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Author Topic: Top 100 Club: BlueVoid  (Read 7566 times)

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Top 100 Club: BlueVoid
« Reply #40 on: February 12, 2020, 04:13:11 PM »
You have to go into White knowing it's a dark comedy. It's the weakest of the three but has so many great moments that I still consider it a must watch.

Teproc

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Re: Top 100 Club: BlueVoid
« Reply #41 on: February 12, 2020, 05:35:45 PM »
White is my favorite, but I'm the weirdo who thinks Red doesn't work at all, so YMMV.
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smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: BlueVoid
« Reply #42 on: February 16, 2020, 12:26:03 PM »
The Long Goodbye

I haven't seen it commented on in other reviews of the film, but I'm sure it's not for lack of noticing. I got over it eventually myself. But man, I've never heard dialog sound so much like narration. Not what they say, but how it actually sounds. Like maybe Altman just didn't want the fuss of having a guy with a boom mic around during the shoot. The effect is weird. Half the time it sounds like Marlowe is merely thinking the quips in his head, not vocalizing them. Other times it's like a scene out of a sci-fi movie where the characters are speaking telepathically and the voices are added in entirely for our benefit. Whether he's inside or out, Marlowe's voice always seemed to exist in the same padded closet.

I could have done for some actual narration though, of the classic detective-thinking-about-his-case-while-driving-and-smoking variety. But then, Gould doesn't really fit that cool-noir dectective mould, so it might've been silly. I sometimes enjoyed his unhurried, very passive approach solving cases. It seems to boil down to "keep your eyes open and follow your nose". Other times the approach is frustrating because the momentum of the investigation gets sidetracked again and again by yet another interruption, of which Marlowe lets himself be carried away. This is his style though so what can you do.

I didn't take any notice of the score in the film, though I recall seeing John Williams name in the opening credits. Listening to it now it sounds like elevator music... which I guess is a fit with Marlowe's approach. We'll get there when we get there.

Overall, I wasn't really feeling much for this one. I'm still not sure I can put my finger on why. Too low-key maybe? Too 70's? I can probably count on one hand the number of films I love from the 70's. I have no fondness for the time frame. The clothes are ugly, the cars are ugly, the music is generally awful, the decor is tacky, everyone seems like a stiff or in a daze. It's gotta be one of the least appealing decades in which to set a film, for me. Overall, I struggled to enjoy the film or anything Gould did in it.

Gave it a good try, but not my bag. :)
« Last Edit: February 16, 2020, 12:28:21 PM by smirnoff »

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: BlueVoid
« Reply #43 on: February 24, 2020, 10:20:34 PM »
You have to go into White knowing it's a dark comedy. It's the weakest of the three but has so many great moments that I still consider it a must watch.

Will do!

White is my favorite, but I'm the weirdo who thinks Red doesn't work at all, so YMMV.

I was hoping it was in your top 100, so I'd get to it next time it's your month, but it's not! Oh, well. I'll get to it bye and bye. :)