Big Sleep: Extended Cut, The

I watched the 1945 cut and not the 1946 cut recently with the idea of making an extended edition. Then along comes ParanoidAndroid and saves me the trouble. I would not change a single thing he has done with this edit. A great job was done on this. The 1945 footage is not quite as sharp but it is more than good enough not to be distracting and the plot is much easier to follow with the reinstated scenes which never should have been cut in my opinion.

I love the original novel and I've always been a fan of Bogart, but I'm probably going to be one of the extremely few to review this who has only seen the pre-release 1945 cut and NOT the far more well-known 1946 theatrical cut (due to, for reasons I have never quite determined, the Humphrey Bogart Essential Collection DVD set that I purchased only including the 1945 cut and not the 1946 cut). Fantastic! I understand the more famous 1946 cut is infamously confusing for audiences, an issue the 1945 cut doesn't have, and looking over the cut list to see which scenes you were taking from the one cut to insert in the other actually left my jaw dropped - how could anyone have understood what was going on without the DA scene or the scene with the sister breaking into Marlowe's apartment? Those are key to the whole story!

For me, it's the new (to me) reshoot scenes giving more screentime to Bacall that really makes this shine including that incredible scene in the restaurant. Just a great film and this edit is highly recommended! You really did a great job integrating the two cuts together, and this will absolutely be the cut I show people in the future.

A fascinating watch.

I have watched the original THE BIG SLEEP many times over the years and it never loses it's magic.

But this is the first time I have ever watched the deleted material and while it does not change the plot or I would argue even improve the story, it does add more clarity. The newly inserted District Attorney scene in particular goes a long way untangling the complex mystery for the audience.

All the re-inserted scenes are fairly well inserted. The audio work is excellent; only the minor difference in video quality hints that a scene may not be from the original version. But this did not detract from my enjoyment.

A must watch for Noir Fans.

Loved the original and now with this version i Love this movie even more. The transfer Looks great and seamless changes this edit just adds to the story - i think the original is a little too ambiguous as to the plot.