Mitchum is too old and Richards'' direction is too cautious, but the cinematography is lovely and the story still holds together after all these years. Rampling--as always--is incredibly sexy.

Doesn't veer too far from the classic formula, making it a closer relative to Chinatown than The Long Goodbye. It's not quite as earthshattering as those two, but then again few movies are. Mitchum could do this stuff in his sleep (and kind of looks like he does at times) but the screenplay calls for extreme world weariness and nobody did that like him. On a more personal note, Charlotte Rampling can walk around on my genitals in high heels any day.

Mitchum was made for this.

There's nothing too amazing here, but it's all very cool and fun to watch.

The conservative side of neo-noir. An adaptation of Raymond Chandler containing every conceivable hallmark (or cliche) of the genre, it pales in comparison to the strikingly original Chinatown. Still, traditionally speaking, this is the real deal, twisty plot and dusty wry humor and all. It's good, wholesome fun, and the charismatic Robert Mitchum is perfect as Philip Marlowe.

Quite unexpectedly, the best iteration of Raymond Chandler on film. Good period detail, follows the book closely but for a couple of seedy elements tossed in to get the R rating, and Robert Mitchum is the best Phillip Marlowe ever.

My favorite detective story on film

A pretty sharp remake of the 1944 movie, with the plot slightly rewritten but tightened, and an excellent performance from a rather over-age star.