Free Essay on the Film and Novel "The Big Sleep"

Briefly describe the film and novel "The Big Sleep"

Raymond Chandler is known for his penchant towards cannibalizing some of his short stories into novels. "The Big Sleep" written published in 1939 is no different from his previous works. It takes on the hardboiled crime scenes, a common feature in Chandler's works. However, in this case, he deviates slightly by introducing a detective, Phillip Marlowe who pairs with a seductive yet deadly female, Vivian. In keeping up with the hardboiled scenes, Chandler's book is interwoven with complex twists and turns where characters double-cross one another. Secrets are exposed throughout the plot.

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"The Big Sleep" produced in 1946, is a film adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel of the same title, and co-written by William Faulkner, Jules Furthman and Leigh Bracket (Hawks et al. 1946). The film stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, playing as private detective Phillip and Vivian Rutledge respectively. It garnered over $3 million at the box office.

Is the screenplay online? And how has it changed compared to the original script?

The screenplay is available online. And, much changes have been made on the early draft with instances of inclusion and omission of some events and scenes in the film thus making it less misogynistic. More details found here: http://www.aellea.com/script/bigsleep.txtFor instance, the character of Vivian, Sternwood's elder daughter is altered in the film. She is made to appear more sympathetic, yet a crucial character in the film than in the novel.

How did the film fare among the critics?

Despite lacking metacritic reviews, the film was rated excellent garnering a score of 8.0 out of 10 among a total polling sample of 69,817 people. In addition, the film won various awards such as the Winner of the National Film Preservation Board, USA 1997 and the online film and television association in 2017 inducting it in the OFTA Film Hall of Fame. The following site shows the imdb rating: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038355/?ref_=ttcrv_crv_ttProvide a critical interpretation of the film and novel

A careful interpretation of both the film and novel, "The Big Sleep," one realizes that the adaptation process has altered some of its thematic concerns through omission and expansion.

What are some of the adaptation techniques used in the making of the film from the novel?

Elements of adaptation such as expansion and omission have been used extensively in making the film adaptation from a literal text successful (Hawk et al., 1946; Desmond, 2006). And, this is evident in the cases where some cinematic techniques such as superimposition have been applied. After reading both the novel and watching the film, one does not fail to notice the use of superimposition as an adaptation strategy as discussed by Leitch. According to Leitch, the film uses the superimposition of specific cinematographic readings over the literal media (Griffin, 2010). This results to the creation of entropic representation strategies. What this clearly implies is that the interpretation by Hawk acts not as a substitute for Chandler's book but serves to develop the readings that would not have appeared clearly in the novel as in the movie. And, this element of superimposition revolves around the possible guilt faced by Marlowe which would not have emerged clearly in the novel. How does the adaptation of the film "The Big Sleep" from the novel affirm the theories of adaptation discussed by Leitch?

Based on the theories of adaptation, explained by Leitch, "The Big Sleep" film integrates expansion and omission. In this case, different ideas are included in the film, which were not part of the novel by Chandler. And, this helps in advancing the ideas of the script writer and the director through the cinema. In addition, there is the element of omission of some scenes in the film, which helped in overcoming the challenges of producing a lengthy film. Superimposition has played a crucial part in helping to depict some themes and scenes that would not have come out clearly in the novel as in the film. A good example is the case of Marlowe's probable guilt, which was not eminent in the literal text than in the film.

What are your personal remarks about the film and novel 'The Big Sleep," as far as the adaptation process is concerned?

A careful analysis of the film and reading of the text, it is evident that the adaptation process has altered it together with the thematic concerns addressed in the film. By omitting some scenes and including others during the adaptation process, there is a change in some thematic concerns such as making the film less misogynistic compared to the novel "The Big Sleep."

What are your two discussion questions?

What are the elements of adaptations in "The Big Sleep" film?

How have the omissions and changes affected the thematic concerns of the film "The Big Sleep?

What are some of the issues/Points you plan to include in your presentation?

Based on the theories of adaptation, explained by Leitch, "The Big Sleep" film integrates expansion and omission. In this case, different ideas are included in the film, which were not part of the novel by Chandler. And, this helps in advancing the ideas of the script writer and the director through the cinema. In addition, there is the omission of some scenes in the film, which helped in overcoming the challenges of producing a lengthy film.

Omitting and creating changes in the script to fit into the film may emphasize or overlook at some of the issues that were in the original novel or book. And, this has an impact on the themes addressed in the resultant work. In the film "The Big Sleep," the changes and omissions made during adaptation result in a less misogynistic and less despairing film compared to the novel.

References

Desmond, J. M., & Hawkes, P. J. (2006). Adaptation: Studying Film and Literature. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Griffin, S. M. (2010). Thomas Leitch, Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind to The Passion of Christ.

Hawks, H., Chandler, R., Bogart, H., Bacall, L., & Malone, D. (1946). The big sleep. Warner Brothers.

T.M.P. (1947, January 24). www.nytimes.com. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C04E3DE123EEE3BBC4C51DFB766838C659EDE