The Long Goodbye (1973)

Altman turns Chandler's story into a high-flying, whirling sideshow that kisses off the private-eye genre with vitality and originality; Gould gives a loose, woolly performance as the gallant fool in a corrupt world.

Altman and Elliott Gould successfully transport Philip Marlowe to the 1970s as an original, eccentric character; the film is richly complex and entertaining with inventive details and strong performances.

Altman's hard-boiled noir is an ambitious and artful reinvention of Chandler, boosted by the inspired shift to 1970s Los Angeles and Elliott Gould's discomfited Marlowe.

The critic calls this one of the most intelligent screen adaptations of Chandler’s work, alongside Hawks’ The Big Sleep. Altman’s ironic updating of the story and characters is singled out for praise, along with the steely camerawork, script and performances, making it one of the finest films of the 1970s.

The piece praises Altman’s revisionist take on the hard-boiled genre, highlighting how Marlowe’s outdated moral code clashes with 1970s LA society and how the director uses visuals, casting and the famous ending to satirise Hollywood and the detective mythos.

Altman's 1973 film is a chilly, elegant and deliberately heartless masterpiece that relocates Chandler's story to the 1970s and exposes the era's decadence and amorality.

The critic describes Altman's free-form adaptation as a subtle critique of Marlowe, with Elliott Gould as a shambling loser. It highlights astonishing individual sequences including the cat scene, a violent confrontation, and a cynical ending.

In Altman's sun-drenched L.A., Marlowe is an anachronism in a casual, corrupt world; Gould's mumbling performance and the fluid camerawork emphasize the detective's resilience amid moral decay. The film captures the era's earth tones and rot while affirming a hard core of honor.

The critic calls it a subtle Seventies update of the Chandler story, with Gould's laid-back style suiting the mysterious events. It notes Marlowe's moral tenacity and highlights the hilarious classic opening sequence with the cat.

Altman's film is an act of revisionism and parody of neo-noir, deconstructing the genre through Marlowe's dislocation in 1970s California. The anachronistic detective and Gould's mumbling performance highlight cultural shifts while retaining core noir tenets of betrayal.

The critic calls the film as witty as any movie ever made, praising its resourceful scenes and Elliott Gould's relaxed, likeable performance as Marlowe. Some careless plotting prevents the drama from fully cohering, but the affectionate genre deconstruction and strong cast stand out.