Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Long Goodbye Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 1, 2014

Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental feature on the disc include video interviews with Elliot Gould, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, writer and filmmaker David Thompson, writer Tom Williams, and crime writer, critic and editor Maxim Jakubowski; documentary film; original trailer; TV spots; isolated music & effects track; and more. The release also arrives with a booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brad Stevens, an archive interview with screenwriter Leigh Brackett, a new interview with assistant director Alan Rudolph and an article from American Cinematographer, illustrated with original archive stills and posters, as well as reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"It's okay with me."

Lonely private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould, The Devil and Max Devlin, Ocean's Eleven) agrees to drive his wealthy friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) to the Mexican border. A few hours after he drops him off, he is picked up by a couple of obnoxious cops who want to know where Terry is because his wife, Sylvia, has been murdered. When Marlowe refuses to cooperate, they put him in jail.

Three days later, Marlowe is released. He is told by the cops that Terry has committed suicide in Mexico after signing a note in which he confessed to his wife’s murder. But Marlowe does not buy their story because he is convinced that his friend wasn’t at the end of his rope.

Soon after, Marlowe is hired by elegant blonde Eileen Wade (Nina Van Pallandt, American Gigolo, Quintet) to find her missing husband, Roger Wade (Sterling Hayden, The Killing , Johnny Guitar), who has gone missing. Marlowe begins asking questions and quickly discovers that Roger, a rather extravagant novelists with a serious drinking problem, has been hiding and detoxing at Dr. Verringer’s (Henry Gibson, Nashville) private clinic. Around the same time, Marlowe also receives a $5,000 bill with a 'thank you' note from his dead friend.

Meanwhile, a sadistic gangster named Marty Augustine (Mark Rydell, Havana ) and his goons threaten to seriously hurt Marlowe if he doesn’t help them find a large bag with $350,000 last seen with his dead friend. Initially Marlowe assumes that they are bluffing, but when Marty breaks the nose of his beautiful mistress to demonstrate what can happen to someone he loves and let Marlowe think what could happen to someone he does not like, the private eye changes his mind. But before things can get out of hand the bag reappears. Unsure what to make of his recent experiences, Marlowe decides to travel to Mexico to find out what really happened to his dead friend.

Director Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye is more of a loaded with satire tribute to Raymond Chandler’s classic novel than a faithful adaptation. The film uses as a foundation a lot of the key elements that make the novel special, but ultimately tells a very different story.

A good question to ask, however, is whether there can be a faithful film adaptation of Chandler’s novel. After all, an integral part of its story is the manner in which it is actually told -- mixing hard-boiled dialog with edgy sophistication -- which defines its characters and then validates their triumphs and failures. More importantly, Chandler’s very unique style also creates and sustains a sense of intimacy between the reader and the private eye which could be awfully difficult to recreate with images, perhaps even impossible.

Gould does his best to transfer the essence of the colorful monologues from the novel to the film, but his body language quickly convinces that he isn’t the iconic private eye. In this film Marlowe is a laid-back, soft, frequently confused and out of sync with reality man who somehow always gets it right -- either because he is lucky or because he has killer instincts.

But does it matter?

It does, because depending on whether one accepts or rejects Gould’s portrayal of the private eye The Long Goodbye could be either a fabulous neo-noir film or a disappointing attempt at updating a classic story with a hugely influential character. Everything else -- the moody atmosphere, the unique cinematography, and even the minor changes in the plot -- becomes secondary.

Acclaimed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Heaven's Gate) 'flashed' the reels to enhance the film’s neo-noir atmosphere. ('Flashing' is the practice of overexposing the negative to an additional amount of controlled light). As a result, virtually the entire film has a very unique smoky look.

The stylish soundtrack was created by Oscar-winning composer John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars). The main theme appears in a number of different variations. Arguably the best one is performed by the legendary Dave Grusin Trio.

*David Carradine and a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger have small cameos in the film.

The Long Goodbye Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The HD master for The Long Goodbye was made available from MGM via Hollywood Classics. The film was transferred from the original 35mm interpositive held by MGM. Color grading was performed Paul Schramm at Todd-AO Video in Hollywood, CA. Director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond provided detailed color notes so the master could better match the original look from 1973, resulting in an overall emphasis on muted, desaturated colors with very low contrast. This look, which is maintained on Arrow's Blu-ray edition, is correct and true to the film's original theatrical release. Yvonne Medrano managed the process for MGM Technical Services. Additional picture restoration was supervised by James White and completed at Deluxe Digital Cinema - EMEA, London.

