:
Humphrey Bogart,
Lauren Bacall,
John Ridgely,
more...
:
Howard Hawks
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Warner Home Video
: Classics, Film Noir, Vintage Noir
: 230 min.
: English
: English, French
see additional details...
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The definitive Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall vehicle, The Big Sleep casts Bogart as Raymond Chandler's cynical private eye Philip Marlowe. Summoned to the home of the fabulously wealthy General Sternwood (Charles Waldron), Marlowe is hired to deal with a blackmailer shaking down the General's sensuous, thumb-sucking daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). This earns Marlowe the displeasure of Carmen's sloe-eyed, seemingly straight-laced older sister Vivian (Bacall), who is fiercely protective of her somewhat addled sibling. As he pursues the case at hand, Marlowe gets mixed up in the murder of Arthur Geiger (Theodore von Eltz), a dealer in pornography. He also runs afoul of gambling-house proprietor Eddie Mars (John Ridgely), who seems to have some sort of hold over the enigmatic Vivian. Any further attempts to outline the plot would be futile: the storyline becomes so complicated and convoluted that even screenwriters William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthmann were forced to consult Raymond Chandler for advice (he was as confused by the plot as the screenwriters). When originally prepared for release in 1945, The Big Sleep featured a long exposition scene featuring police detective Bernie Ohls (Regis Toomey) explaining the more obscure plot details. This expository scene was ultimately sacrificed, along with several others, in favor of building up Bacall's part; for instance, a climactic sequence was reshot to emphasize sexual electricity between Bogart and Bacall, obliging Warners to replace a supporting player who'd gone on to another project. The end result was one of the most famously baffling film noirs but also one of the most successful in sheer star power. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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| Version Identification
by KBibb
December 18, 2004 - 12:02 PM PST
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4 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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The 1945 version is on the side of the dvd which says Region 1 116 Mins and the 1946 version is on the side which says Canada 14A 114 Mins. You can also confirm the version in Scene Selections: Scene 17 in the 1945 version is "Recap at the DA's Office" and in the 1946 version it is "Racy Talk".
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| This DVD has BOTH versions
by jbunniii
August 17, 2004 - 12:06 PM PDT
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7 out of 8 members found this review helpful
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It is not mentioned in GreenCine's summary, but the DVD contains both the 1945 and the 1946 versions of the movie, one on each side. As far as I could tell, there is no easy way to determine which one you are watching unless you know which scenes to look for. There is a short feature, identical on both sides of the DVD, which summarizes the main differences between the two versions.
I watched the 1945 version first without knowing it -- in fact, I was unaware that the 1945 version was on the DVD, but watching the short feature at the end made it apparent. By then, I assumed that the 1946 version must be on the other side of the disk (after all, that was the version released to theaters), and that indeed turned out to be the case; I ended up watching that version as well.
Which one is better? Well, the 1946 version deleted several scenes and characters, making the plot even more obscure, and added more scenes with Lauren Bacall. Frankly, I thought that the younger sister (Carmen) and several of the other women, including the bookstore clerk and the taxi driver, were more attractive and interesting than Bacall's character. The actress that played the gangster Eddie's wife in the 1945 version was much more attractive than the replacement actress used in the 1946 version. So, for me, the addition of more scenes with Bacall at the expense of several scenes that aided understanding of the plot was not a big positive, although at least this way it does seem a bit more plausible that they have fallen in love, rather than simply saying that they have.
Oh, one last thing: most of the movie, both interiors and exteriors, were filmed on studio sets, one heck of a lot of creative license was taken with the streetscapes (not to mention the weather!); the "Los Angeles" depicted in this movie has certainly never existed. |
| film noir at it's best.
by psychodrama311
July 1, 2003 - 10:10 PM PDT
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5 out of 8 members found this review helpful
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| bogart is the man. the leading anti hero before there was such a thing. the man who men wanted to be.. and women wanted before there was such a thing. brando. pacino. de niro.. all reflections of him. watching him in each scene.. he takes over the screen.. he is the screen. the first scene he has with bacall.. you can feel the sexual tension.. yet he doesn't give a hint to her. so full of confidence and so full of the knowledge.. that he can control every situation. this is a great movie to understand body movement.. and biting dialogue.. and what it really is. brilliance. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.24)
438 Votes
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