MovieChat Forums > The Long Goodbye (1973) Discussion > Fine but not great

Fine but not great

posted 10 years ago by awelshmancymru
2 replies | jump to latest

The Long Goodbye is very 70s. It’s grimy, tobacco fuelled, and full of gratuitous nudity. While these things all have their fan base, the film on the whole now looks very dated and has little within it to commend to a modern audience. As I am unfamiliar with the novel, I can’t say how much of a departure from it the film was. However, it’s true to say that the familiar tone of Chandler’s mysteries is there in abundance, so it does, at the very least, get that correct.

And perhaps it’s this tone which makes the movie a little awkward to enjoy. This kind of story has always worked very well on the page, however, I’ve often struggled to enjoy them when they come to the big screen. I am unsure why I find this to be the case, but I suspect it’s much to do with the lack of an internal narrative which results from film (save from the increasingly rare practice of applying some ineffective post-production voice-over).

Sticking with the production element, the sound quality for the film was particularly poor. Throughout it sounded like the dialogue was dubbed on afterwards, given that lip movements rarely matched what was being said.

Aside from these issues The Long Goodbye is enjoyable enough to watch and has a few interesting cameos – of particular note is a very early non-speaking role for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the final act.

So if you enjoy this kind of film there should be enough there to make the viewing worthwhile. However, it’s unlikely to bring many new fans to the genre.

FULL REVIEW - http://awelshmansblog.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/friday-film-review-no-2 5-the-long-goodbye-1973/

[–] Disardor 10 years ago

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Altman's work, but the "muffled" sound quality is a recurring theme with him. He was of the opinion that dialogue should be realistic; that is, you shouldn't be able to hear everything with crystal clear clarity, people should talk over each other, multiple conversations should be going on at once, etc.

I don't really understand your complaints about the film having "little within it to commend it to a modern audience." Because it looks like it's from the time it was made? How is that a criticism? By that logic nothing but films with deliberately anachronistic settings can be enjoyed by future generations because they're the only ones that can't easily be identified as being from the time when they were made. And if I understand your criticism correctly, you're of the impression that movies have gotten better and more sophisticated since the 1970s, which I'm sorry to say is very much not the case. Take a look at the movie listings for your town this weekend -- would you say that Transformers 4, Hercules and The Purge: Anarchy have more to offer audiences than The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, The Last Picture Show, The Conversation, etc.?

[–] motherfckzombies-261-668745 10 years ago

Great argument! :) agree wholeheartedly.