Everything is suspect... Everyone is for sale... And nothing is what it seems.
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
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Character
Classical in form, meticulous, grave and nostalgic.
- classical in formformally daring
- rawmeticulous
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- warmbleak
Who loves it, who doesn't
97 profiled raters. Loved most by The Prestige Hunters; disliked most by The Comfort Seekers.
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Does Russell Crowe steal L.A. Confidential from Kevin Spacey?”
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“Is it the best crime film of its decade?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20247/10
After the seemingly indiscriminate slaughter of the folks at a diner, it's the ambitious "Exley" (Guy Pearce) who suggests to his bosses that it's time for the LAPD to get it's act together and root out the corruption endemic within the force. To that end, he is promoted by "Capt. Smith" (James Cornwall) and sets about trying to assert a bit more of the rule of law rather than the rule of vengeance - that'd be the "White" (Russell Crowe) method, or the more venal and sleazy fashion of "Vincennes" (Kevin Spacey). Needless to say, nobody takes kindly to this new pure as the driven snow approach, but gradually "Exley" starts to make a bit of headway into the world of organised crime, and to realise just how involved the police are in covering up crimes from fraud to murder. He's also aware that someone is pulling his strings, so some sort of rapport with one of his suspicions colleagues is going to have to be forged if he is to stay alive! Each of these characters get their moment in the sun and that allows us to meet the unscrupulous red-top publisher "Hudgens" (an energetic Danny DeVito) and the sophisticated call-girl "Lynn" (Kim Basinger) who is quite often pretending to be Veroni
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Aug 201610/10
City of Angels? More Like City of Demons! Curtis Hanson directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Brian Helgeland from legendary pulp novelist James Ellroy's novel. It stars Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito and David Strathairn. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Dante Spinotti. It's 1950s Los Angeles and three cops of very different morals and stature are about to be entwined in crime and corruption... I admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job. Tremendous film making. Hanson takes Ellroy's labyrinthine story and pumps it with period authenticity and seamless direction, the latter of which sees him garner superlative performances from the cast. This is the side of Los Angeles nobody wants to talk about, it's awash with corpses, hookers, seedy set-ups, violence, drugs, racism and corruption a go-go. And that's just involving the politicians, the press and the coppers! Rollo Tomasi. The absence of genuine heroes on show still further keeps "The City of Angels" covered in dark clouds, where even as the plot twists and turns, as the mysteries unravel and brutal
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Cast
- Kevin SpaceyJack Vincennes
- Russell CroweWendell 'Bud' White
- Guy PearceEdmund 'Ed' Exley
- James CromwellDudley Smith
- Kim BasingerLynn Bracken
- Danny DeVitoSid Hudgens
- David StrathairnPierce Patchett
- Ron RifkinD.A. Ellis Loew
- Graham BeckelDick Stensland
- Amber SmithSusan Lefferts
Crew
- Curtis HansonDirector
- Brian HelgelandScreenplay
- Curtis HansonScreenplay
- James EllroyNovel
- Dante SpinottiDirector of Photography
- Jerry GoldsmithOriginal Music Composer
- Peter HonessEditor
- Curtis HansonProducer
- Michael G. NathansonProducer
- Arnon MilchanProducer
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Pairings
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Chinatown 197483% alikeBoth meticulous, classical in form, nostalgic.
Casino 199575% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, meticulous.
Devil in a Blue Dress 199574% alikeBoth classical in form, nostalgic, grave.
The Good German 200673% alikeBoth grave, nostalgic.
Night and the City 195073% alikeBoth classical in form, grave.
Dangerous Liaisons 198873% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, meticulous.
From Hell 200173% alikeBoth grave, bleak.
The Cotton Club 198472% alikeBoth nostalgic, grave.
BLUE EYE SAMURAI 202373% alikeTelevision · Both meticulous, grave.
Boardwalk Empire 201073% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, grave, bleak.
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