The Long Goodbye is a fun and engaging enough neo noir mystery that features a great performance from Harold Gould alongside solid direction by Robert Altman.
The Long Goodbye
(1973)
Genre(s): Drama, Crime, Neo-Noir
Kino Lorber| R – 112 min. – $29.95 | December 7, 2021
Date Published: 12/20/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3¾/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Private detective Philip Marlowe (ELLIOTT GOULD) is asked by his old buddy Terry Lennox (JIM BOUTON) for a ride to Mexico. He obliges, and when he gets back to Los Angeles is questioned by police about the death of Terry’s wife. Marlowe remains a suspect until it’s reported that Terry has committed suicide in Mexico. Marlowe doesn’t buy it but takes a new case from a beautiful blond, Eileen Wade (NINA VAN PALLANDT), who coincidentally has a past with Terry. Quick Hit Review: The Long Goodbye, based on the classic Raymond Chandler novel, is a neo-noir mystery from director Robert Altman. The film stars Elliott Gould who is wonderfully glib as chain-smoking Philip Marlowe drawn into the dark underworld of 1970s Los Angeles. The others hold their own, including Nina van Pallandt, but this is Gould at his best and probably deserved an Academy Award nomination. Also fun was the various renditions of “The Long Goodbye” song, co-written by John Williams who also scored. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and the inside artwork is reversible. Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas who is a staple in many Kino releases. As usual, this one is more educational providing historical references to the production and can be a tad dry for some, but personally it was an enjoyable listen. Rip Van Marlowe (24:34) is an archival featurette with Robert Altman and Elliott Gould in separate interviews. Vilmos Zsigmond Flashes The Long Goodbye (14:24) is an interview with the cinematographer discussing working with Robert Altman. David Thompson on Robert Altman (21:03) — Interview with the writer and filmmaker who edited “Altman on “Altman” and produced “Robert Altman in England” for the BBC. Tom Williams on Raymond Chandler (14:28) — The author of “A Mysterious Something in the Light: Raymond Chandler: A Life” discusses the career of the novelist and specifically more on “The Long Goodbye”. Maxim Jakubowski on Hard Boiled Fiction (14:32) — Jakubowski is a crime writer, critic and editor and talks about the hard boiled detective genre in literature and cinema. “American Cinematographer” 1973 Article — Reprint in gallery form of an article about The Long Goodbye. Trailers From Hell (2:42) — Screenwriter Josh Olson breaks down the production set against the footage of the trailer. Last up are some promotional material:
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VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
| The Long Goodbye comes to Blu-ray for a second time by Kino Lorber (the last was 2014). This one receives a new 4K master though no mention from what source. In any case, the 1080p high-definition transfer does look incredible, detail is well defined throughout and colors appear nicely balanced and inline for the early 1970s. The natural film grain and noise is still intact and is fairly clean, however there was a significant white spec that appear on the top center-right of the screen for a fair amount of time before disappearing, which is why this is not a perfect 5/5 rating. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is likely the same from the previous release. Dialogue here comes across with good clarity though sometimes there was muffling due to some of the on location shoots. There is some decent depth for a track like this albeit nothing amazing yet you can discern any off-camera action and there were no major hisses or pops. |
OVERALL – 4/5 |
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The Long Goodbye is a fun and engaging enough neo noir mystery that features a great performance from Harold Gould, perhaps the best ever from the veteran actor, alongside solid direction by Robert Altman. The Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber with a 4K master picture and a good selection of features is worth picking up. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.