IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive|Green Pixels
RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Learn More About Rotten Tomatoes
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • The Vine
  • Forums
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches by subscribing to our Google Subscribed Links profile.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Email to a Friend
  • Add to List
  • Bookmark and Share
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon

The Long Goodbye (1973)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
95 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 22

Fresh: 21

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 8/10

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Robert Altman, famous for his ability to turn any genre inside out, takes aim at film noir with this evocative adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel. Altman's Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is a relatively unsuccessful... Director Robert Altman, famous for his ability to turn any genre inside out, takes aim at film noir with this evocative adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel. Altman's Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is a relatively unsuccessful private eye living and working in 1970s Los Angeles. Stepping into the shoes of the notorious detective, Gould delivers a captivating performance that is the definition of '70s hip: he spends the entire film mumbling to himself, smoking cigarettes, and making wisecracks to everyone he encounters. This time around, Marlowe decides to investigate the supposed suicide of his friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton). At the same time, he's hired by Lennox's beautiful neighbor, Eileen Wade (Nina Van Pallandt), to track down her husband Roger (Sterling Hayden), a successful author and belligerent alcoholic. Slowly, the mystery begins to reveal itself, as Marlowe discovers that Eileen's relationship with his dead friend was more than merely casual. All the while, Marlowe must contend with police, a psychopathic gangster (Mark Rydell), and a host of other characters and situations that make up the hazy existential malaise that is the world of THE LONG GOODBYE. Altman's particular brand of filmmaking hits stride with this brilliant revisionist noir thriller photographed by the great Vilmos Zsigmond (MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, HEAVEN'S GATE). John Williams' score consists of several ironic variations on the title composition, which provides the film with an added comic punch. [More]

Starring: Elliott Gould, Sterling Hayden, Nina Van Pallandt, Henry Gibson

Starring: Elliott Gould, Sterling Hayden, Nina Van Pallandt, Henry Gibson, Mark Rydell, Jim Bouton, David Arkin, Warren Berlinger, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Director: Robert Altman

Director: Robert Altman
Screenwriter: Leigh Brackett
Story: Raymond Chandler
Producer: Jerry Bick
Composer: John Williams

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

  • Buy DVD
 
 
 
 
Release:

Sep 17, 2002

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Mono - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurettes - 1. RIP VAN MARLOWE
  • 2. VILMOS ZSIGMOND FLASHES THE LONG GOODBYE
  • Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
  • 2. Radio Spots

Reviews for The Long Goodbye

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
08/30/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image

Everywhere you look, there's something delightfully weird going on ... Altman and company fashion a state of slouching, freeform Zen that no one else has ever really duplicated.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
07/11/07
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
Ratings Image

When he was very near the top of his early peak, [Robert] Altman did the darnedest thing and made a private-eye movie -- or maybe a parody of a private-eye movie; it's hard to say. And he may never have topped it.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
06/15/07
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
Ratings Image

Simultaneously an act of revisionism as well as a parody of then-revitalizing neo-noir.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
04/18/07
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Ratings Image

The reluctant and satirical mystery is one of the great Los Angeles movies and makes a great compliment to, say, The Big Lebowski.

comment Comment
09/13/05
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
07/03/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

Droll, cunning and magnificently woozy.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
06/30/05
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image

More a film about friendship and betrayal than murder.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/09/05
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

[A] great classic.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/15/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image

It tries to be all genre and no story, and it almost works.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Fairly good hard boiled detective story

comment Comment
10/23/04
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
Ratings Image

It ends up with mixed results -- Marlowe is drawn as a goofy daydreamer (Altman calls him Rip Van Marlowe) and his story only gets interesting when Sterling Hayden, channeling Hemingway, goes bananas.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/14/03
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image

One of the greatest detective films of all time.

comment Comment
08/21/03
John Esther
Pasadena Weekly
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
06/04/03
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

[Altman] attempts the impossible and pulls it off.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
04/16/03
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Ratings Image

Altman's generalized misanthropy fits uncomfortably with the overall noir universe.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
Ratings Image

It may not be exactly like the novel but then this Philip Marlowe is nothing like anything ever seen before.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
11/19/02
Jamie Gillies
Apollo Guide
Ratings Image

...may not please Chandler purists, but it is an endlessly fascinating movie in any case.... If it all seems a bit surrealistic, that's the way it's meant to be.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
08/29/02
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Long Goodbye

June 21, 2007: Frank Miller and Clive Owen to Do Some Old-School Film Noir
Now here's a project that sounds pretty damn cool: Frank Miller directing Clive Owen in an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler story -- and it'll probably be the first in a series! More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for The Long Goodbye

REEL_REVIEWER
(1973/2007 RE-release)-Robert Altman's THE LONG GOODBYE is back with a NEW 35mm PRINT
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/19/07


REEL_REVIEWER
(1973/2007 RE-release)-Robert Altman's THE LONG GOODBYE is back with a NEW 35mm PRINT
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/19/07


REEL_REVIEWER
(1973/2007 RE-release)-Robert Altman's THE LONG GOODBYE is back with a NEW 35mm PRINT
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/19/07


REEL_REVIEWER
(1973/2007 RE-release)-Robert Altman's THE LONG GOODBYE is back with a NEW 35mm PRINT
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/19/07
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
ROTTEN: 1 48% Smart People
FRESH: 2 89% Kung Fu Panda
FRESH: 3 61% Journey to the Center …
FRESH: 4 67% The Incredible Hulk
FRESH: 5 76% Indiana Jones and the …

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
FRESH: 96 96% WALL-E
FRESH: 83 83% Tropic Thunder
FRESH: 63 63% Sisterhood of the Trav…
FRESH: 93 93% Encounters At the End …
FRESH: 88 88% Gonzo: The Life and Wo…

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Star Trek TV Trailer

Star Trek TV Trailer

Live long and watch our exclusive video!

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro

Five favorite films with the Hellboy director. ...

Dance Flick Trailer

Dance Flick Trailer

The latest spoof from the Wayans bros.

Twilight Guide

Twilight Guide

Meet the characters of the vampire romance.

More Info

RT To Go

Get this widget! Movie Reviews

Around The Network

  • The Long Goodbye at Rotten Tomatoes
 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.