Farewell, My Lovely / The Big Sleep Double Feature [Blu-ray]

Remarkable bargain:Shout Factory issued these films on two DVDs in 2015:Three years later, they are coupled on a single Blu-Ray at half the price.Same transfer, but both films look sharper and clearer on Blu-Ray.All bonus features from 2015 are carried over to the Blu-Ray:-- English SDH subtitles for both films-- original theatrical trailer for both films-- Maxim Jakubowski, proprietor of London's Murder One Bookshop, discusses Raymond Chandler's detective Philip Marlowe (7 minutes)-- The Big Sleep on Location: featurette comparing London film locations in 1978 and 2015, plus interview with director Michael Winner (14 minutes)-- Making of The Big Sleep: vintage featurette from 1978 (6 minutes)+ One newly filmed interview:-- Actress and Big Sleep co-star Sarah Miles reminisces about Robert Mitchum, filmed in 2017 (7 minutes)Three years ago, there was some controversy about the aspect ratio on the DVDs.IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) confirms that both films were released to theaters in 1:85 to 1 aspect ratio (the industry standard in the 1970s).Modern TVs are 1:78 to 1, which is the aspect ratio listed on the box.If a 1:85 to 1 picture is formatted to 1:78 to 1, you will lose a small amount at the sides.Surprisingly, the aspect of this Blu-Ray is variable, depending on whether the picture size setting of my Sony blu-ray player is set to "normal" or "wide".Counter-intuitively, the "normal" setting results in a wider picture.You can make the "normal" vs. "wide" comparison using your blu-ray player (press the pause button to freeze the frame).The actual picture quality is impressive.Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) was the perfect film noir actor and would have been the perfect Philip Marlowe.Unfortunately Mitchum's big Hollywood breakthrough didn't come until 1947 (‘Crossfire’ and ‘Out of the Past’):Too late for the first wave of Marlowe films.By the time Mitchum finally got around to playing Marlowe in 1975, he was 58 years old and looked every bit of it (despite the hair coloring).Even so, 'Farewell My Lovely' is a great Philip Marlowe film (and a great film).Three years later, at age 61, he repeated the role in a remake of ‘The Big Sleep’.Both remakes are extremely faithful to Chandler,except that instead of 1940’s Los Angeles, this ‘Big Sleep’ was set in 1970’s London.A horrible, terrible, awful idea.A redeeming feature is actor Richard Boone in one of his final roles as evil henchman Lash Canino.FIRST WAVE 1942-47:Raymond Chandler's first four novels featuring private eye Philip Marlowe were published between 1939 and 1943:"The Big Sleep", "Farewell My Lovely", "The High Window", and "Lady in the Lake".Raymond Chandler was a hot Hollywood property: All four novels were bought to the screen in six black & white films with six different actors.(see end of this review for Amazon links)The first two were B-movies, and Marlowe's name was changed for the screen:--- 1942: Lloyd Nolan in 'Time to Kill' (based on "The High Window").This was the seventh and last time Lloyd Nolan played wise-cracking detective Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan would have made an excellent Philip Marlowe).--- 1943: George Sanders in 'The Falcon Takes Over' (based on "Farewell My Lovely", with Ward Bond as Moose Malloy).This was the third of four films starring George Sanders as Gay Laurence, the British gentleman detective known as "the Falcon".I loved George Sanders as the Falcon (and the Saint), but he was never a hard-boiled private eye.--- 1944: Dick Powell in 'Murder My Sweet' (based on "Farewell My Lovely") and--- 1946: Humphrey Bogart in 'The Big Sleep' : Two Cinema Classics.--- 1947: You and Robert Montgomery in 'Lady in the Lake'.Not a cinema classic, but it is a lot of fun: Filmed using the first-person camera technique, an early form of "virtual reality".On the plus side, you get to make out with a lot of beautiful dames.On the negative side you get punched in the face a lot.--- 1947: George Montgomery in 'The Brasher Doubloon' (based on "The High Window")Just OK.SECOND WAVE 1969-78Three additional novels were published before Chandler's death in 1959.In film, there was a 22 year break following ‘The Brasher Doubloon’ until the first “modern” Philip Marlowe film:1969’s ‘Marlowe’ starring James Garner (sort of a prequel to "The Rockford Files").It made the mistake of pitting Marlowe against a bunch of hippies in 1969 Los Angeles.In 1973 Elliot Gould starred in ‘The Long Goodbye’: A great film, but a Robert Altman film, not a Philip Marlowe film.The two Robert Mitchum films from 1975 and 1978 were the last in this second wave of Marlowe films.1942: Lloyd Nolan in  Time to Kill (1942)  - unavailable on DVD or Amazon Download, even though Amazon has assigned it an Amazon Stock Index Number1943: George Sanders in The Falcon Takes Over  The Falcon Mystery Movie Collection, Volume 1 (3 Discs) 1944: Dick Powell in  Murder, My Sweet [Blu-ray ]1946: Humphrey Bogart in  The Big Sleep [Blu-ray ] - the Blu-Ray is a major improvement over the DVD1947: You and Robert Montgomery in  Lady in the Lake  or in  Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 3 (Border Incident / His Kind of Woman / Lady in the Lake / On Dangerous Ground / The Racket)  (6 disc set)1947: George Montgomery in  The Brasher Doubloon 1969: James Garner in  Marlowe [Remaster ]1973: Elliot Gould in  The Long Goodbye [Blu-ray ]1975: Robert Mitchum in Farewell My Lovely - reviewed on this page1978: Robert Mitchum in The Big Sleep - reviewed on this pagePOSTSCRIPT: POODLE SPRINGSOn his death in 1959, Raymond Chandler left behind an unfinished manuscript, "The Poodle Springs Story".Chandler finished the first four chapters, which were published in 1962 in the anthology "Raymond Chandler Speaking".In 1988, detective writer Robert Parker (Spenser) finished the novel, contributing an additional 37 chapters(9% Chandler, 91% Parker).Published as "Poodle Springs", it depicts an older, married Philip Marlowe.In 1998 HBO commissioned a film, starring James Caan as Marlowe.Screenplay by Tom Stoppard (who won the Academy Award for "Shakespeare in Love" that same year).Never issued on DVD or download in the U.S. or the U.K:It is available on Region 2 DVDs from Germany and Spain.You can order it from Amazon UK or Amazon Deutschland, but you will need a region-free DVD player (or it can be viewed on most computers).I saw it on HBO twenty years ago.I have dim but pleasant memories.

