
10:33 "Not himself mean", not "Not himself a man". Important distinction. I like the video.
awesome essay mate
Los Angeles is a character too, pleasent and pretty but...everyone wants something from someone even down to the cat. I think Marlowe doesn't mind being used, he can't stomach the betrayal.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE 🍿. But, I cannot tell you why. I own several different posters for the movie.🎥
Thank you for this, that was fun and helpful
Happy to hear it!
Great analysis.
Thanks
I love the movie. I love the analysis. Can you talk more here about the use and significance of the use of flash photography?
I appreciate the comment and I'd love to talk about it. I'm no expert on the subject but to my knowledge it was a mixture of both technical and creative needs. It has much to do with the naturalistic style I talk about in the video. This can be attributed to two factors that flashing allows, low contrast and freedom of the camera. The low contrast can be created through other means but that was 1: too expensive and 2: risky for the negative so Vilmos Zsigmond (the cinematographer) turned to flashing. It was first used extensively for Altman's other film "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" however its effects are less noticeable in The Long Goodbye. Zsigmond coordinated with the production design team to reduce contrast by flashing and making sure that no bright colors were found on set. Secondly, flashing allowed Zsigmond to push the negative extra stops so they could move the camera from inside to outside, an impressive feat at the time. This also allowed movement in general which helped the cameraman with the improvisation of the actors that Altman frequently allowed. There is a little bit of a color shift because of it as you can see at some parts of the party scene outside but Altman and Zsigmond liked the surreal quality that it created. Besides allowing for low contrast and the freedom of the camera to move from inside to outside, flashing created a foggy look with blue pastels. The blue pastel look was meant to be reminiscent of the 50s as that is Phillip Marlowe's era. In all Zsigmond used his technical skills to create a look for The Long Goodbye you won't find in any other film of the time because he was the only one who could do it. The process of flashing was very complicated because different parts of the film needed different amounts of flashing so it required a very specific process that only Zsigmond was familiar with. Zsigmond deserves his props! Alright, I don't know how accurate that was but its my best summation at the moment. Let me know if you have any other thoughts or corrections. In terms of its significance I think it was vital in creating the naturalistic style of the film that I talk about a lot in the video as well as the movement of the camera I talked about as well.
Interesting how many beats PT Anderson followed in his adaptation of Inherent Vice. Can only assume Pynchon is an Altman fan too...
I really appreciate this analysis. It wasn't until I watched it that it struck me that at the end m it looks like he's reaching into his jacket to take out another cigarette and strike his match somewhere when he instead takes out the harmonica
Beautiful analysis. This film is so divisive, and I love finding people who love this film like I do. It has many references to film noir but is not a re-tread of the genre, as you say. It actually has something to say. For example, the abuse and facial disfigurement of not one but 3 women (pun intended) is, I think, a criticism of the misogyny that is inherently present in these films at times. Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat comes to mind, as in when she has hot coffee thrown into her face by Lee Marvin's character. I think, despite it being such a radical adaptation of the source material, changing characters and removing subplots, etc., it does retain enough of the basic plot but ultimately questions the whole Marlowe and Lennox relationship from the book, which I don't find that believable, to be honest. When people say that it has nothing to do with the book, I have to wonder if we watched the same film. There is a visual reference, for instance, when Marlowe goes to the Wade house for the third time. The camera zooms into a speedboat outside, and in the book, it is a speedboat that covers up the sound of the gunshot that killed Wade. Yes, Wade kills himself in the film, but like the book, it deals with betrayal, friendship, and, of course, the tragic consequences of alcoholism on the writer.
Wow great review! When I first wrote the script for this analysis I had actually talked about Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat and the criticism of misogyny in noir. Unfortunately I cut it because I felt I would need to dedicate the whole video to it and I didn’t think I was qualified enough to talk about such a sensitive topic.
Great points about its relationship to the source material. In all honesty I haven’t read The Long Goodbye. I got the feeling watching the film though (I hope I articulated this in my video) that it had moved away from the source material much in terms of style (laid back pacing, no internal monologue, etc.) but still remained truthful to the main themes (like you said, betrayal, friendship and alcoholism) while also criticizing the genre. Very interesting to hear about Lennox and Marlowe’s relationship being changed. Thank you for the great comment and I’m glad you love this film as much as I do.
@@maxwellcouturefilms I've got a ticket to a screening of this film on 35mm. I can hardly wait.
That's awesome. I'm Jealous. Have fun.
In the book Marlowe met Terry when he was passed out in the valet service behind the wheel of the car he was picking up, and Roger's got an ongoing relationship with an alcoholism clinic. Chandler's own alcoholism was getting pity from his slumming angel with this novel.
I will never understand why people didn't like this movie when it came out. Altman had already done precisely the same thing to the Western genre two years earlier with "McCabe & Mrs. Miller". I especially loved that both movies didn't necessarily submerge in the easy waters of farce - there was still stuff at stake. Altman and Gould just didn't take the genre forms all that seriously. I kinda wish others had their attitude, tbh.
really nice review, especially that older works need to be reinterpreted for newer times, but retaining the 'kernal' of the original. And this remake, with Gould as the somewhat hapless detective fit those times.
well put. without the context of noir I wonder if this movie might fall flat. wonder how well it has aged in that respect.
