Explore Film Adaptation by Examining The Long Goodbye
By all accounts, Robert Altmans adaptation of Raymond Chandlers The Long Goodbye is a deliberate departure from the novel, not a faithful adaptation with strict fidelity to its source. The article, Adaptation by Robert Merrill discusses the extremely divided and diverse critical responses to the 1973 film. Some some critics call it a travesty but others point out how the film is essentially faithful to the spirit of Chandler and an example of how adaptation may work best when it does not strive to be very literal or even, in some senses of the word, very faithful.
Write an essay about The Long Goodbye as an adaptation of the novel in relation to this quotation: A successful adaptation balances the comfort of ritual and recognition with the delight of surprise and novelty, not only carrying the aura with it, but contributing to its continual expansion.