Farewell My Lovely directed by Dick Richards is probably the best Raymond Chandler detective film adaptation IN COLOR!Robert Mitchum in the old Victor Mature suits looks perfectly weary as Philip Marlowe.He is supported by an excellent cast including the ravishing Charlotte Rampling and the frail Jim Thompson.Everything in this film is good, including production design, costume, cinematography and music.This film is 4 stars.The Big Sleep fares less well due to the updating the background to the 70's England, and free spirited direction by Michael Winner.London looks spic and span and Mitchum wearing gentleman's suits and driving a topless sports car.It is not serious Chandler but it is fun.This film is 3 stars.Both films' picture and sound quality are excellent.Good job!

To me Phillip Marlowe will always in my head be Humphrey Bogart but I think Robert Mitchum did a really good job with how cynical and world weary Marlowe was in the books and not long into the film he was Phillip Marlowe. Various characters in the movie commented that Marlowe would do anything for money but the movie held true to the book, that in the end Marlowe does the right thing and is pretty selfless under the cynicism and wise cracks. Overall Mitchum I think better personified the personality and worldview of Marlowe, very quickly overcoming my initial rebellion at him not being Bogey.Just read the book a few days ago. The movie eliminated several characters, changed others, shaved down several scenes quite a bit, added a few minor scenes. There is no character of Anne Riordan anymore for instance, and the more adversarial relationship with Lt. Nulty in the book is transformed in the movie to more of a friendly relationship. The character Jules Amthor, the psychic, becomes in the movie Francis Amthor, a madam and the Indian (Native American, the book says Indian) lackey of Amthor is replaced by a crew of people, none of whom appear Indian.I am not sure the changes were necessary and some added a bit of vulgarity to it (Marlowe didn't curse in the book nor did the book go into a house of prostitution; that scene including some brief female nudity, mainly topless). Also the book wasn't as violent by any means (mostly Marlowe getting sapped, they left those scenes in, and though in the book people do get murdered it is almost all “off camera” so to speak, while in the movie off murder cameras still happen but the movie added gun and fist fights that weren’t in the book).I was amazed a few times how much the movie nailed certain scenes and characters. One scene early on and one character that was a major one were exactly how I pictured them, just perfectly done. To me the movie’s second greatest achievement (after nailing the tone of Philip Marlowe) was in casting the character Moose Malloy (played by Jack O’Halloran). It was probably the best casting job I have ever seen in a case of transforming a written character to one in a movie. I instantly knew who he was when I saw him on screen and it was uncanny how closely he is to what I imagined when I read the book a few days ago.I think the film got period piece details down pretty well in terms of hairstyles, clothing, cars, and the overall look. While the film lacked the characteristic deep shadows of film noir it felt like watching something filmed in the 1940s (the film is set in 1941 though the book was published in 1940).Overall I liked the story, I thought the pacing was good, not anywhere near as convoluted as Bogey’s and Bacall’s _The Big Sleep_, and it does have a fair amount of action. I liked the folding in of a number of lines from the actual book and for the most part most of the book’s plot elements and scenes are at least nodded at, some pared down, others almost exactly like the book. I didn’t mind the few additions in terms of characters and scenes.Look for a bit part as a thug named Jonnie played by Sylvester Stallone, I believe the moment you see him you will instantly recognize him. If he spoke I must have missed it, but you very clearly see him for several minutes in a couple of scenes.

