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When "The Long Goodbye" was first released, Raymond Chandler fans dropped their jaws at what they perceived as an utter outrage. How could Robert Altman - one of America's most creative, irreverent film makers - turn Chandler's super-sleuth, Philip Marlowe, into a not particularly sharp slob? And of course, this is exactly the kind of fuss Altman has always relished.
Now, more than 30 years on, "The Long Goodbye" can be re-evaluated since it is currently being re-released as part of an Altman season at the National Film Theatre. Altman cleverly hired Leigh Brackett, who had co-scripted "The Big Sleep" (still Chandler's definitive screen moment), and she helped Altman layer a picture that is as much a crisp comment on contemporary LA (and its full-on egotism) as a tale delineating Marlowe's crime-busting pursuits.
As the gumshoe comes to the aid of a rather odd friend who is suspected of killing his wife, Altman employs both laser-sharp irony and broad jokiness (the latter often via John Williams' score) as he places Los Angeles under the microscope, while Elliott Gould in the lead seems to relish the joke of serving up Marlowe in a radically different way.
Excellent support is provided throughout. You might recognise Austria's most famous film star in an early, uncredited bit-part.
