Description

L.A. private eye Phillip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case...and a trail peopled with murderers, porographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more.Humphrey Boart plays Raymond Chandlers' legendary gumshoe and director Howard Hawkes serves up snappy character encounters (particularly involving Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore in the certified classic. ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Not To Be Missed!
If you haven't already seen THE BIG SLEEP, buy this DVD now! If you have, but don't own this DVD release, buy it now! Why? Both the 1946 classic and the pre-release 1945 edit are on this disc. The differences are quite interesting. The 1946 version shows Bogart (as Philip Marlowe) as the epitome of "Cool" in every situation, even when he has a gun pulled on him or is getting beaten up. Lauren Bacall comes off much better in the 1946 version as well, as she shows the spark that was seen in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. The 1945 version has a few scenes cut from the 1946 version which are quite good, and is actually a little easier to follow. Whichever version you watch, THE BIG SLEEP is one of the greatest movies ever in the "Film Noir" or detective "Murder Mystery" genres. The disc also includes a documentary on the making of the film, and the differences between the two versions, which is very interesting. The picture and sound quality are actually quite good, as any flaws in the picture are so minor that they would not be noticed unless you're watching for them, and not watching the movie itself. As stated before, if you don't already own this DVD, BUY IT NOW! It's a classic movie and an outstanding package!

A Detective Masterpiece
This film is absolutely mesmerizing, a masterpiece full of sharp dialog and a plot so complex not even Raymond Chandler could tell you who commited one of the murders. Bogart is Detective Philip Marlowe and from the moment he arrives to talk to General Sternwood and gets mixed up with his daughters this is a film classic.

Bacall is the sultry older sister, but it is sexy and thumb sucking little sister Martha Vickers he meets first. As he tells Sternwood, "Yeah, we met. She tried to sit in my lap and I was standing up". This is all about gambling debts and murder, all of which leads to Eddie Mars and Carmen (Vickers). But there are more twist and turns here than a rollercoaster, and it moves just about as fast. If you blink, you better rewind this tape and start over.

Howard Hawks made a masterpiece here. It is the finest straightforward detective novel ever put on celluloid. William Faulkner adapted Raymond Chandler's greatest literary achievement for Hawks and the whole thing is filmed as a fast moving dream of dialog and images hard to forget. One critic likened it to a huge hangover. That is a perfect description of this film.

Bogart's Marlowe has his hands full trying to keep Carmen out of trouble she may already be in to deep to get out of, and the sparks between he and Bacall may just ignite if he can figure out a way to keep the fast rising body count from getting any higher while keeping himself alive. Bacall has never been more beautiful or inviting than when she is slumped down in the seat of Bogart's car, just waiting for him to kiss her.

You have to see this film to really appreciate it. You'll never see anything else like it in American cinema. Pick up this one as soon as you can.

Wild and Cool
A movie so relentlessly all over the map and incomprehensible, it has to be seen to be believed. Closely adapted from Chandler's equally confusing private eye noir thriller. Bogart and Bacall are just plain cool. The flick captures the time and place perfectly. Every word, every inflection, every move, the clothes, the cars, the places and attitudes are all just right and utterly cool. Buy this and The Maltese Falcon and put em right next to each other on your shelf. Gotta have this on DVD.

Smokey Style
Raymond Chandler's LA was peopled with the flotsam of human kind, a white kind. Though there may have been black or Mexican-Americans in LA in the forties,I didn't see any in this otherwise interesting film. There seems to be an almost stylish,white, even literary criminal class wandering Laurel Canyon Drive. The bad ladies are dressed and the men are suited. Ties are knotted and tight. Even the head gangster seems to be a sensitive soul. Drugs, murder, and classy dames, shut your trap! The film's a classic and so is Bogey.

Side A Has the Sizzle. Side B Has the Steak.
What a rare treat. To have both the theatrical release of The Big Sleep as well as the pre-release version on one DVD is a film-lover's dream.

If you're not familiar with the story behind these two versions, there's a nice documentary on the DVD that explains it. Briefly put, Lauren Bacall is at her sultriest on Side A of the disc (the version that made it into theaters); Side B has some scenes that do a better job at fleshing out the plot, but at the expense of some of Ms. Bacall's glamour.

My advice is watch the pre-release first: It fills in a couple of gaps left open by the inclusion of re-shot Bogie & Bacall scenes in the official release. Then you don't have to worry about anything distracting you from their on-screen chemistry.

There is some film degradation present in this release. While it is nice to have this preserved on DVD, hopefully AFI or some other group will make preservation and restoration of this movie a priority.

