User Reviews

It shows that a movie doesn’t need to explain everything. It only needs to move forward with conviction. You don’t care who killed whom. You watch Marlowe go deeper into danger.Marlowe is my kind of hero. He knows how to fight back and keep things moving. I love the final setup where he has Mars killed to avenge Jones. It’s clean and satisfying. Still, Bogart doesn’t fit my image of Marlowe. I can’t separate he in Marlowe and **** film is known for its complexity. But the problem isn’t structure—it’s information. It drops the usual pleasure of solving a mystery. So, I’m lost. I’ve rewatched it several times. I still don’t know who killed the chauffeur. It doesn’t matter. Every viewing is a **** pacing is the film’s greatest strength. The dialogue is fast and sharp, full of dry humor. Scenes cut cleanly. There are no wasted **** you want a clear case and perfect logic, this film may disappoint you. That is exactly why I give it five stars.

“Bogart and Bacall” shouts the poster, and that’s precisely what we get. Long, heavy doses of both stars, just as their very public off-screen romance was at its peak. For Bogey, it’s just another day at the office. He growls through two novels’ worth of witty dialogue, wears a trench coat and fedora like a second skin, throws and catches haymakers, flirts with all the girls and outsmarts all the gangsters. It’s Humphrey Bogart as the private detective in a noir movie; you probably already know how that’s going to look and sound. This was only Bacall’s second film (though a delayed release meant it’s actually listed third on her filmography) and, though her performance often feels stiff and forced, those qualities suit the role. Which, from all indications, was written specifically for her. As that movie poster implies, The Big Sleep is very clearly a showcase of the stars first and a cohesive story second. Or maybe third, actually, behind the dark and moody atmosphere. It’s a tangled web of similar characters with confusing motives; a messy spiral of blackmail, murder, intimidation and thinly-veiled innuendo that only Bogart can navigate with any shred of confidence. He’s two steps ahead of the bad guys, which puts him three ahead of the audience. Trying to keep up amidst all the false fronts and betrayals is an exercise in futility. Instead, at least, we can enjoy the tasty scenery, admire the pointy dialogue and appreciate the film’s acrobatic efforts to address risqué subjects without offending the censors.

Movie's noirish humorous style, and charismatic leads overcome an increasingly convuluted story of blackmail, drug fueled jealousy, coverups, and murder. The fun clever snappy tough guy dialogue, zingers, trashy sexy femme fatale vibes , and dynamic pairing of Bogey and Bacall all make up for the storyline flaws.

Jamais un film n’a porté aussi bien son nom ! ce sont ici en effet quasiment deux plombes qui vont vous assommer d’un sommeil de plomb inéluctable et inexpugnable ! on ne peut pas résister : d’abord, on s’ennuie très vite, dès les premières minutes, puis les paupières se font lourdes, une torpeur vous envahit… on vous a drogué ou quoi ? Non, vous regardez le Grand Sommeil, bordel de merde ! et quand on regarde, non, quand on tente de regarder le Grand Sommeil, on a sommeil ! puis on dort à poings fermés, on ronfle comme un tracteur et les voisins se plaignent, les fondations en tremblent : vous ronflez devant le Grand, le très Grand Sommeil, la vieille chienlit des années 40 du siècle dernier ! Avec évidemment ce détective qui enquête sur quoi déjà… ah mais au fait, c’est tiré d’un bouquin qui porte le même titre et figurez-vous que si on tente de lire ce maudit bouquin aussi… on s’endort ! même que y en a qui se sont retrouvés dans le coma ! Et d’ailleurs, une fois n’est pas coutume, même les comédiens nous donnent envie de pioncer et pourtant, Bogart distribue du charisme et Bacall de la sensualité… mais que voulez-vous, quand on se fait chier, on se fait chier ! car je crois que même en dormant devant ce truc, je rêvais, non je cauchemardais : je me faisais chier aussi… en dormant, putain !

One of the greatest crime films of the 1940s. The wonderful sleaze that Marlowe wades thru in the novel is cleaned up enough for the Production Code, but still gives a sense of turning over a wet rock and finding these characters. I guess because of a similarly unnecessary scene in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, Bacall sings a song. Otherwise she's fine, especially for a 20 year-old with hardly any acting experience. She's terrific with Bogart and the film uses much of Chandler's superb dialog. This is a classic that holds up very well today.