The Big Sleep

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.




"The Big Sleep" is one of Hollywood's best known anecdotes that has a confusing plot line, and is also a confusing novel written by Raymond Chandler. Director Howard Hawks, orchestrates the first film version of the novel. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall co star in this ingenious production of crime, love, and deception. The plot of "The Big Sleep" is described as "a lust story with a plot about a lot of other things," in Roger Ebert's movie review which ranked the movie an intriguing 5/5 stars.

2. Find a related article and summarize the content.



"The Big Sleep"  could be described as multiple genres as it occurs to be a crime story, or some people find it a romantic story, but the film has most often been described as a film noir, which is "a term coined by French critic Nino Frank in 1945 when a flood of dark Hollywood thrillers made during the war....Nearly 40nyears passed before the term became current in the English-speaking world." A very popular movie review article was written in the Pulitzer Prize winning UK newspaper the Guardian, recognizing the brilliance behind the film. In the review Phillip French refers to the film as a film with "infinite interest." French then breaks down the significance behind the film in different characteristics. Such as its Warner Brothers production and the stardom of Bogart and Bacall.




3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.






The article supported how I felt about the film as it supports highly of the works Hawks and Bogart. The article also helped me understand the film better because I did find it quite confusing when I first watched it but after reading over this review I could understand Hawks' production more clearly. From watching Casablanca, I already developed a liking for Bogart's way to portray his always tough character in the films. The author of the novel Ray Chandler was quoted saying, "Bogart is so much better than any tough-guy actor. As we say here, Bogart can be tough without a gun. Also he has a sense a humor that contains that grating undertone of contempt," this quote supports how Bogart made a truly genuine performance as the lead detective in the film.




4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions. text material and the article.




The thing that I found most interesting about the movie "The Big Sleep" is the unpredictability. From scene to scene you didn't know what to expect as Marlowe (Bogart) would discover something new on every endeavor he went on. This dramatic effect made the movie more intriguing in my opinion and served as a clever technique to develop a very complex storyline. This movie is the type of movie where you watch it multiple times and learn something new every time you watch it. I definitely found this movie different in style to similar films made in the era as it focuses on other qualities of cinematography, and not a hard -boiled narration, distorted camera angles, or flashbacks.