This week, we are walking the beat with Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) and Shane Black’s The Nice Guys (2016).

These films represent two sides of the same tarnished coin. We look at Philip Marlowe as a relic of a moral code that simply does not apply to the world anymore. In The Long Goodbye, Marlowe is a ghost in his own life, stumbling through a cynical, hazy L.A. that has no room for his brand of loyalty. Contrast that with The Nice Guys, where our leads are trying to affect change against an overwhelming tide of corporate and political corruption, only to realize the deck is stacked against them.

It is a double feature about the failure of the private eye archetype. Whether it is the nihilistic malaise of the 70s or the frantic comedy of a modern action-noir, both films suggest that the truth does not set you free, it just makes you tired.

🎬 Movies Discussed

The Long Goodbye (1973, Dir. Robert Altman)

The Nice Guys (2016, Dir. Shane Black)

🕰️ Chapters

0:00 Intro

0:45 "95 KFM Home of PhantasmaCast"/Shane Black and Other Musings

10:19 The Long Goodbye

41:55 The Nice Guys

1:10:46 Outro or "Never Trust a Billionaire"

📀 Physical Media Shoutouts @KinoLorber and @WarnerArchive

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☝️ Does Philip Marlowe work better as a ghost in the machine or as a bumbling fixer trying to stay afloat? Let us know in the comments.

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