L.A. Confidential (1997)

As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - the straight-laced, the brutal, and the sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writers:

James Ellroy (novel), Brian Helgeland (screenplay),

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce

Top 250 #82 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 77 wins & 48 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Jack Vincennes
Russell Crowe	...	Wendell 'Bud' White
Guy Pearce	...	Edmund J. Exley
James Cromwell	...	Dudley Smith
Kim Basinger	...	Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito	...	Sid Hudgens
David Strathairn	...	Pierce Morehouse Patchett
Ron Rifkin	...	D.A. Ellis Loew
Matt McCoy	...	'Badge of Honor' Star Brett Chase
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Mickey Cohen
Paolo Seganti	...	Johnny Stompanato
Elisabeth Granli	...	Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Sandra Taylor	...	Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Steve Rankin	...	Officer Arresting Mickey Cohen
Graham Beckel	...	Dick Stensland

Storyline

1950's Los Angeles is the seedy backdrop for this intricate noir-ish tale of police corruption and Hollywood sleaze. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style: Ed Exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out; Bud White, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence under control; and Jack Vincennes, always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join Exley and White down the one-way path to find the truth behind the dark world of L.A. crime.

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Plot Keywords:

police | 1950s | corruption | murder | violence | 

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Taglines:

It's a crime saga that will shock you. It's a mystery that will keep you guessing. It's a thriller that will keep you riveted.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los Ángeles al desnudo

Filming Locations:

1277 S. Cochran Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£112,543 (UK) (2 January 1998)

Gross:

$64,604,977 (USA) (29 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, Wolper Organization, The, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The photos seen during the vice squad briefing were copies of photos taken by fetish artist John Willie during his L.A. period. One of his models was murdered by a serial killer and was mentioned in James Ellroy's My Dark Places.

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Goofs

When we see the kidnapper of Inez Soto watching TV just before White sneaks up on him and shoots him, the carton of milk on the coffee table is of today's "fold-open top" design, which was not invented until well after the early 1950s.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sid Hudgens: [voiceover] Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside every house, a happy, all-American family. You can have all this, and who knows... you could even be discovered, become a movie star... or at least see one. Life is good in Los Angeles... it's paradise on Earth." Ha ha ha ha. That's what they ...

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Crazy Credits

At the end of all the credits, there is a brief scene from "Badge of Honor" featuring a dedication.

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Connections

Referenced in L.A. Noire (2011)

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Soundtracks

"At Last"
(1941)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Performed by Chet Baker and The Lighthouse All-Stars
Courtesy of Contemporary Records/Fantasy, Inc.

User Reviews

Great Detective Movie

L.A. Confidential is the most classy, intriguing, thought provoking and sexiest detective movie ever to be made in the history of detective films.

When you look back at it and see that Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce actually appeared in the same film back in 97 then you wouldn't have believed it since they have all gone on to better things but before that we had L.A. Confidential which was Crowe's and Pearce's ticket into Hollywood. Spacey had already made it with his Best Supporting Actor nod for The Usual Suspects but what puzzles me is how everybody apart from Kim Basinger didn't get any acting nominations at the Oscars. James Cromwell is the most chilled out villain you'll ever going to see in a film like this and has been criminally ignored by the Academy. Curtis Hanson was also someone who had made some good films but no masterpieces till this came along.

They all must have sold their souls to make this because when you get big cast get together to make a Hollywood film then you become a bit intrigued by it because if the cast is big then is the story any good? In L.A. Confidential's case it had both and a lot more to say the least.

I still think that this is Spacey's, Crowe's and Pearce's best film of there career. Russell Crowe as tough guy but sentimental towards women Bud White is flawless and is quite like the real Russell Crowe which is scary. Guy Pearce as the quick witted but dumb looking Ed Exley is someone one you either love or you hate as the annoying rookie. Kevin Spacey is just as cool as anything that Bogart and Mitchium could have pulled off as Jack Vincennes and there is the movie along with a great script by Brain Heagland of Mystic River fame and Curtis Hanson himself who put together a great script from James Elroy's novel.

Kim Basinger is as sexy as she is going to get and her acting is very good and well deserving of her Oscar if the boys were robbed. I liked how we had three different stories and one case that all had something to do with another but were all separate anyway till the end. It was like watching a movie with three stories based on a trio of detectives. L.A. Confidential was a treat as far as storytelling goes because it enthrals you into the film straight away as well as it being more exciting than a night out in Vegas.

We don't see Detective films like this so we should be grateful that this came along when it did.