Philip Marlowe, Private Eye Collection [VHS]
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VHS Movie Reviews of Philip Marlowe, Private Eye Collection [VHS]
Movie Review: Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this series on HBO many years ago. I had some episodes taped on VHS but they started to degrade. This DVD set is a wonderful replacement. It's still fun to watch them once or twice a year. Most DVD's are watched once and reside on a shelf until the owner dies. Not this set!Movie Review: Philip Marlowe Private Eye
Summary: 5 Stars
I especially like this product because these are actual Raymond Chandler stories. I have read them once but I plan to read each one again and compare them with this production. I'm sure they will be close.Movie Review: Get this and get it straight! Crime is a suckers road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison or the grave!
Summary: 5 Stars
I LOVE this series! I accidentally clicked across an episode on PBS one night and was stunned by its accuracy and quality! I watched all the episodes PBS showed but when I went to find it on DVD I discovered that it had been discontinued by the distributor! I quickly ordered one I had found on Amazon.com and when it arrived I immediately put it into the player and started running through the episodes. Just like any other series some episodes are better than others, but there isn't a single episode I don't like.
I am utterly impressed by the production values of this series! Everything from the look and feel of the visuals to the sets and locations to the acting and actors to the music is true to the genre and period and to Raymond Chandler's books!
I started out as a fan of Chandler's books, as well as stories of others of the genre such as Sam Spade, Bulldog Drummond and Johnny Dollar. Then I began collecting hundreds of the late 1940's and 50's radio shows called "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe", which although are loose interpretations of Chandler's stories, I fell in love with never the less. Then I found this HBO T.V. series! I didn't think that anyone would ever be able to equal the acting of Gerald Mohr's portrayal of Philip Marlowe in the radio series, but actor Powers Boothe who portrays Marlowe in this DVD series changed my mind! He is perfect for the role! He brings all the swagger, toughness, sex appeal and period behaviorisms to the role in full measure. I haven't been impressed by much else that I have seen of Powers Boothe's work, but if this series is any indication he is a much better actor than I ever thought. Everything about this series takes you back to that time period and puts you right there along with Philip Marlowe. The stories are gripping and suspenseful. One of the nice things about Chandler's "Marlowe" is that he is a flawed, almost anti-hero. He loses many battles but usually wins the war and he isn't afraid to bend if not break the rules a little to get to the truth. He gets his mouth busted a lot but gives back just as good. Yeah, he always falls a bit for the girl, and there is ALWAYS a girl, but in the end, Marlowe is street and life wise enough to know when to send the girl packing. His girls are almost always damaged or slightly dangerous. He is a knight in tarnished armor who rarely ever comes out too far on top, especially when it comes to money. But he always wins the war of right and wrong and makes crime a harder business for the criminals.
This set has all 11 episodes made for the series. This series was made when HBO was still producing some great TV and made-for-cable movies! HBO had a lot of money at the time, and it shows. It was well spent on great sets, locations, costumes and cars and some great period acting, especially by it's star, Powers Boothe. The series has two different opening and closing credit sequences which basically cut the series in two, the first five episodes being created in 1983 and the last six in 1986. The first credits sequence was a bit more "in your face" with screeching horn music, gangster silhouettes firing Tommy Guns and very stylized images of Philip Marlowe loading and firing his revolver. The second credits sequence is much more subdued and fit's the genre better in my opinion. It has a simple shadowed background and much softer but sexier horn music. It makes one imagine Philip Marlowe sitting in a night club, sipping a scotch and smoking a cigarette while staring at a dame from across the room. What is in between the opening and closing credits is even better!
I am thrilled to have been able to get one of these sets before they are impossible to get! I suggest to anyone who is a fan of the 30's & 40's detective story genre, in particular of Philip Marlowe, that they get this set while they can too! It is an amazing series and at an incredibly reasonable price. Don't miss your chance to own this set! I hope the studio will re-release this series in the future but you never know for sure!
Movie Review: Continental Op needs this type of love!
Summary: 5 Stars
The 3 DVD, 11 episode set of Philip Marlowe Private Eye is a very sweet collection of adaptations from Chandler's short stories. Personally I prefer both Chandler and Dashiell Hammett in short story form and so found this to be an enjoyable series.
A problem with adapting a short story to movie length is filling the time slot. This is a slippery slope as seen with 2002's NO GOOD DEED (A House In Turk Street) which devolved so far away from the original story that it was unrecognizable. So keeping to a 1 hour or less format is perfect for the shorts.
As with the TV production of Hammett's "The Dain Curse", the Marlowe series does suffer from the type of flat lighting that was typical of the late 70s and early 80s. I think a part of the appeal of watching an adaptation of a hard-boiled story is seeing it lit in a "noir" atmosphere, using light and shadow to add texture to the storytelling. A later Noir/Hard-boiled series on HBO called FALLEN ANGELS did a great job with the lighting and settings.
But aside from the bland lighting, the stories are told in a terse and entertaining style. Powers Booth makes for a good Marlowe, (though in the earlier episodes his hat is too small for his head!).
Movie Review: Trouble is My Business
Summary: 5 Stars
A series that ran on HBO in 5 episodes in 1983 and an additional 6 in 1986, it is probably the best adaption of Raymond Chandler's world weary private eye of them all. Boothe is terrific. The first season the titles are by the renowned Maurice Binder (who did all the best James Bond credits) and many directed by Peter Hunt (Bond film editor and the director of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE). The second season has new people behind the scenes and new music but there is still Boothe as Marlowe.