The Long Goodbye (1973)
92%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 1 nomination
An ice-cold noir that retains Robert Altman’s idiosyncratic sensibilities, The Long Goodbye ranks among the smartest and most satisfying Marlowe mysteries.
The Long Goodbye is a classic neo-noir film that will have you laughing and crying all at once. Elliot Gould’s performance as Marlowe is both absurd and captivating, making you root for him even when he’s making questionable decisions. The film’s cynical tone is balanced out by its moralistic handling of the protagonist, making it a must-watch for anyone looking to dive into Robert Altman’s oeuvre. Plus, who doesn’t love a good reinvention of a classic?
Production Company(ies)
Virgen Films,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
High Tower – High Tower Drive, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1973
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 52m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 1973 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 2, 2014
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, David Arkin, Jim Bouton, directed by Robert Altman, written by Raymond Chandler, Leigh Brackett, crime, drama, R rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Philip French, Dave Kehr, Kim Newman, Pauline Kael, Noel Murray, Sean Axmaker, Christopher Lloyd, James Kendrick, Frank J Avella, Matt Brunson, Jason Shawhan, private detective, Marlowe mysteries, neo-noir, satire, improvisational scenes, Watergate, Vietnam War, abused women, Robert Altman’s idiosyncratic sensibilities, smartest, most satisfying, reinvention, ambitious, artful, inventive, macho bluster, noble protagonist, cynical, moralistic, mesmerizing world
Worldwide gross: $21,619
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $161,019
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,966
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 17,559
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Nina van Pallandt – Eileen Wade
Sterling Hayden – Roger Wade
Mark Rydell – Marty Augustine
Henry Gibson – Dr. Verringer
David Arkin – Harry
Director(s)
Robert Altman
Writer(s)
Raymond Chandler, Leigh Brackett
Producer(s)
Jerry Bick
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (3)
Some of the improvisational scenes don’t entirely work, but it’s an ambitious and artful reinvention.
November 26, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A masterpiece of sorts, it digs beneath the surface of the supposedly liberated spirit of the times to expose the ethos that took America into the Vietnam war and produced Watergate.
July 17, 2020
Philip French
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The film is so inventive in its situations and humor that its shortcomings – the blunt ideas at its core – don’t become apparent before several viewings.
July 17, 2020
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A subtle criqiue of the main character that contains some astonishing set pieces.
July 17, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Raymond Chandler’s sentimental foolishness is the taking-off place for Robert Altman’s heady, whirling sideshow of a movie, set in the early-seventies L.A. of the stoned sensibility.
April 18, 2016
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
The Long Goodbye as a whole peels back the surfaces of private-eye stories, paying special attention to their macho bluster and abused women.
December 15, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Noel Murray
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
Robert Altmans film, scripted and streamlined by Leigh Brackett (who helped adapt IThe Big SleepI for Howard Hawks), reimagines Philip Marlowe as the last of the old school detectives in a world that has moved on.
April 22, 2022
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
Robert Altman’s modernized take on film noir is bleak and beautiful, though not the ha-ha send-up of the genre as it’s been described.
February 7, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Christopher Lloyd
The Film Yap
If the film holds together, it is largely because of Elliot Gould’s ramshackle performance, which turns Marlowe into a figure who is both absurd and strangely compelling.
February 2, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
The Long Goodbye is not just classic Altman, classic neo-Noir, and classic satire, it’s one of the best and most underrated films of the 1970s.
December 21, 2021 | Rating: A
Frank J. Avella
Edge Media Network
The film is cynical, of course, but also oddly moralistic via its handling of the noble if disheveled protagonist.
December 18, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
This is mordantly funny and deeply upsetting, and if you’re looking for a way into the expansive oeuvre of Robert Altman, this is a great place to start.
September 10, 2021
Jason Shawhan
Nashville Scene…
Plot
In the middle of the night, private eye Philip Marlowe drives his friend Terry Lennox to the Mexican border. When Marlowe returns home police are waiting for him and learns that Terry’s wife Sylvia has been killed. He’s arrested as an accessory but released after a few days and is told the case is closed since Terry Lennox has seemingly committed suicide in Mexico. Marlowe is visited by mobster Marty Augustine who wants to know what happened to the $350,000 Lennox was supposed to deliver for him. Meanwhile, Marlowe is hired by Eileen Wade to find her husband Roger who has a habit of disappearing when he wants to dry out but she can’t find him in any any of his usual haunts. He finds him at Dr. Veringer’s clinic and brings him. It soon becomes obvious to Marlowe that Terry’s death, the Wades and Augustine are all somehow interconnected. Figuring out just what those connections are however will be anything but easy.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Elliot Gould’s performance as Philip Marlowe is described as “ramshackle” and turns the character into someone who is “both absurd and strangely compelling.”
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