The Long Goodbye (1973)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Reid V

  
  Altman's Neo-Noir is a very enjoyable film. It takes Philip Marlowe and places him right in the hedonism of the 1970s. Played excellently by Elliot Gould, our wise-cracking P.I. is lost in this new surrounding. The people have changed, animals loathe him, and the simple favors he… More
  Altman's Neo-Noir is a very enjoyable film. It takes Philip Marlowe and places him right in the hedonism of the 1970s. Played excellently by Elliot Gould, our wise-cracking P.I. is lost in this new surrounding. The people have changed, animals loathe him, and the simple favors he does for friends only serves to get him entangled in the affairs of nefarious people. The story isn't very intriguing, but Altman's love of Noir really shines through. If anything, it is worth seeing an aged, grizzled Sterling Hayden and a young and frighteningly robust Arnold Schwarzenegger.

• Graham J

  
  Altman breaks apart the "noir" genre and Gould takes the character of Phillip Marlowe in a total different direction from the classic Hawks/Bogart version. This is one of my favorites.

• Steven C

  
  I promise you have never seen a film quite like Robert Altman's 70s update of the iconic 40s gumshoe detective Phillip Marlowe. Altman crafts a dazzling, dizzying, kaleidoscopic adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel. The film is a very decided departure from the norms of… More
  I promise you have never seen a film quite like Robert Altman's 70s update of the iconic 40s gumshoe detective Phillip Marlowe. Altman crafts a dazzling, dizzying, kaleidoscopic adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel. The film is a very decided departure from the norms of the film noir and Candler universe but it's hard to deny the lasting impact the film has had. Many have tried to copy the almost magical level of style, mystery and cool attitude "The Long Goodbye" creates, but none have ever come close to repeating it. Elliott Gould makes for an indelible Marlowe and is backed by a great supporting cast in Nina Van Pallandt and Sterling Hayden and many others. "The Long Goodbye" is one of those genre changing crime films that sits comfortably next to "Breathless" and "Pulp Fiction." It's a unique experience.

• Jennifer X

  
  I think the period setting and the 70s values really tied The Long Goodbye together. This is one of the tautest films Altman has ever directed.

• Veronique K

  
  70s adaptation of raymond chandler's the long goodbye is through a rip van winkln approach, and in my opinion, that unique anachronism is what makes ellott gould's marlowe surpass robert mitchum's in 1970s, which is not a decade for philip marlowe to exist, even if he… More
  70s adaptation of raymond chandler's the long goodbye is through a rip van winkln approach, and in my opinion, that unique anachronism is what makes ellott gould's marlowe surpass robert mitchum's in 1970s, which is not a decade for philip marlowe to exist, even if he lives in the 70s, he would stumble his ways practicing his vigilantism with a boyish awkwardness. philip marlowe was created by raymond chandler in 1939 as the big sleep was published then became a hit...the most effectively concise way to depict marlowe would be: a cowboy performs his honorable chivalries in metropolitan surroundings because america no longer has any old-western border-town for him, thus he's a misfit, loner and his ideals are no longer adequate for such a chaotic period (1930s)...a cowboy who loses his playfield,,,marlowe's narratives convey great amount of anger, discontentment and disillusionments but as you read closer into his words, you would find a much more conservative man under the disguise of those offensive sasses. then it's the 70s, the saga of philip marlowe has become an item of nostalgia, and in 30s or 40s, marlowe is the vigilante folk-hero before the infantilized/junvenilized masked superheros took over to reign pop culture, and marlowe was literally the batman to the audience before comic books (or graphic novels) started to be taken more seriously today. in the anti-establishment 70s, marlowe is merely a product to be reminded of the good old days, and vigilante heros are masked clowns to entertain the kids (the first batman was released in 60s),..now marlowe is arranged in the time of post-vietnam america when vigilantism is obsolete. so why not laying bare such anachronic alienation? 1970s marlowe is a mumbling dude who would take troubles finding a particular brand of cat food for his pet, a man who views his cat as important as a girlfriend. and he's settled in an apartment opposite the residence of a bunch of naked yoga-loving chics who do nothing but get their clothes off in meditation. marlowe's client this time is a writer who resembles ernest hemingway, played the aged but still hunky sterling hayden who did look hemingway-esque with that big beard. of course, the raymond-chandler formula: marlowe is to be deceived and doublecrossed, then serve the justice right in his own ways, and in the end, he's all left alone again in a state of unrequited love. a knight in his dirty armour. 1970s movie the good goodbye is a reflexive commentary that the past (1930s) makes on the present (1970s). in other words, it shows how 1930s marlowe gazes upon the 70s america or how 70s views 30s..(vice versa)...for example, sterling hayden's writer is trapped in alcholism and commits suicide. (70s evaluates hemingway as a wrecked suicidal drinker)..another example would be the janitor who likes to impersonate the voices of old movies: barbara stanwyck in double indemnity and james stewart in vertigo, and no one responds to him except marlowe..and in the last scene, marlowe walks past the femme fatale without any lingering infatuation toward her, right after he bids his long-goodbye to his scoundrel friend with a bullet. and strangely the set of mexican forests resembles 1949 noir "the third man" in which the woman walks past the awaiting man unappreciatively. what the third man tries to deliver is a reluctance from europe toward american heroism. but in the long good-bye, it stands for the opposite: old american vigilantism shows its contempts over the greed of new time. just read into the last dialgoue marlowe has with his scoundrel friend who tries to bribes off marlowe's friendship with great money and comments "no one would care those things as you do, marlowe..gee, you're a born loser who sticks to those ideals" then marlowe shots him as a demonstration of his violent disapproval. at last, marlowe kills his stinky friend and leaves the duplicious adulteress then returns to his world...alone, in his eternal wanderings within the urban wasteland. except the fun facts like young arnold was in it as the sidekick of the gangster leader who smashes a glass-bottle of coke over the face of his mistress, the most engrossing attribute of the movie would be its theme song: the long goodbye, which is ubiquitously heard in the movie with vigorously self-indulgent rejoices, and all the music is by john williams who is also the composer of several hitchcock flicks since hitchcock fired bernard herrman and substitutes williams as the composer for his "torn curtain"... (ps) for anyone who's interested in reading chandler's original novel: on the contrary, chandler's long-goodbye is a tribute from hard-boiled novel to f scott fitzgerald's the great gatsby. the movie is completely different from the book..the novel is the senile chandler's reminiscence of the jazz age and the gatsby-esque american-dreamer...it's a hard-boiled version of the great gatsby as if raymond chandler was writing a sequel for the great gatsby under the assumption: if gatsby didn't get killed and stayed alive, how he would be like?

