modern remakes

[waider]

I've recently reread Chandler's The Big Sleep, and watched both the Bogart and Mitchum film versions (the Bogart movie is better, but the Mitchum version sticks closer to the original plot, with the minor exception of relocating the whole thing to England). And I started wondering who you'd cast in a modern remake, notwithstanding the comment I saw recently that The Big Lebowski is loosely based on the same plot. I am thinking, perhaps coloured by his performance in Blade Runner, that Harrison Ford would have made an excellent Marlowe at some point in the 90s, but maybe not so much now. Johnny Depp might be able to carry it off, although I don't think he's quite worn-looking enough. Geoffrey Rush, on the other hand, is probably too worn-looking. James Caan did a good enough version in Poodle Springs in 1998, but his Marlowe was deliberately an older version since some of that movie is about how times have moved on past the character. I'm not going to canvas for further suggestions here, but I do think it's an interesting question.

Comments

[dr-strych9.livejournal.com]

It's a pointless exercise to imagine who might be cast in the role of Marlowe in a contemporary remake of The Big Sleep as long as George Clooney is still working. In fact, it's possible, with CGI, that Hollywood might still cast him as Marlowe after he's dead.

Note: don't make the mistake of reading my comment as enthusiasm for the prospect of Clooney as Marlowe. I just think Hollywood won't think it through— they'll just choose the obvious candidate for an actor to take a role that had previously been owned by Humphrey Bogart.

[zadcat.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen the Mitchum, but Chandler's work was so steeped in California that it's difficult to see why anyone thought relocating the plot to England (with a cast including both UK and US actors) made any sense.

Riffling through the IMDB I see there was a 1947 Lady in the Lake with some actor called Robert Montgomery (whom I don't think I've seen in anything, so I can't picture him in the role). It was a bit of a tour de force with the camera work mostly done from the viewpoint of Marlowe. This might be findable.

I don't imagine this version of The High Window is findable now, with George Montgomery, who seems to have made his career in westerns. But I always did like The Little Sister as a book. It was filmed in 1969 as Marlowe, with James Garner, not a bad choice for the era – and with Bruce Lee in it!

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I thought of Clooney, too (and i think he'd do a good job), but he'd be in the same boat as Depp: not worn enough (unless he wants to look like he did in "Syriana", which i doubt). I'll go with my standard answer: Jeff Bridges.

[dr-strych9.livejournal.com]

Well, if I was granted the sole decision-making power, I'd probably choose Lawrence Fishburn.