Product Description

Three police detectives each use their own approach to find the truth behind a group murder.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 7-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2116 in DVD
• Brand: SPACEY,KEVIN
• Released on: 1998-04-21
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 138 minutes

Amazon.com
In a time when it seems that every other movie makes some claim to being a film noir, L.A. Confidential is the real thing--a gritty, sordid tale of sex, scandal, betrayal, and corruption of all sorts (police, political, press--and, of course, very personal) in 1940s Hollywood. The Oscar-winning screenplay is actually based on several titles in James Ellroy's series of chronological thriller novels (including the title volume, The Big Nowhere, and White Jazz)--a compelling blend of L.A. history and pulp fiction that has earned it comparisons to the greatest of all Technicolor noir films, Chinatown. Kim Basinger richly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a conflicted femme fatale; unfortunately, her male costars are so uniformly fine that they may have canceled each other out with the Academy voters: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell play LAPD officers of varying stripes. Pearce's character is a particularly intriguing study in Hollywood amorality and ambition, a strait-laced "hero" (and son of a departmental legend) whose career goals outweigh all other moral, ethical, and legal considerations. If he's a good guy, it's only because he sees it as the quickest route to a promotion. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Intriguing
An interesting and unique noir thriller that kept me watching until the very end. I thought it to be a perfect picture of the novel, some changes here and there, but still wonderful, and definitely worth the buy, something every noir film lover should have. Every one a fan of dectective films as well will love this movie.

Keven Spacey, Kim Bassinger, Russel Crowe emblazon the scenes as hard nosed and wise cracking and defiant leads and immaculate skill as actors, they embody their characters, and empower the film in the process. Guy Pearce as the straight laced cop is excellent and though flat and sometimes predictable, he definitely makes good with what he has. Danny Devito was born to play the Sleazy Entertainer Tabloid Journalist willing to do anything for a story, the paparazzi of the fifties. This was was certaintly a masterpiece, a work of unique and entertaining genuis... BUY IT NOW.

Read The Book
I cannot stress enough to avoid this movie like the plague. I used to think it was a masterful piece of cinema. Then I read the book and everything changed. My problems with this movie are the same as any other Ellroy book to movie adaptations - stories and characters are rewritten without any consideration for how it affects the overall piece, casting is done without reading the characters descriptions, and the angst and misery of the main characters is never properly conveyed. Hopefully White Jazz can break the cycle, though I have very little hope.

"Just the facts, Jack! Just the facts!"
Damn you Titanic! Had it not been for that sinking ship, Oscar would have gone to bed with L.A. Confidential!

I'm no noir aficionado, let alone a lover of cop flicks, but this one, THIS one, I absolutely adore. I bought it on VHS when it came out and would watch every now and then. Though it was senior year in high school, seven years ago, that I was constantly watching "L.A. Confidential" over and over again. I was wearing out my VHS copy! I just couldn't get enough. I was so impressed with it (I still am). The writing, the directing, the acting, the production design, cinemaphotography, the music, the finale; everything was so flawless! Who doesn't love these characters: "Shotgun" Ed, Officer Bud White, Jack Vincennes, Lynn Bracken, and Captain Dudley?
This is definitely director, Curtis Hanson's masterpiece (forget "Lucky You" already!).

"L.A. Confidential" ranks with the best of the best. It's one of my favorite films of all time. It's simply fantastic!