What makes this detective film with bizarre twists and turns and so many clues that it is said that even the original author Chandler himself sometimes cannot tell the causal relationship of certain events will be included in the world of film masterpieces and become any movie. What are the mandatory entries in the encyclopedia? The answer is: the witty, concise and sharp lines of the screenwriter headed by the famous American writer William Faulkner, the highly cinematic narrative structure of director Howard Hawkes and the individualized director style, and A wonderful performance by Humphrey Bogart. Editing, directing, and acting are all three, and a noir film that would have been mediocre has gained artistic life.
In Hollywood in the mid-1940s, the big studio system still prevailed. Producer Howard Hawks, who is a screenwriter and is good at directing art, is likely to select the best talents from Warner Bros. to form his crew, and break that detective films can only be low-cost "B" films. As usual, "Sleeping" was upgraded to a high-cost "A" film. It is unusual for Hawkes to invite Faulkner to write the script. Faulkner was already a top American writer at the time, and his literary talent greatly enhanced the lines of "Sleeping". Hawkes has always admired Faulkner’s ability to write films. He said, “(Faukner) is creative in character portraying, tastes elegant, and has extraordinary ability, and he can embody these characteristics on the screen through visible imagination. He is smart, helpful, and a master who is proficient in his profession and can do it freely.” In "Sleep", Maro is a poor private investigator, who is arrogant and lustful towards the broad (represented by Vivian) He hates and hates him. His only weapon is to use his intellectual superiority. With his profound insight, clever judgment and amazing reasoning ability, his opponent who attempts to overwhelm him by showing off his wealth will always be at a spiritual disadvantage, and finally he has to worship him. At the feet. In this battle, language must play a major role. Every word he uttered in a mocking tone was like a sharp dagger piercing the opponent's heart, making the opponent unable to fight back. The few verbal confrontations between Maro and Vivian and Mars were brilliant in terms of language.
From the perspective of the director's art, "Sleep" is one of the films in which Hawkes' style characteristics are most fully revealed. Hawkes is a master director who is good at shooting various types of films. He has set up exemplary works for various types. For example, the western film "Red River" (1948), "Rivo Bravo" (1959), the gangster film "Scarface" (1932), the comedy "Nursing Story" (1938), the news report film "He "Freddy" (1940), science fiction film "Foreign Object" (1951), musical "Gentleman Loves Blonde Girl" (1953), racing film "The Roar of the Crowd" (1964), air combat film "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939) and so on. "Sleep" is recognized as a classic of the Hollywood detective film genre.
Hawkes' films, no matter what kind of genre they are, have certain stylistic features that make everyone aware of Hawkes' works. "Sleep" is no exception. In a nutshell, these style characteristics are: First, the narrative structure is exquisite and symmetrical, which reflects Hawkes' strong narrative awareness, that is, always taking good storytelling as the chief responsibility of the director. This also prompted him to pay attention to looking for outstanding screenwriters. Among them, William Faulkner, Ben Herqut and Jules Furthman were the ones who worked closely with him. "Sleep" is full of mysteries, blurry and convoluted, and several action clues go forward at the same time. If the narrative is not well organized, the audience will fall into the fog of Wuli and lose interest. Hawkes adopts a first-person subjective narrative structure. The film will always only let the audience know as many things as Maro, so that the process of understanding the case between the two has always been in a synchronized state. Maro's super talent seems to have made the audience extremely smart, which is undoubtedly a wonderful way to win the audience's hearts without changing his mind. 2. The protagonist is always someone who is proficient in the business and loyal to his duties, and this kind of fanatical professional behavior is always completed by the combination of two characters who are obviously different in shape but are closely connected in spirit: a better one. The combination of an old, more stubborn man and a younger, weaker man, or a combination of a shrewd and powerful man and an equally shrewd and powerful woman ("Sleep" belongs to the latter). Hawkes emphasized the power of two different characters to communicate spiritually, which is obviously aimed at the myth that the most common lone hero in Hollywood movies fights the world alone. Without Vivian's stimulation and support, Maro would not be able to accomplish his "heroic performance." 3. The characters speak concisely, they never say their thoughts and feelings, but reflect their thoughts in concrete and visible actions. This is undoubtedly very consistent with the characteristics of film performance. In "Sleep", Maro never announced his plan of action, preventing others from knowing the purpose of his actions. He only "pointed out" without "commenting", only "summarizing" without "forecasting." When the protagonist's heart is in a state of turmoil, Hawkes is accustomed to expressing it with two almost programmed movements: nervously flicking a coin with his finger or lighting a cigarette. Maro hasn't flicked a coin, but he lit cigarettes smartly or nervously many times. This seemingly ordinary life action is actually carefully designed.
The actors in "Sleeping" are a couple off-screen: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The difference is that Bogart was already Hollywood's ace star when he starred in "Sleeping", while Bakauer was only on the screen for the second time, and he has not been noticed by the audience. As a genre actor, Bogart is a "tough guy" fascinated by hundreds of millions of movie audiences-he is cold on the surface and emotional in his heart, often full of stubble, dressed casually but without losing his chic demeanor, showing heroism in his ruggedness, taciturn and speaking. It must be amazing, aloof and arrogant, full of self-confidence, strong sense of personal dignity, and vicious means of revenge... a so-called man who "is so hateful that he wants to kill him but can't help but love him". This character, which Western film critics called the "anti-hero typical", made his first appearance in "They Drive in the Dark" (1940), began to mature in "Malta Eagle", and became perfect in "Casablanca". In "Sleep", this character began to be romanticized. Bogart’s image of a tough guy is truly created with the audience, because after each performance, Warner Bros. Pictures will investigate their impressions of the role extensively. The unpopular edges and corners are flattened, and the popular personality is The characteristics are highlighted, and even the details of dressing, speech and behavior are also being improved. After the release of "Sleep", the audience did not respond well to the romantic colors of the tough guys. Bogarh has since lost the right to fall in love on the screen, so that even in a love festival film like "African Queen" (1951), romance The main theme is also replaced by humor. In 1957, Bogart died of esophageal cancer, but his idol in the eyes of the audience still stands. In the 1960s, Bogart revived a wave of "Bogart fever", which is also very rare in Hollywood.
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