Tagline: Everything is suspect…everyone is for sale…and nothing is what it seems.
L.A. Confidential movie storyline. A gritty, violent, thrilling film noirish tale of sex, conspiracy, scandal, double-cross and betrayal, racism and corruption in early 1950’s LA, committed by the police, politicians, and the press. The film pays homage to Robert Towne’s earlier noir-based film Chinatown (1974) set in the same City of Angels, and the classics The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Big Sleep (1946).
Based on a thriller novel by James Ellroy, the film is about the intertwining lives of three very diverse LAPD officers (in an ensemble cast) who use incompatible methods while tackling a multiple murder scene at the all-night diner the Night Owl. Brutal, hot-tempered tough cop Bud Smith (Russell Crowe) uses muscle and violence, while moralistic, clean-cut, college-educated rookie Ed Exley (Pearce) is law-abiding, idealistic, and does everything “by the book.”
A third narcotics cop, smooth Sgt. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) moonlights as a technical advisor for a sleazy Dragnet-style TV cop show and provides scandal-fodder for celebrity tabloid magazine Hush-Hush (headed by amoral editor-in-chief Sid Hudgens (Danny De Vito) whose trademark closing line for all articles is: “You heard it here first, off the record, on the ‘QT’, and very hush-hush”).
All three are overseen by sinister Captain Dudley Smith (Cromwell), who seems resigned to the corruption in the city and in his own police force. Kim Basinger, in a supporting Oscar-winning role, plays high-class femme fatale Lynn Bracken (a Veronica Lake look-alike through surgical enhancements) who works for a pornographer (Strathairn) who hires out celebrity look-alike prostitutes.
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American neo-noir crime film directed, produced and co-written by Curtis Hanson. The screenplay by Hanson and Brian Helgeland is based on James Ellroy’s 1990 novel of the same name, the third book in his L.A. Quartet series. Like the book, the film tells the story of a group of LAPD officers in 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity. The title refers to the 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayed in the film as Hush-Hush.
At the time, Australian actor Guy Pearce and New Zealand actor Russell Crowe were relatively unknown in North America and one of the film’s backers, Peter Dennett, was worried about the lack of established stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson’s casting decisions, and this gave the director the confidence to approach Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito.
The film grossed $126 million worldwide and was critically acclaimed, holding a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and an aggregated score of 90 out of 100 on Metacritic. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two: Basinger for Best Supporting Actress and Hanson and Helgeland for Best Adapted Screenplay; it lost in all the other categories to Titanic. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, Danny De Vito, David Strathairn, Ron Rifkin, Elisabeth Granli, Sandra Taylor, Steve Rankin
Screenplay by: Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson
Production Design by: Jeannine Oppewall
Cinematography by: Dante Spinotti
Film Editing by: Peter Honess
Costume Design by: Ruth Myers
Set Decoration by: Jay Hart
Art Direction by: William Arnold
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and language, and for sexuality.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: September 19, 1997
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