L.A. Confidential Movie Review 1997

Hard-boiled, complicated crime drama based on James Ellroy's even more complex novel. Fifties Hollywood is ripe with corruption in many forms--politics, police, business, gangsters, racial tensions, and journalistic sleaze in the persona of Sid Hudgens (DeVito), editor of tabloid rag Hush-Hush. Sid's police contact is celebrity Sgt. Jack Vincennes (Spacey), who serves as an advisor to a TV cop show (think "Dragnet"). There's a bloodbath murder case that involves brutal-yet-tender cop Bud White (Crowe); the ruthlessly ambitious, college-educated neophyte Ed Exley (Pearce); and their veteran boss, Capt. Dudley Smith (Cromwell). There's also wealthy pimp/businessman Pierce Patchett (Strathairn) and his movie-star look-alike hookers, including world-weary Lynn (Basinger), who gets involved with Bud, who... Well, lets just say that Hanson does a masterful job tying up all the loose ends and still leaving you wanting more.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 136 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Mystery & Suspense, Contemporary Noir, Period Piece: 1950s, L.A., Cops, Books to Film: James Ellroy, Oldest Profession, Front Page, Behind the Scenes, Rogue Cops

Screenplay

Curtis Hanson, Brian Helgeland

Cast

Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger, James Cromwell, David Strathairn, Ron Rifkin, Graham Beckel, Matt McCoy, Simon Baker, Paul Guilfoyle, Amber Smith, John Mahon, Paolo Seganti, Gwenda Deacon

Cinematography

Dante Spinotti

Director

Curtis Hanson

Music

Jerry Goldsmith

Producer

Arnon Milchan, Michael Nathanson, Curtis Hanson, David L. Wolper, Dan Kolsrud, New Regency Pictures, Warner Bros.

Awards

Oscars 1997: Adapt. Screenplay, Support. Actress (Basinger); Australian Film Inst. 1998: Foreign Film; British Acad. 1997: Film Editing, Sound; Golden Globes 1998: Support. Actress (Basinger); L.A. Film Critics 1997: Cinematog., Director (Hanson), Film, Screenplay; Natl. Bd. of Review 1997: Director (Hanson), Film; N.Y. Film Critics 1997: Director (Hanson), Film, Screenplay; Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1997: Director (Hanson), Film, Screenplay; Screen Actors Guild 1997: Support. Actress (Basinger); Writers Guild 1997: Adapt. Screenplay; Broadcast Film Critics 1997: Adapt. Screenplay, Film.