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Movies / On DVD / The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep

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The Big Sleep (1946)

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Reviews Counted:42

Fresh:40

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.6/10

Runtime: 3 hrs 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Chandler's first novel introduced private detective Philip Marlowe, and THE BIG SLEEP set the standard for private detective movies. Down-at-the-heels private eye Marlowe gets the assignment to... Chandler's first novel introduced private detective Philip Marlowe, and THE BIG SLEEP set the standard for private detective movies. Down-at-the-heels private eye Marlowe gets the assignment to clean up after the daughters of a dying millionaire, but dead people have a nasty habit of trailing in their wake. The famously tortuous story line (Hawks supposedly asked Chandler to clarify a plot point about the murder of the family chauffeur; the novelist hadn't a clue as to who did the deed) seems beside the point when Bogart and Bacall are onscreen. The final release was recut to include more of their scenes together. A must! Remade in 1978. [More]

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone, John Ridgely

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone, John Ridgely, Louis Jean Heydt, Elisha Cook, Regis Toomey, Sonia Darrin, Bob Steele, Martha Vickers, Tom Rafferty, Charles Waldron, Charles D. Brown, Peggy Knudsen

Director: Howard Hawks

Director: Howard Hawks
Screenwriter: William Faulkner, Jules Furthman, Leigh Brackett
Producer: Howard Hawks
Composer: Max Steiner

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Big Sleep

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The direction, cinematography, screenplay, brooding score and acting in this movie are all without fault. If you see one film noir movie in your life, make it this one.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
07/18/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bogart as Marlowe is compelling in this classic thriller that is complex but triumph of atmospheric cool.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/18/08
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the finest mainstream noir-thrillers ever made.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If anyone ever tries to make the argument that plot is more important than anything else in cinema, this is a great movie to throw in their face.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/19/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Brittle Chandler characters have been transferred to the screen with punch by Howard Hawks' production and direction, providing full load of rough, tense action most of the way.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/18/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What you remember here are moments.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/18/08
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Tribes of monkeys doing monkey things, albeit things related to the perforation of the flesh: murder and blood and sweat and sex.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
07/09/07
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

True classic Bogie and Bacall, even though plot is way out puzzling in many ways.

comment Comment
05/09/07
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

One of the most intriguing, energetic and playful film noirs ever.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/27/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
03/18/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

It matters not that even the writers (including William Faulkner) weren't sure who shot whom in Hawks' rousing adaptation of the Raymond Chandler detective novel.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
02/10/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

There's little else I can add about this proto-noir, one of the archetypes of the genre and a showstopper for Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, who spar through a catty romance while dancing through a taut mystery.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Wide awake amid the smoke and mirrors.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/06/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
10/09/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
07/03/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A trama extremamente complexa é uma mera desculpa para os diálogos perfeitos e para a presença sempre intensa de Bogart.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
06/28/05
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/09/05
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

No review available.

comment Comment
10/12/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

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