L.A. Confidential (1997)

As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one 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 Rated Movies #124 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 89 wins & 84 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Jack Vincennes
Russell Crowe	...	Bud White
Guy Pearce	...	Ed Exley
James Cromwell	...	Dudley Smith
Kim Basinger	...	Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito	...	Sid Hudgens
David Strathairn	...	Pierce 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:

corruption | murder | call girl | neo noir | arizona | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Cromwell and Matt McCoy appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Creator Gene Roddenberry was once an LAPD officer, and modeled Spock after Chief of Police William H. Parker, who appears as a character in this film.

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Goofs

In the Nite Owl café murder scene, as the camera pans over the café, the mustard and ketchup are seen to be in plastic containers. In the 1950s, mustard and ketchup always came in glass bottles.

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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 onscreen dedication in honor Sgt. who served as an advisor to the film. The scene shows a black-and-white closing moment of "Badge of Honor" with the credits as Badge of Honor actor (Matt McCoy) closes the door on the HOMICIDE office and walks sorrowfully away.

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Alternate Versions

In the Hong Kong television version, during the scene where Bud breaks into the interrogation room, the part where he removes all the bullets from the gun but one is removed for some reason. So it cuts straight from his coming into the room and then sticking the gun into the rapist's mouth without giving it a Russian roulette feel.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.202 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Mele Kalikimaka
(1949)
Written by R. Alex Anderson
Performed by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters
Courtesy of MCA Records
By arrangement with Universal Special Markets

User Reviews

Will stand the test of time.........

When a film evokes an era as well as L.A. Confidential does, people take notice. It could be argued that it is easier to replicate the recent past than the distant on film, and in a sense this is true. Costumes, language, and the necessary absence of the modern in "period pieces" make them expensive and difficult to film. But couldn't it be argued that it is just as difficult to make a film about more recent periods? I have no knowledge of how a Victorian era table was set, or what a knight really spoke like; we are subject to the directors view of reality. But what if a good deal of your audience lived through the time you are portraying, as in the case of the 1950's? I can even envision my grandfather coming back from WW2 to a booming economy, and living in the world Curtis Hanson created.

The real genus of this film is that it creates not only a physical world, but one with all the politics, corruption, racism and inequity of the time. As a result we feel the characters motivations and understand their faults all the better; Bud White, Ed Exley, Lynn Bracken and Lana Turner all live here.

This film, like others that make us believe we are there for two hours (and $7.50), will endure. I was thinking a perfect double feature would be with Chinatown, another film that will stand the test of time.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

L.A. Confidential

Filming Locations:

501 Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,211,198, 21 September 1997

Gross USA:

$64,616,940

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$126,216,940

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, The Wolper Organization, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1