• Pierluigi P

  
  I must admit I was doubtful about Altman adapting Chandler, and even more about elliot Gould playing Marlowe, but damn, I was so wrong. The picture is vivid, smart and colourful in contraposition to it's dark story of betrayal and murder. No wonder it has the big sleep's… More
  I must admit I was doubtful about Altman adapting Chandler, and even more about elliot Gould playing Marlowe, but damn, I was so wrong. The picture is vivid, smart and colourful in contraposition to it's dark story of betrayal and murder. No wonder it has the big sleep's same screenwriter Leigh Brackett. Marlowe appears here as a man out of time, a walking anacronism, a bit more unstable and more pathetic than ever before. But don't get me wrong, that's the biggest strength, it's what holds the rest and gives a new breath of air to the whole genre.

• Tim S

  
  Fantastic flick. I'm a huge Elliot Gould fan and I love Robert Altman, and this is one of the coolest stories I've seen them do together.

• Anthony L

  
  I love Gould's Marlowe, this is probably the coolest he's ever been! Sterling Hayden & Mark Rydell also do great in supporting roles in what is one of my favourite films ever!

• Aaron N

  
  Philip Marlowe: Nobody cares but me. Terry Lennox: Well that's you, Marlowe. You'll never learn, you're a born loser. Philip Marlowe: Yeah, I even lost my cat. An ingenious deconstruction of the noir detective. Made and set in the contemporary 1970s within a washed… More
  Philip Marlowe: Nobody cares but me. Terry Lennox: Well that's you, Marlowe. You'll never learn, you're a born loser. Philip Marlowe: Yeah, I even lost my cat. An ingenious deconstruction of the noir detective. Made and set in the contemporary 1970s within a washed out Los Angeles, director Robert Altman places switches Bogart with Elliot Gould to fill the shoes of author Raymond Chandler's noir anti-hero Philip Marlowe. The story, if it matters, involves the seemingly drifter like version of the more effective 50s version of P.I. Philip Marlowe getting caught up in a web of plots involving the murder of his friend, the disappearance of an author, and some missing money. These are all elements that one does not to be too concerned with. The real joy is watching Gould. The tone of this film has him perfectly set up as a foil for the genre itself. This is very much a 70s noir, but everything about the Marlowe character is much more subdued than he would be, were he still in the 40s/50s. He may still be clever and underplaying his strengths, but many things do not go his way. As he strolls in and out of each scene, lighting up a cigarette every time, women don't immediately fall for him, business is terrible, and he even has troubles pleasing his own cat. There is solid work from the supporting cast as well, including Sterling Hayden as an alcoholic author and a wordless small role from the governator Schwarzenegger. Roger Wade aka Billy Joe Smith: Do you ever think about suicide, Marlboro? Philip Marlowe: Me, I don't believe in it. The look and feel of this film is absolutely wonderful as well. LA looks drab, as much of the tone sets out to give you a satire of the noir genre, it also provides a satirical look at LA culture. Add to that the score/main theme from John Williams and Johnny Mercer, who's title song runs throughout in various form. Det. Green: My, my, you are a pretty asshole. Philip Marlowe: Yeah, my mother always tells me that. Finally, if this hasn't been clear, the film is frequently funny. Mainly due to Gould's performance and dialog. The way this film moves along, establishing a number of nefarious characters and actually providing some good tension, is easily balanced by how hilarious Marlowe's character reacts to these various situations. This film certainly isn't an all out parody, its just smartly handled at going against the grain. Roger Wade aka Billy Joe Smith: I tell you what we're gonna do, Marlboro. You're gonna take that goddamn J.C. Penney tie off and we're gonna have an old fashioned man to man drinking party. Philip Marlowe: Well, that's okay but I'm not taking off the tie.