@@maxwellcouturefilms meaning if I (viewer) am not already aware of this genre (Noir) would the movie 'work.' Now that is a good (Graduate level) question.
off the top I say that Gould's kind of (privilaged) swagger, the inricate plot (a noir characteristic), and the cinematography (?), should carry the film enough so that even unread youth should appreciate it. They might call it Retro instead of Noir, my guess, but they would understand the cynicism.
For me always east coast and only visiting LA once (5 measley days) I love almost anything set in 50s60s70s Los Angeles. And I think Hollywood, to its credit (?) made LA a Noir town. Isn't LAConfidential very Noir, isn't BartonFink, isn't even Nathaniel West's work somewhat Noirish ? For me it is LA that is Noir. In fact I thank you for making me aware how much I like Noir (I only found your Channel tracking Sterlinghayden). Altogether, a
subject for a book, and no doubt it has been written. (But could perhaps be rewritten!).
I will be looking more at your Channel. so thank you.
@@TrpleAgnt2011 interesting. I don't have a much connection to LA except through movies and to be honest wouldn't have made that LA-Noir observation myself but I bet that I've more than absorbed it subconsciously. Got me thinking of how a simple shift in setting can be so impactful. Blue Velvet's transplant of noir to the suburbs, for example, feels so different. If you haven't seen it, The American Friend is a fantastic neo-noir film that tells its story in Germany and subverts the genre in its own way. Thanks for the discussion
great photo of Chandler, btw.
You should do one on The Man Who Fell To Earth
That’s a possibility
Always rated it never really bothered me it was post noir ( the Killers Lee Marvin) that whole inflection of hippy California was so cool in 70s UK . Sound track was great. The slow pace of it as well good comparison with Lebowski but it's the myths of the 70s not the 40s really . But I guess China Town was the retro and a greater film . Drowning Pool 70s was another old skool which is were the anti Altmann went . Style Vs hardboiled somewhere between the 4 .( Not Lebowski ) 😊
I think you're right that it tackles 70s culture/myths more. Good to hear from someone who obviously has watched/lived more than me haha. Thanks and I've added the drowning pool and the killers to my watchlist.
Although it didn't follow the book, I liked the movie. Gould gave it a different twist, but for my money Philip Marlowe will always be Dick Powell.
I find the music distracting.
What are you drinking Marlowe people want this or that- shit ... Mines an old fashioned .
It's biggest problem is that it's just quintessentially 70s, from the dialogue to the cinematography to the pacing to the humor. It doesn't entirely hold up to modern viewing for these same reasons, but it's certainly fascinating when it is running at full gears and hits the right beats in blend/ despite the 70s influences, , but sadly is not consistent even within the same scene even when golden.
This also happens to the the best reason this movie stands apart so distinctly, and is remembered. It's nowhere near the best neo-noir film, but it's certainly one of the most adapted and non-standard - a staple of the 70's ideals.
What’s your favorite neo-noir film?
@@maxwellcouturefilms Chinatown, absolutely hands down. Also argued by some as the greatest screenplay of all time. Have you seen it?
Yea I have, big fan of Jack Nicholson. Chinatown has probably one of my favorite scores too.
@@maxwellcouturefilms have you seen Brick? It's a unique modern Neo-Noir adapted to the clicks/ groups of a high school, with a brilliant-minded but social outcast as our tragic hero, played by Joseph Gordon Levitt. It's a great adaptation of the noir genre to a completely new setting, but it works. You can see each element translated. From a younger Rian Johnson, his first film I think, before he ruined Star Wars (jk lol)
Yea I didn’t finish the last Jedi lol. Sounds interesting and I’ll definitely give it a watch sometime. Another noir that does a similar thing (but it’s older) is bad day at black rock. It translates the noir genre from the grimy streets to the wide open desert. It’s a good watch if you haven’t seen it already.
Bump
Don’t think it’s accurate to say noir comes out of war since they’re adapting pre-war pulp novels
Good point. Should try to be more precise with what I’m saying. War without a doubt had a major influence in it though. Raymond Chandlers first book was published in 1933 as tensions were rising.
JUst finished seeing the movie. Maybe you were a bit right in the analysis; maybe you analysed it a bit too much. To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a movie is just a movie :)
I’d have to respectfully disagree. Not to say my analysis is right but just to say that I think talking about movies is important! There are pitfalls though, like trying to look impressive or pushing an attractive narrative too hard among others. But making an effort to understand why a piece of art affects you is important in my opinion, no matter how far down the rabbit hole you have to go. Thank you for watching and commenting. All the best!
This film is way betyter than the Marlowe film Marlowe, with James Gardner, whjich is flimed very similarly, that film I think is the worst Marlowe film ever made.
Very interesting video, excited to see what you do next week!
Glad to hear it! I’m tackling a Hitchcock film next week so stay tuned.