THE BIG SLEEP (PRE-RELEASE VERSION)
12:30 ONLY
Saturday, December 13
Starring HUMPHREY BOGART and LAUREN BACALL
(1945, Howard Hawks) Unseen until its debut at Film Forum in 1988, this version, restored from a nitrate fine grain negative, is significantly different and includes eighteen minutes of footage that would wind up on the cutting room floor. Followed by a mini-doc, with archivist Robert Gitt comparing the two versions side by side. Approx. 116 min. 35mm.
35mm restored print courtesy UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Reviews
“ONE OF THE GREAT FILM NOIRS, A BLACK-AND-WHITE SYMPHONY which exactly reproduces Chandler's tone of voice that keeps its distance, and yet is wry and humorous and cares.”
– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“AN UNSENTIMENTAL, SURREALIST EXCITEMENT… about all which there is a fantastic quality. Witty and sinister, and in an odd way is a realistic portrayal of big-city life with Arabian Nights overtones.”
– Manny Farber, The New Republic
“By far the best Raymond Chandler adaptation.”
– Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader