L.A. Confidential

BFI Film Classics

by Manohla Dargis

Manohla Dargis explores the careers of director Curtis Hanson and writer James Ellroy, based on interviews with both men, to dig deep into the film's obsession with the twinned, equally troubled histories of the Hollywood studio system and the city of Los Angeles.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2003

Reviews

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manohla Dargis looks at one of my favorite films of the 90s in her British Film Institute (BFI) book on the film L.A. Confidential. It is based on the book of the same name by James Ellroy that I read sometime around the release of the film. I realize that I still need to read the other books in his L.A. Quartet and have already ordered The Black Dahlia and The Big Nowhere for starters. I also have read his autobiographical book My Dark Places, in which he discusses his true crime obsession inspired by his mother's murder at the age of 10 and his subsequent personal investigation into her murder-it's a fascinating book. I think director Curtis Hanson and co-screenwriter Brian Hegland did an excellent job of keeping the spirit of the novel alive while paring down the complex story lines into a workable film. Curtis Hanson's vision of the glamorous and lurid Hollywood of the day in which pitched meetings with pictures of true crime and hipsters like Chet Baker in order to get the idea of the stylized L.A. he was trying to get actors-one that James Ellroy was also witness to and that inspired his novel. The film is also a tour de force of ensemble acting with it's three leading men-Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey in career making performances. It's amazing the film got made with an Aussie and Kiwi in two of the three leading roles, but it had a lot to do with seasoned actors like Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger signing on. The locations and period details presented with a modern take on the sunshine noir combined to create a stunning achievement of modern film noir-one of my favorite film genres. I also bought the deluxe edition of the film to revisit before reading the book and it has a full disc of extras as well as an informative commentary from the actors, producer, and director.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manohla Dargis does an excellent job of research into the background of the film LA Confidential - and how it was borne of two men (Ellroy, the novelist and Hanson, the director) who were each obsessed with 1950s Los Angeles in very different ways.

Personally, I could talk about this movie for ages, I think it's brilliant and probably in the top five movies to come out of the 1990s. It was with great relish I took in this book - from learning the horrors of Ellroy's childhood that served as the backdrop to the violence in his novels, to the artists that inspired Hanson's lighting in the film.

Would recommend to any fan of the film - and if you haven't seen it yet, DO IT, and then let's have a discussion, okay?

[Joe Pinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive book about the movie by film critic Manohla Dargis of the LA Times. Learned some very interesting behind-the-scenes info on the film and its makers that is not found elsewhere. The biggest surprise for me is the level of differences between the movie and the book, plot-wise. Because of these differences, I'm now very interested in reading the original book, as it does not really retread the same ground the movie does.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Structurally a bit of a mess, but Dargis is on top of things — even if this ground was better covered in "Sunshine Noir," J. Hoberman's recent Artforum piece.

[Pamela Uran · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you are done reading this book, you will feel like a man with a buzz cut. You won't be able to read anymore of those wishy washy lady books. I've read it twice. I like the language.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.9, but I can't quite give it four stars, because the film itself is almost a secondary theme to the book...

The film, L.A. Confidential, is one of those forgotten movies...it's well loved, but often forgotten, despite the quality that runs through it. The central trio of Spacey, Crowe and Pearce give exceptional performances, but at the time, none of them were 'leading men', a point enforced by the fact that Spacey gets top billing, despite his character being much more a side character against the Crowe/Pearce relationship that drives the film. Indeed the biggest star would be Kim Basinger, who, with all respect, was not at the peak of her fame when cast, but deservedly took the only acting Oscar for the film (it was up against Titanic...what chance did it have...).

However, like this book, I digress...

If you want to know why this film exists, then this is the book for you; the history of LA and Hollywood is laid out, the early life of James Ellroy and the influences that would eventually lead to his writing of the 'LA Quartet' (of which this is the third) and it did make me want to pick up 'My Dark Places', which I have owned for a long time but never actually read. The Black Dahlia murder makes her anticipated appearance, and some interesting parallels are drawn between Ellroy and director Curtis Hanson - their early years in LA and contrasting family lives.

It's a really good read, and the last 10 pages, or so, do cover much more about the actual film, I just wish the previous 70 had gone a little deeper.

[Willem van den Oever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extensively researched and very well-written, Manohla Dargis’ examination “L.A. Confidential” is a tight, eloquent essay of the 1997 film. Going far above and beyond, it also describes the lives and works of director Curtis Hanson and novelist James Ellroy, the rules of crime books and films, a history of Los Angeles, and much, much more. It’s serious but exciting material for both fans of this particular book and movie, as well as film buffs in general.

[JS · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful for some background, but most of it is a description of the film. Structurally, a bit all over the place and perhaps, all told, it’s not that insightful.

[Karl O' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting analysis but there was a lot of retelling. I’m not a fan of the retell the story and analyze scene by scene approach.

[Karl O' · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there is a lot of information in there, for those unfamiliar with Ellroy & Hollywood lore, I found the writing particularly sterile. I’m very familiar with Ellroy & Hollywood lore. This did act as a nice summation. I’m showing this film to my movie club Wednesday so to that it was very helpful. I didn’t learn anything new.