70s Rewind: THE NICE GUYS 70s Retro Trailer Compared With Real 70s Trailers

Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye is probably the most notable comparison point. Released -- more than once, if I recall correctly -- in 1973, it starred Elliott Gould as Phillip Marlowe and definitely stands up to repeat viewings. It also reminds me why my father warned me to never go to Hollywood.

The previous year, Hickey and Boggs followed private detectives Bill Cosby and Robert Culp in Los Angeles. It's a down and dirty picture, written by the great Walter Hill and directed by Culp. It's not the most dynamic movie, but I love the harsh textures and gritty view of the city. The trailer hints at what lies ahead.

"I'm coming to get your honky ass." OK, I've never seen this movie, but this trailer makes me want to see immediately. Robert Hooks stars as "a combination pool shark, private detective, and all-purpose ghetto fixer who operates out of a billiards parlor in South Central Los Angeles," per Wikipedia.

In 1972, The New Centurions presented an unexpected view of the Los Angeles Police Department, based on (former cop) Joseph Wambaugh's terrific novel. George C. Scott mapped out 'cop with great reputation but questionable methods' 30 years before Denzel Washington in Training Day. Richard Fleischer directed.

Frankly, the location shooting in the Florida Keys stands out more in my memory, but Los Angeles is the home base of private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman). Before Harry leaves town in search of a missing teenager, he must deal with certain L.A. types, like James Woods.

This 30-second TV spot doesn't quite suggest the full extent of the depravity that George C. Scott encounters as he searches for his daughter in the dark and dangerous porn world of 1979. Paul Schrader wrote and directed. Scott may not be an actual detective, but that's what he starts doing after the film's private detective (Peter Boyle) turns up disturbing evidence

Just as a final comparison point, Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel is set in 1970 Los Angeles.

The Nice Guys opens in U.S. theaters on May 20.