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Saturday 27 April 2013

The Big Sleep (1978)

Robert Mitchum's second outing as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe was poorly received at time of release, but that doesn't stop me loving it.
Director Winner transposed events from California to London and updated it to a modern setting. I think it works. It shows that Noir storytelling can be effective even when bastardised by a pompous Brit. It's also much more graphic than the earlier Howard Hawks version.
Mitchum's intensity is restrained but his methodological effectiveness isn't; he's no time for fools and he makes every word count.

4 long drives out of 5

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“Where we’re going, we don’t need ________”
A) Mom’s permission. B) Roads. C) Pants.