• Tim S

  
  Like a lot of Altman's stuff, it lags in parts, but overall the performances save the day. Especially Elliott Gould, who is fucking phenomenal and I also enjoyed Sterling Hayden as well. And hands down, there is absolutely nothing that Vilmos can't make look amazing. Take it… More
  Like a lot of Altman's stuff, it lags in parts, but overall the performances save the day. Especially Elliott Gould, who is fucking phenomenal and I also enjoyed Sterling Hayden as well. And hands down, there is absolutely nothing that Vilmos can't make look amazing. Take it from me, because I saw Jersey Girl.

• Stella D

  
  altman's great screwy adaptation of raymond chandler's book stars elliot gould as the strangest marlowe ever in a knockout performance. able support from mark rydell as the villain and sterling hayden as a washed-up drunken writer. with cool cameos by former yankee pitcher… More
  altman's great screwy adaptation of raymond chandler's book stars elliot gould as the strangest marlowe ever in a knockout performance. able support from mark rydell as the villain and sterling hayden as a washed-up drunken writer. with cool cameos by former yankee pitcher jim bouton and an unknown arnold schwarzenegger! a terrific artifact of the seventies and a whole lot of fun

• Stephen M

  
  My favourite Robert Altman film, this enraged many a Raymond Chandler purist when it came out, but it's probably the most intelligent Chandler adaptation ever made. Besides reinvigorating a first-rate murder-mystery, by adopting a contemporary setting and audaciously altering… More
  My favourite Robert Altman film, this enraged many a Raymond Chandler purist when it came out, but it's probably the most intelligent Chandler adaptation ever made. Besides reinvigorating a first-rate murder-mystery, by adopting a contemporary setting and audaciously altering several of the book's key plot developments, Altman and screenwriter Leigh Brackett create a perceptive commentary on moral bankruptcy in the 1970s. Whereas a 1940s or 1950s Terry Lennox would have been innocent of his wife's murder because, as Philip Marlowe's friend, he could be trusted implicitly, the 1970s Terry Lennox is not only capable of murder, but also has no scruples about directing a vicious, double-crossed hoodlum and a police investigation Marlowe's way. The one anachronism here is Elliot Gould's Philip Marlowe, and not just because he drives a vintage car and wears a suit--albeit rumpled--at all times. Beneath the grubby facade of a chain-smoking, apathetic slob, he is every bit as morally centred as Chandler's creation: he doesn't work divorce cases, he cannot accept Lennox's/Augustine's dirty $5000 bill and, most tellingly, he's prepared to step outside the law to punish the man who escaped justice by betraying their friendship. "The Long Goodbye" is a wonderfully playful film. There are jokey references to screen legends of the classic Hollywood era, and John Williams and Johnny Mercer's title song is reworked delightfully throughout, even appearing as supermarket Muzak and a doorbell chime. Elliott Gould makes the most of the best role of his career, Sterling Hayden is larger than life and Henry Gibson is very creepy as a 'drying-out' clinician, but film director Mark Rydell steals the acting honours as the gangster Marty Augustine. Simultaneously hilarious and unsettling, he's far more terrifying than, for example, Joe Pesci is in "GoodFellas" because he's controlled and calculating rather than just an apoplectic hothead. I cannot recommend this film strongly enough. Tell your friends it's Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie; I do!

• Lenny M

  
  I fell asleep the first time but that happens everyyy dayeee

• Steve B

  
  Elliott Gould is my favorite Marlowe -- who would have seen that coming?

