True Confessions (1981)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ulu Grosbard

Writers:

John Gregory Dunne (novel)
John Gregory Dunne (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 October 1981 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

De Niro (a Catholic Priest) and Duvall (a Homicide Detective) play brothers drawn together after many years apart...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Priest | Detective | Black Dahlia | Neo Noir

Awards:

1 win

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 23

8:00 AM

MAX

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Father Des Spellacy (as Robert DeNiro)
Robert Duvall	...	Det. Tom Spellacy
Charles Durning	...	Jack Amsterdam
Kenneth McMillan	...	Frank Crotty
Ed Flanders	...	Dan T. Campion
Cyril Cusack	...	Cardinal Danaher
Burgess Meredith	...	Msgr. Seamus Fargo
Rose Gregorio	...	Brenda Samuels
Dan Hedaya	...	Howard Terkel
Gwen Van Dam	...	Mrs. Fazenda
Thomas Hill	...	Mr. Fazenda (as Tom Hill)
Jeanette Nolan	...	Mrs. Spellacy
Jorge Cervera Jr.	...	Eduardo Duarte
Susan Myers	...	Bride
Louisa Moritz	...	Whore

Runtime:

108 min | Spain:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

During the filming of the movie, Robert De Niro was once quoted as saying, "If we get through one shot before lunch or one day of shooting were considered ourselves lucky."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the beginning, the deceased man lying in the bed can be seen in several shots breathing.

Quotes:

Tom Spellacy: [arrives at a nursing home to visit his mother] Mrs. Phil Spellacy, please. I know the way.
Older Nun: You'll have to wait. She's receiving communion.
Tom Spellacy: [pushing past the nun] May all your sons be Jesuits, Sister.

Movie Connections:

Version of Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Memories of You

Extraordinary acting

I recently pulled out my old copy of True Confessions and watched it again. The thing that struck me the most was the incredible display of extraordinary acting by so many of the actors. DeNiro and Duvall are simply mesmerizing. The supporting cast - Burgess Meredith, Cyril Cusack and Rose Gregorio - are as good as any supporting cast in any movie. The film has mood and texture, and evokes the Los Angeles of the late 1940's in brilliant detail.

John Gregory Dunne has used the real life Black Dahlia murder of 1947 to weave a complex story of corruption in the Catholic Church and the LAPD. A very underrated film.