The Long Goodbye: for the most part, an interesting if somewhat offbeat re-imagining of the story. It’s a convoluted story as only Raymond Chandler (and Ross Macdonald as well as a few others, but who is counting?) could tell, but some of it is lost in the translation. The general tone and pace are justified, but the central character became less clear in the process. Of course, almost everything directed by Robert Altman deserves a visit.

(As a sidenote: I realize that I said myself not too long ago that comparing a film to a book is a futile exercise; in this case, both are a product of their own times. I have, however, a long story with the book, which may have clouded my opinion that the story was not as well told as it could be in the film.)