Film Review of The Big Sleep The Big Sleep was originally written as a novel in 1939 by Raymond Chandler. Philip Marlowe, a private investigator was hired by a wealthy general to help in resolving the blackmailing and gambling debts of his wild daughter, Carmen. Things get off to a quick start in the movie and it immediately begins to unravel, Marlowe suddenly had found himself in a deep web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling, and organized crime. Vivian the oldest daughter of the general, quickly jumps in to help Marlowe and warn him of the dangers to come (sort of). As Marlowe begins to dig deeper into the case he comes to an owner of a casino named Eddie Mars, and this is when the story takes a turn of events again, and everyone …show more content…
First it is best to start off with what a hard-boiled crime is; they are gritty stories of the criminal underworld, usually containing sex, violence, and corruption in American society. The genre mainly involves a private investigator, as the hero of the story. The private investigator is usually a primary focus, they have a code of honor and justice that may not be strictly legal, but it is moral. They may be threatened, and beaten, but they never give up a case or betray their clients. They are often matched against a corrupt political or criminal organization, but they always prevail because they are true to themselves and their code. Mr. Marlowe the private detective in The Big Sleep checks off a lot of these characteristics. Philip Marlowe is an honest and hard-working private investigator in a very corrupt society. Marlowe is threatened and beaten in the movie a few times. To be specific a scene where Marlowe is beat up is in the car shop when he goes to find Geiger’s wife. He tells the men in the garage, he needs help fixing a flat, which he purposefully flattened. These men who are Geiger’s men, play along and then one turns around and hits him over the head, knocking him out unconscious. Many times Marlowe had been told by Vivian Rutledge to end the case, but he never does. Marlowe follows through the whole way, until what he was hired for by the general was …show more content…
Two of the most common found in this film included establishing shots and diegetic sound. Establishing shots are used at a new location to give the audience a sense of locality. Every time that Marlowe went to a new area or building there was a drawn out time to establish the scene for the audience to establish the scene and where the characters were at. This can be seen in the beginning when Marlowe follows Geiger home after Geiger’s assistant at his bookshop would not allow Marlowe to speak to him. This is also seen when Marlowe is driving to the place in which he found out Eddie Mars’ wife and Vivian are hiding out. Marlowe drove up to the new scene in his car, a long drawn out moment in the film. This better helped the audience understand where he was headed. The second cinematic technique that is used in the movie is non-diegetic sound, this is when the source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action. This is something common throughout the film also. Gun shots are something heard all through the movie. When Geiger is killed in his home, the shooting, its self was not seen, but it was known and could be implied what was happening. Another gun shot that was heard but not seen was when Joe Brody was killed at his front door. The gun itself and the killer were never
Mr. Braddock goes to the boxing committee and asks them for money and tells them that they know him and what he was capable of. His face was filled with hopelessness and embarrassment. This makes them feel empathy for him and give him money afterwards. When Mae found out that Mr. Braddock ’s fight with Max Baer could be fatal, she gets angry and terrified at the same. That what she showed when they met Max Baer at the dinner party. When Mr. Braddock sees the video of the man who died, Frankie Campbell, he gets emotional. He tells the man who is showing him the video that he is not scared to die. Saying people die on the docks and in
Another fault in Michael Winners' remake is its' strict adherence to the plot of the novel. The relationship between Vivian and Marlowe in the movie is non-existent. It seems as though Robert Mitchum, playing Marlowe, has more fun flirting with Agnes, played by Joan Collins, in Geiger's bookstore than with the snotty, senior Sternwood sister. Leaving Eddie Mars' gambling casino, Marlowe kisses Vivian in an attempt to find out, "what Eddie Mars has on her." However, Vivian is not pleased with Marlowe's prodding and shrieks, "so that's the way it is you rotten bastard." As illustrated in the book, this scene depicts
Another aspect of sound in this film was how it affected the story. By using sound dramatically in certain parts and not using it at all in other parts, sound gave this story an entity of its own. For example, during long stretches of film with mostly dialogue, there was no music played in the background, only a phone ringing in the distance, or the men's voices during their deliberation. These long silences also took place during editing shots of the town and images that surrounded this German city. This dramatic difference in sound was a revelation of how mood can be made by images and sound put together to make an incredible component.
In response to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, I have just one question. Why all the similes? There isn't a single page in the novel that doesn't display this annoying literary device. Everything is "like this" or "like that." It never ends! Similar to decoding a secret message that isn't difficult to understand, but nevertheless tiring due to the overwhelming amount of messages, the novel is frustrating to read. The following analysis acknowledges Chandler's creativity in developing his main character, Philip Marlowe, with his usage of simile. However, the excessive style of the novel creates a dominating force that ultimately leaves the reader unfulfilled at the end.
In Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep, a private detective is trying to unravel a blackmailing case for a dying millionaire, General Sternwood. Philip Marlowe, the detective, finds that the case not only involves blackmail, but also homicide. Set and written in 1930’s America, the economic devastation of the Great Depression has a significant influence on the book’s plot, and showcases character’s struggle to retain honor and virtue in a world that revolves around profit-seeking delinquency and organized corruption. Marlowe’s work as a private detective brings him face to face with criminals of every variety, and each corresponds to a piece on the chessboard that appears repeatedly in the story. Marlowe’s symbolic identity is the well-intentioned knight, who represents the shred of chivalry that remains in a society of pawns and crooked kings, and the chess game is his combat against crime in a period of national despondency.
In Cawelti’s piece, he talks about the “generic transformation” that appears in Chinatown. Most of all, he points at the “myth” of the hard-boiled detective, a well known noir character archetype that appears in both Chinatown and The Long Goodbye. According to Cawelti, the “hard-boiled” detective is an archetype that is meant to portray the “moral ambiguity” theme often seen in classical film noir. These types of characters are licensed by the state as private investigators, but are far from morally upright beings. They follow their own internal code of ethics, and if the law needs to be broken in order for the job to get done, that is just the way things have to go (Cawelti 499-500). Both Jake Gittes and Philip Marlowe are private investigators who do their own thing when it comes to enforcing the law. Mostly because they realize that the system is corrupt, so they invent their own form of justice. To Gittes, that means lying his way in and out of most situations; to Marlowe that means killing his friend who has committed murder.
2. One very important technique seen in this film is the use of flashbacks, segments of film that breaks normal chronological order by shifting directly to time past. Though Capra tells the audience the story in chronological order, the present situation does not begin until four fifths of the way in, just after George breaks down in front of his family and kicks his model bridge - a physical reminder of his unfulfilled dreams. After George flees to the bar, his wife Mary calls around asking for prayers, and this loops back to the start of the movie. In addition this entire sequence is narrated through a voiceover, another technique prevalent throughout the film.
In the books The Big Sleep and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, both authors, Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) and Simon Armitage (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), create the protagonist of each story into archetypal knights. The protagonist of The Big Sleep is named Phillip Marlowe and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the protagonist is named Sir Gawain. The 3 knightly qualities that we will be focusing on in this essay are self-sacrifice, loyalty and courage. These qualities are displayed throughout each story in different and similar ways throughout each book.
During the dawn of the Second World War, a new era began for women across America. As men departed to fight the war, women were left to fill their void in the workplace. Familiar role models such as “Rosie the Riveter” radiated strength and know-how traits historically emphasized only in men. As woman’s role in society broadened, new visions of attractiveness developed to accommodate this unprecedented aspect of femininity. Raymond Chandler’s portrayal of women in The Big Sleep (1939) highlights these changes in social construction of female sexuality and appeal in the setting of a male dominated society.
Further into the case, Marlowe learns that there is much more involved into the investigation, such as a few murders. With this is mind; he then takes it upon himself to investigate some more. Throughout the storyline, Marlowe comes across multiple women who use their sexuality
A writer’s style plays a key role in the components of their work. Raymond Chandler is known for his unique style. He uses very lose and intricate plot structures, vivid similes, and a passionate and tough new character that reflected the times he lived in. These different attributes would become hallmark characteristics of Chandler’s writing. In Raymond Chandler’s
Altman is one of those directors who tries to distant themselves from the pack, and that's noticeable in this film through the speaking. Similar to MASH, instead of the dialogue sounding like it's on the same track, each sound is on a different audio track. This makes the film sound like a real-life conversation instead of a stage play. One example is between (00:04:07 & 0:04:49) when Marlowe is on his way to get some cat food. Various voices are audible including Marlowe mumbling, his cat meowing, and his hippie neighbors getting high while doing yoga.
Whether it is perceived as irony or outright sarcasm, Marlowe reveals he does his job “for the money”, which is only $25 per day, but then later refuses to accept the offer of $15,000 despite the fact that he knows he could “own a home and a new car and four suits of clothes...even take a vacation”. The refusal shows Marlowe’s anti-heroic status, as he appreciates the advantages of corruption but believes the well-being of his client and “... to protect what little pride a broken and sick old man has left in his blood” is more important.
Establishing Shots- The movie begins with a few establishing shots of skyscrapers and streets crowded with people giving the impression that the location of the film is in New York City. Also, establishing shots are used to show where most of the action will be in film. For example, Andrea is seen walking from her apartment to the bakery to the subway then finally in front a large building. In a high angle shot, Andrea looks vulnerable and nervous for her interview with Miranda. There is an establishing shot of the lobby of the building named Elias-Clarke Publication, where the Runway office is located in. Also, this uses the “outside in” method where the action of movie starts from the outside then
Through viewing scenes where Marlowe is beaten up and tied up by Mars' men, we come to realize the strength of Marlowe's integrity and will. Although he is put through much physical pain as well as the mental pain of witnessing horrific acts, he bites the bullet and commits himself completely to the tasks placed before him. Once again, he does not do his task for the small amounts of money, but he does it because he feels it is what he must do.