Digital restoration artists: Tom Barrett, Clayton Baker, Dana O'Reilly.
Deluxe management: Mark Bonnici, Graham, Jones."

The high-definition transfer is very strong. The intended by director Robert Altman and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond smoky look for the film has been retained and there are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. The darker footage, in particular, has benefited tremendously as depth and clarity are now far better. Contrast levels fluctuate as the action moves from one location to another, but these fluctuations are part of the film's visual design. There is a nice range of soft and warm colors, and again the most impressive improvements in color saturation are during the nighttime footage, where the balance between light and shadow is very unique. Compression and the actual encoding are very good. Finally, I noticed one small white dot appearing early into the film (more than likely an imperfection that was retained from the interpositive, not a digital error), but there are no large cuts, damage marks, debris, stains, or warps to report in this review. All in all, this is a very competent presentation of The Long Goodbye that should please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Long Goodbye Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Also included is an Isolated Music & Effects LPCM 1.0 track. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

While depth and clarity are indeed very good, there is very light hiss, at times causing extremely light distortions in the high-frequencies, that is present throughout the entire film. (You can easily hear the hiss around the 26-minute mark, where Elliott Gould enters the bar, orders a drink and then phones Nina van Pallandt). My feeling is that most viewers will not be bothered by it, but some more sensitive viewers will notice its presence. For the record, there are no pops or audio dropouts to report in this review.

The Long Goodbye Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - LPCM 1.0 track.

• Trailer - original trailer for The Long Goodbye. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Radio Spots - a collection of radio TV spots. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Interviews -
  
  1. Elliott Gould - in this video interview, the American actor discusses his work with director Robert Altman on The Long Goodbye, some of the film's unique themes (there are some very interesting comments about the long opening sequence with the hungry cat), a few of his improvisations, the differences between Raymond Chandler's novel and the film's script, etc. The interview was conducted by Michael Connelly. In English, not subtitled. (54 min).
  
  2. Vilmos Zsigmond - in this video interview, acclaimed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond discusses his professional relationship with director Robert Altman, who helped him start his career in Hollywood after he escaped from Hungary in 1956. Mr. Zsigmond also discusses the 'flashing' technique which gave The Long Goodbye its unique look. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).
  
  3. David Thompson - in this video piece, writer and filmmaker David Thompson, who edited Altman on Altman and produced Robert Altman in England for the BBC, discusses the life and legacy of the famous American director. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).
  
  4. Tom Williams - in this video piece, Tom Williams, author of A Mysterious Something in the Light: Raymond Chandler: A Life, discusses the life and work of Philip Marlowe's creator. Mr. Williams also discusses the unique qualities of Robert Altman's adaptation of The Long Goodbye. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).
  
  5. Maxim Jakubowski - in this video piece, crime writer, critic and editor Maxim Jakubowski discusses the characteristics of the hard-boiled detective genre in literature and cinema. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Robert Altman: Giggle and Gave In - originally broadcast on July 17, 1966 in Channel Four's Cinefile series, Paul Joyce's documentary portrait of Robert Altman spans his career from its earliest beginnings to Kansas City (1996), and includes interviews with the American director, Elliot Gould, Shelley Duvall, Alan Rudoplh, and Joan Tewkesbury. In English, not subtitled. (57 min).

• Rip Van Marlowe - this documentary about The Long Goodbye was original made in 2002 for MGM's R1 DVD release of the film. Director Robert Altman recalls how The Long Goodbye came to exist. Elliot Gould also explains how he was approached to play Philip Marlowe. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Boooklet - booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brad Stevens, an archive interview with screenwriter Leigh Brackett, a new interview with assistant director Alan Rudolph and an American Cinematographer article discussing Zsigmond's unique treatment of the film, illustrated with original archive stills and posters.

• Cover art - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw.

The Long Goodbye Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Long Goodbye has inspired some interesting debates during the years, and I actually think that there are good reasons to like and dislike the film. Viewed strictly as a faithful adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel it could be quite puzzling, even frustrating, but viewed as a Robert Altman film that offers a different interpretation of the material with a good dose of satire it is very effective. Arrow Video's new Blu-ray release is quite nice - the film looks wonderful in high-definition and the supplemental features included on the disc are excellent. RECOMMENDED.