naked girls

To heighten the sense of displacement for a Marlowe who wakes up in the wrong decade... and to strongly accentuate the departure from the classic novels/films for the viewer?


"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

Well, the chorus angle would have been as valid without the nudity. I don't think this question deserves in-depth analysis, as the plain and simple fact is that it all boils down to the appeal of feminine nudity. Since Altman has usually squeezed in nudity in his films when the nudity was far from integral to the story, he was obviously a man who appreciated the female form, and may the lord bless him for that.

(Although there is argument to be made that there is some reason for these neighbor women to exhibit nudity, because it adds to interesting character. These women were sort of bubble-headed, Los Angeles New Age types, who would feel free and unashamed -- simple character enhancement.)

I get a kick out of people who raise such issues, telling us that they were annoyed or offended by nudity, while usually making sure to add that they are also cool, and that nudity does not ordinarily bother them. It's kind of a license to let us know that they are "normal," so, no, they are not Bible-thumpers or anything of the sort, and yet they somehow possess superior moral values to let us know the smut has gone just too far.

The points to bear in mind are that nudity does not equal pornography, as much as too many people from a sexually repressed society are brainwashed into believing otherwise. (Pornography's sole purpose is to elicit our prurient interests with no other redeeming value; that is, porn exists only to turn us on. On the other hand, only the most adolescent among us would get seriously excited by basic nudity. The usual response to nudity on its own is, if the nude models are attractive enough, hey, that's nice... naked girls. Aesthetically pleasing imagery that produces good, life-affirming feelings, such as the photographs in Playboy, unlike the beast-unleashing hardcore in, say, Hustler. Anyone who has been on a nude beach for more than five minutes is quick to understand that those who see nudity as dirty are the ones with the dirty minds.)

So why would the quick glimpses of the semi-clothed pretty ladies in THE LONG GOODBYE even be a matter for discussion? Even if the nudity is completely gratuitous, what is so wrong about that? Does such nudity cause any harm, other than offending the tender sensibilities of those conditioned to believe that such bare depictions involve a quick trip to the playground of Satan?

(Let us bear in mind that these positive feelings often come about strictly via female nudity. For example, later in THE LONG GOODBYE, the bad guy forces the men to remove their clothing. Even though we are offered an example of the male body beautiful, in the form of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the reaction of the majority of viewers -- even most heterosexual women -- is going to be, so what? Male nudity will only evoke a response if the imagery gets explicit, especially if we are offered the sight of male genitalia, which would enter intolerable territory.)

Frankly, I think it is a shame that the gratuitous nudity of 1970s films, films where the lead actresses were often expected to shed their outerwear, is a thing of the past. This is a testimony to the power of the conservative times we have been subjected to. values that have been so absorbed that even the supposedly rebellious younger generation is quick to offer criticism, offering them a shot at being "moralists," while not thinking that the hurt feelings they express only serve to encourage the forces of censorship. It is all very unhealthy, and all very sad.

The big picture: No alienation is going on. As say, just because there's a car in the background in some scenes, and Marlowe don’t make a revving sound with his lips like a car engine to emotionally affirm the car’s purpose, doesn’t mean he’s alienated from the idea of automobile transport. The alienation notion, while commonly espoused these days, is being confused with not trying or not wanting to understand the environment as portrayed on screen by the viewer. As I see it as it pertains to the subject of these posts: The women are comfortable being who they want to be around Marlowe. And Marlowe isn’t psychotic and doesn’t live his life thinking everything is an emotional reflection as to who he is or a response to his actions. I dig.

Also, I wish I could look at the whole picture in every movie like I do in Altman’s films. Seeing “Nashville” for the first time on the big screen recently: heaven! As I love roaming around the screen! And I do in other movies; but nothing is there, or it’s like are going for some mood, like it’s raining or not lighted correctly, so it’s dark mood time, hey get ready for dark actions! As if mood means something. And now most movies appear to be more like the director’s demo reel to one day set up the Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right. I have to look at the ceilings of the theatre during most of the movie it’s so gaudily suffocating. All those fans I’ve looked at over the years, slowly spinning...sheesh kabob.

I prefer the "time displacement" explanation. Let's not forget that this film was made during the height of the 70's sexual revolution, and it takes place at the forefront of that revolution: California. I always saw the naked ladies as a byproduct of the hippie culture of the times, living free in mind and body and such. Altman had a penchant for accentuating the absurd, and the stark contrast between Marlowe's grubby life and these new age girls was striking, and probably all that Altman was going for. Remember, Altman was re-envisioning all the major genre films at this time, and part of that re-envisioning was to give screen time to the various characters of society as they then existed.

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There were many scenes in the film that actually had nothing to do with the main plot. At least the scenes with the women next door had something interesting in them to see.


"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

Why should the nudity help the plot? If you can't handle grown up things you should stick to cartoons.

I can't believe, in this day & age, someone would be so coy and prudish about women's breasts - especially since naked, yogurt-eating yoga practioners perfectly represent the flakey California image of that age (not that much has changed in 40 years). The OP's protest is just childish.