In a future release of The Big Sleep it would be nice to have a hybrid version of the movie. That way we could have the re-shot Bacall scenes from the theatrical release along with the more expository scenes from the pre-release (Marlowe searching Geiger's house, Marlowe meets the D.A., etc.). It would be a slightly longer film, and film purists might disagree, but I think it would truly be the best of both worlds.

In the meantime, get this DVD. You'll love it you're a movie-history or -trivia buff, and if you're not maybe it'll make you one. The worst it could do is class up your DVD collection a notch or two. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good action...great transfer!
So far, the Republic films of John Wayne that have made it's way onto DVD have been hit or miss, when it comes to how nicely they get transferred. Some, like "The Fighting Kentuckian" and "The Quiet Man" appear to be transferred from a poor VHS source. Others, like "Wake Of The Red Witch" or "King Of The Pecos" look to come from the original film elements. So, needless to say, I was wondering how "Three Faces West" would look, when it showed up on my doorstep. I'm happy to say it looks great! It has some age-related problems, like a few "pops" and "ticks" in the soundtrack, but that's to be excused...seeing as a film like this would never get the full restoration process.

As for the film itself, it's a quick moving take on the dust bowl farmers of the 1930s, and their trek to a new land in Oregon. Many compare this film (unfairly) to John Ford's "The Grapes Of Wrath", seeing as both deal with the same subject matter. While John Ford's film was made to make a statement about the plight of the mid-western farmers, this was made to be mostly just an 80 minute action film for John Wayne. And for that purpose, it succeeds! Pick this one up, you won't be disappointed....

The story line is pretty good for an older John Wanyne flix
Three Faces West is not Wayne's best movie,but it is worth watching. It takes place in Oklahoma right before the great depression. A refuge doctor and daughter come to a desperate town in hopes of finding a new life. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Pleasant, but only just that
Lightweight, predictable (will the patient
with the mystery disease pull through? Will Kildare
hook up with the nurse?), hokey,
but not without some charm. Has some unintentionally
funny moments, and one can only thank God that
medical ethics have progressed since 1940
(that is if you believe the film accurately
reflects those of its period). Still, it's
reasonably entertaining, if not exactly classic
material.

The print used for the film in reasonably good
shape, except for some moderate damage at the reel
changes. Some rain lines, too, but very few scratches
or nicks. A couple of very minor video glitches.
The picture wasn't particularly sharp, but still
mostly OK. They could have put more effort into
the video transfer. The audio was decent.

In short a so-so transfer for a so-so
film. Still, when you take the price into consideration,
it's worth seeing....

Not bad for an old flick
I am a medical student collecting movies about the medical field. I enjoyed this movie for a couple simple reasons: It is full of amusing stereotypes, has some hilarious scenes on insulin shock therapy that would make a modern doc cringe, and Lionel Barrymore is a great actor! I think I will look for more movies with this funny old fellow.

The movie is about a Young Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres) who is doing a residency at Blair General. He is in love with a nurse(Laraine Day) (of course!) and she can't stand the thought of not being married (my oh my), like the older Head Nurse of the hospital. Anyway, Dr. Kildare doesn't earn much as a resident (yup) so he figures he can't afford to get married right now. This little love story goes on around an incident with a Dr. Lane, a surgeon who is having bad luck with a string of dying patients. Dr. Kildare tries to save Dr. Lane's reputation by convincing the hospital that it isn't Dr. Lane's skills that are lacking. In the end, Dr. Kildare wins the admiration of the hospital, Dr. Lane, his residency director Lionel Barrymore), and of course the nurse.

Apparently there are 15 flicks about Dr. Kildare. This one is the 4th of 15. They follow the idealist young doctor as he emerges from medical school and eventually becomes an accomplished and confident doctor. I would like to see the other movies as well, but this is the only one on DVD right now.

Following the string of 15 movies, there was a t.v. series about Dr. Kildare that ran for a few years when t.v. was new.

Be Glad You're not a Patient in This Hospital
I watched all of the Dr. Kildare movies as a child, and I was surprised to find out that they weren't as good as I remembered them being. However, "Dr. Kildare's Strange Case" reminds me of a less complicated time when science seemed to hold all of the answers. Those who remember earnest young Dr. Kildare, crusty Dr. Gillespie, and pretty Mary Lamont will find this movie worth watching, just as old friends are still worth talking to, even when we've outgrown them. The plot is rather absurd--a patient goes insane after brain surgery, and the surgeon (who has recently had a lot of patients die) is blamed. Aided and abetted by his girlfriend, Mary Lamont, Dr. Kildare induces insulin shock in the patient (not considered a valid treatment for years, but don't blame the scriptwriters--at that time it was). Miraculously, the patient survives and the brain surgeon is exonerated. Even more miraculously, Dr. Kildare and Mary Lamont escape charges of attempted murder and even keep their jobs. ... Read more