MovieChat Forums > The Long Goodbye (1973) Discussion > The Long Goodbye and The Big Lebowski

The Long Goodbye and The Big Lebowski

posted 16 years ago by hackadoodledoo
6 replies | jump to latest

The Big Lebowski obviously paid homage to the works of Chandler, but I only recently watch The Long Goodbye and it seems like Lebowski really takes a lot from Goodbye.

The beginning when he goes shopping for cat food in the middle of the night

The Gangster who says it's Shabbas and he shouldn't be out

The interaction between the cops and Marlowe when he gats back from dopping off Lennox, particularly the way the cop looks at his bronze baby shoe

I'm sure there are more, these are all I can think of off the top of my head.

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[–] suzypulledapistol 16 years ago

Nice one. The two flicks have a similar vibe overall.

[–] cjstevens1975 15 years ago

I finally watched this and thought the same thing. Altman's film is a post modern version of the noir film and has many references to past films. The Coens took it a step farther and added absurdist touches. Both are great films for people who are familiar with the genre and have a sense of humor about it. I, on the other hand, have no familiarity with the genre nor a sense of humor about myself. Therefore I prefer the new Transformer film.

[–] fozzymandias8128 15 years ago

I agree that they are similar, but I think their general premises are total opposites:

The Long Goodbye features a detective who is a character from the 40s, who represents the old way of doing things (his principles in general, his refusal to take off his tie), surrounded and baffled by the unprincipled modern world. The Big Lebowski features a "detective" who is, in the words of the narrator, "the man of his time and place." The Dude is totally emblematic of LA in the 90s. But his surroundings are all out of a hard-boiled detective novel.

So essentially The Long Goodbye is a story about an antiquated man wandering the modern world, and The Big Lebowski is a story about a modern man stumbling through an antiquated narrative. They are both similar and opposite.

[–] Postal_Dude_Paradise_AZ 15 years ago

I completely agree, this is uncanny, i was talking to a friend o mine this afternoon about the two movies sharing a similar tone and when i come back home to check again the Long Goodbye boards this post appears!

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[–] vbfhenrmreturns 15 years ago

Good point.
I also like both movies.

[–] ELashes 12 years ago

That scene on the beach after Wade drowns when Marlowe is drunkenly screaming at the lieutenant with a coffee cup in his hand reminded me so much of the scene in the Malibu police department after Jackie Treehorn's party.

The whole idea of Augustine making Marlowe responsible for recovering the money, and the gangsters trashing the apartment.

The inept guy following Marlowe.