• Danny R

  
  Robert Altman's brilliant update of the exploits of the classic 1940's hard-boiled private detective Phillip Marlowe, who is now a cat-loving, wisecracking cynic who lives next to a bunch of sexy female sun-worshipping nudist neighbors, he is played here by Elliott Gould in… More
  Robert Altman's brilliant update of the exploits of the classic 1940's hard-boiled private detective Phillip Marlowe, who is now a cat-loving, wisecracking cynic who lives next to a bunch of sexy female sun-worshipping nudist neighbors, he is played here by Elliott Gould in the best lead performance of his career. Marlowe takes a certain wife-killing friend out of Los Angeles circa 1974 to Mexico, then all hell breaks loose the police pick him up for not cooperating with their investigation into his friend's wife murder, a mysterious blonde hires him once he his released from jail to fine her alcoholic novelist husband played beautifully by Sterling Hayden, a jewish gangster chillingly played by actor/director Mark Rydell threatens to kill Marlowe if he does not recover $355,000 of his money that his friend took off to Mexico with. There is a marvelous supporting performance by Henry Gibson as suitably sinister doctor, and this film also features a early unbillled appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger who displays his massive physique as a silent mustached henchman. An excellent screenplay by Leigh Chandler based on Raymond Chandler's novel "The Long Goodbye," and a ingeniously minimal score by John Williams, Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography is tremendous. This is a intriguing film that is full of bizarre twists, a real gem of the 70s. Highly Recommended.

• Brian R

  
  One of my fav Robert Altman pictures. Altman pushes the neo noir genre in a different way by putting the character Philip Marlowe in a 1973 Hollywood world. Elliot Gould plays the famous private eye Marlowe in laid back performance. I love the way how Altman glides and pans the camera… More
  One of my fav Robert Altman pictures. Altman pushes the neo noir genre in a different way by putting the character Philip Marlowe in a 1973 Hollywood world. Elliot Gould plays the famous private eye Marlowe in laid back performance. I love the way how Altman glides and pans the camera with slow zooms, and his famous trademark, overlapping dialogue. Plus you have the "Long Goodbye" theme done perfectly well and in an ironic and humourous way. The plot is way of the wall...How is the Wades, the Lennox's and gangster Marty Augustine all connected? Plus how did Agustine get all his money back? Who sent it to him? That's the greatness of film noir. You have all these characters who seem to not know each other but are in many ways connected. Well maybe the "The Long Goodbye" isn't a perfect film but it raises great questions and that's good enough. Note* I can't help it, I just love this movie.

• Stephen E

  
  Elliot Gould is perfect as the wise-ass, chain-smoking private investigator Phillip Marlowe in Altman's "The Long Goodbye", which is just about one of the classiest noirs out there. Sure, the film has virtually no story and, like its protagonist, wanders from to scene… More
  Elliot Gould is perfect as the wise-ass, chain-smoking private investigator Phillip Marlowe in Altman's "The Long Goodbye", which is just about one of the classiest noirs out there. Sure, the film has virtually no story and, like its protagonist, wanders from to scene with no real purpose, but Altman's direction is so fabulous that you don't mind. He brings such style to his re-telling of the classic Raymond Chandler novel and somehow pulls it off, and because of this, "The Long Goodbye" is a definite must-see.

• Patrick D

  
  The character of Phillip Marlowe seems to have been played by a wide variety of actors and I gotta say, before seeing this film, Elliot Gould would have been one of my last picks. But let me tell you, now he's my favourite. Having seen The Big Sleep starring the great Bogey I… More
  The character of Phillip Marlowe seems to have been played by a wide variety of actors and I gotta say, before seeing this film, Elliot Gould would have been one of my last picks. But let me tell you, now he's my favourite. Having seen The Big Sleep starring the great Bogey I still have to say that I prefer this one. Maybe it's because it's unique and edgier, or that I tend to just like the 70s feel better than the 40s, or maybe it's Robert Altman, who's made two of the most intriguing films I've ever seen: this and 3 Women. To be honest the only Altman films I've seen, but after seeing them only once they have rocketed to one of my prefered films. This film really does keep you guessing to the very end and it's definetly more entertaining (maybe because of Altman over Hawks) than Big Sleep. Plus Gould is hilarious and very likeable. Bogart just seems a little coy and sexist. I don't want to rag on old Hollywood or films of the 40s they have their merit, I just think the 70s allows for a shit load more entertainement and art even.

• Sarah P

  
  Robert Altman and Elliott Gould at their best in this wry drama...makes me wish I was alive for 70's filmmaking on par with this film

Read all 19 featured audience ratings