On paper, the mighty Robert Mitchum is an inspired choice to play Raymond Chandler’s iconic private eye Philip Marlowe, and there’s a lot to like in this 1975 take on the 1940 novel.But if you have the forties movie with the unlikely Dick Powell surprisingly effective as Marlowe, you really don’t need this.Mitchum is fine, and so are John Ireland, a slinky Charlotte Rampling as the elusive Velma, Sylvia Miles as drink-addled Jessie Florian, Anthony Zerbe rather wasted in a small role, and scary Kate Murtagh as the brothel madam Frances Amthor ~ a man in the original story.Jack O’Halloran is massive, lovelorn Moose Malloy. But Mitchum was a big fella, so he hardly towers above him as Mike Mazurki did over Dick Powell, nor is he anything like as compelling as the 1940 Moose.Crime writer Jim Thompson crops up in a couple of scenes as Rampling’s older husband and Harry Dean Stanton plays a morally dubious cop.Dick Richards’ direction is adequate to good, and the neon/lit seamy side of L.A. is filmed to good effect. But it’s all rather disjointed, and Mitchum’s rather dry narration becomes intrusive all too quickly.Not a bad film, worth seeing once.

In this adaptation of the Raymond Chandler classic, Robert Mitchum plays what I consider to be the definitive Philip Marlowe, even better than Bogie in the Big Sleep. And from me that is very high praise.In a film that oozes atmosphere we follow the world weary Marlowe as he tries to make a difference even though he knows the odds are stacked against him. With his easy going drawl, lugubrious expression, weary demeanour and bags of charm Mitchum commands the screen, especially during his narrating voiceovers, where his voice caresses Chandler's dialogue and so beautifully fits the image of the man you get from reading the books. In fact, when I read the books now it is Mitchum's voice I hear in my head. The film makers do a great job of bringing Marlowe's world to the screen - a seedy world full of corruption and vice during the very early forties. The film really evokes the time and place.It's a class film. The DVD presentation could be better, the sound on the Carlton Silver Screen release is a disappointing mono which is a little fuzzy and indistinct at times. The picture is in 4:3 aspect (which as others have pointed out here is the correct ratio), and would have benefited from a little restoration with a few scratches, jumps and washed out colours visible. This isn't bad enough to detract from the release though, it would just have been nice to see a proper job being done for such a classic film. 4 stars in total.

Probably the great Robert Mitchum's last great performance.A wonderful interpretation of Raymond Chandler's novel. Great supporting cast combined with a very atmospheric music score from David Shire that had me hooked from the opening credits.DVD was in as good as new condition from a reliable seller. Well packed and arrived on time, well packed for safe delivery.

I think this is one of the best adaptions of any of Chandler's novels. Robert Mitchum plays the world-weary PI to perfection. The rest of the cast are excellent too,notably Charlotte Rampling who is alluring in a corrupt,ice-cold kind of a way..I love the atmosphere.It isn't hammy like the old Bogart movies and it is true to the feel of Chandler's 1940's LA. Some unnecessary deviations from the original plot, but otherwise,a really good film.

This is easily the second best film of any of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe books made (The Big Sleep with Bogie & Bacall is the best) & yet it was made 30 years after the best film noir were being pumped out by Hollywood. The film kept to the book as close as possible & showed the characters off as Chandler wanted them to be.Robert Mitchum is perfect as the big ambling private eye just trying to make a living.