Post by hi224 on Dec 29, 2018 1:10:44 GMT
''Go west, America,'' was a slogan of Manifest Destiny. Today is that last step westward, with no stop signs, no traffic signals, from downtown to the beach in 20 minutes."
Soundtrack
"Badge of Honor" (0:22) - Jerry Goldsmith (score)
"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (1:56) - Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
"The Christmas Blues" (2:53) - Sammy Cahn, David Jack Holt
"Look for the Silver Lining" (2:39) - Buddy DeSylva, Jerome Kern
"Makin' Whoopee" (3:28) - Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn
"Hit the Road to Dreamland" (1:58) - Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
"Oh! Look at Me Now" (3:08) - Joe Bushkin, John DeVries
"The Lady Is a Tramp" (3:12) - Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
"Wheel of Fortune" (3:24) - Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss
"But Not for Me" (2:50) - George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
"How Important Can It Be?" (2:33) - Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss
"Looking At You" (2:17) - Cole Porter
"Powder Your Face with Sunshine" (2:32) - Carmen Lombardo, Stanley Rochinski
"L.A. Confidential" (2:31) - Jerry Goldsmith (score)
"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (1:56) - Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
"The Christmas Blues" (2:53) - Sammy Cahn, David Jack Holt
"Look for the Silver Lining" (2:39) - Buddy DeSylva, Jerome Kern
"Makin' Whoopee" (3:28) - Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn
"Hit the Road to Dreamland" (1:58) - Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
"Oh! Look at Me Now" (3:08) - Joe Bushkin, John DeVries
"The Lady Is a Tramp" (3:12) - Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
"Wheel of Fortune" (3:24) - Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss
"But Not for Me" (2:50) - George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
"How Important Can It Be?" (2:33) - Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss
"Looking At You" (2:17) - Cole Porter
"Powder Your Face with Sunshine" (2:32) - Carmen Lombardo, Stanley Rochinski
"L.A. Confidential" (2:31) - Jerry Goldsmith (score)
James Cromwell, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe & Kevin Spacey
'L.A. Confidential' is a relatively recent film production in the grand scheme of things but it has elements I think some classic movie fans might appreciate. Filmmaker Curtis Hanson was born in Reno, Nevada and grew up in Los Angeles, California. He read a number of books written by James Ellroy, a crime writer from Los Angeles. Hanson worked with screenwriter Brian Helgeland to respectfully adapt Ellroy's novel 'L.A. Confidential' for the screen which was no easy task. For Hanson, this was to be a passion project about the history of the city he called home.
'Bloody Christmas was the name given to the severe beating of seven civilians by members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on December 25, 1951. The attacks, which left five Hispanic and two white young men with broken bones and ruptured organs, was only properly investigated after lobbying from the Mexican American community. The internal inquiry by Los Angeles Chief of Police William H. Parker resulted in eight police officers being indicted for the assaults, 54 being transferred, and 39 suspended.
The event was fictionalized in the 1990 novel L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, which was made into a film of the same name in 1997.'
The event was fictionalized in the 1990 novel L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, which was made into a film of the same name in 1997.'
- Wikipedia
Russell Crowe
Jack Lewerke's 'Jazz On Stage' featuring the Zoot Sims Quartet at Donte's, L.A. (1970)
'L.A. Confidential' has a tip-top genre ensemble like Antoine Fuqua's 'Training Day' (2001). Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe take the leads and there's substantial parts for Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell, David Strathairn and Ron Rifkin. Having worked in crime cinema for a quarter of a century, Hanson was able to round out his cast with talented and familiar genre faces to back up the principal players. John Mahon, Simon Baker, Graham Beckel, Darrell Sandeen, Jim Metzler, Paul Guifoyle, Matt McCoy and Tomas Arana add some serious firepower in different departments. Basinger's character is involved in a subplot about pay-for-play prostitutes moulded to look like popular movie stars (Veronica Lake, Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe) which brings Amber Smith and Brenda Bakke into the picture. This all adds up to one hell of a line-up for fans of American crime cinema.
"It’s appropriate that 1997's 'LA Confidential' begins with the most cynical sales pitch committed to film: “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.”
“That’s what they tell you anyway” says Danny DeVito, to finish his voiceover. You don’t need to know that he’s playing a blackmail-fond showbiz hack to understand that the Californian glamour has to come at a price. It's money we've always been willing to put up, at least in fiction. Few places have so willingly basked in their shadow to tell exciting stories, and only LA can turn a profit on it. As a genre, noir could reach its potential without having to leave Los Angeles County.
We were already familiar with the city's underbelly thanks to adaptations of Raymond Chandler, and films such as 'Double Indemnity' (1944) and 'In A Lonely Place' (1950). These films “settled” as a period between the 1920s and the 1950s, in time to be revisited in 1974 by Roman Polanski’s 'Chinatown' (1974). Robert Towne’s script set the detective story against a background of the process through which Los Angeles became a modern city, with water crises and new immigrant populations. What could have been a simple pastiche exercise became something else, but still looked part of a tradition.
Even so, Chinatown’s formula was difficult to replicate (as its own 1990 sequel demonstrated), or feel authentic and worthy of the period setting. As time went on, the “concrete jungle” offered new types of stories - riots and the crack epidemic instead of sleuthing and feel-bad romanticism.
Contemporary neo-noir was the closest descendant but its directors were determined to escape the LA of the past: Michael Mann’s 'Heat' (1995) shot the city in a stark ahead-of-its-time manner, blues and greys and modern architecture. From the same year, David Fincher’s 'Se7en' (1995) was filmed in LA, but its story kept the city’s location anonymous for the purpose of atmosphere. There was no great demand for romanticism about Los Angeles, and even if there was, how much of the “old” city was available for filming? If that were possible, what was there left to express, beyond nostalgia?
The director Curtis Hanson was aware of this when he first became interested in adapting James Ellroy’s 1990 novel, 'LA Confidential'. But the nature of modern Los Angeles acted not as a repulsing force, but as a reason for him to persevere. While 'Chinatown' had alluded to the social cost of turning LA into a modern city, Hanson believed the construction process was ongoing, and that Ellroy’s novel supported that view. Unlike any other metropolis, Los Angeles had a “manufactured image...sent out over the airwaves to get everybody to come there.”
People who fell for the siren song might have tolerated not getting talent-scouted, if they still got to live in prosperity in California; but as Curtis said, “the truth of [the opening voiceover] was literally being destroyed to make way for all the people that were coming there looking for it. It was being bulldozed into oblivion.”
And for so many people, that is when crime became a way out, or entered involuntarily into their lives. A message about the evolution of the American dream's Californian version would make old Los Angeles worth visiting again. 'LA Confidential' would, Hanson hoped, show where the rot started."
- Fred Heffer, 'Why L.A. Confidential Is Hollywood's Last Great Noir'
“That’s what they tell you anyway” says Danny DeVito, to finish his voiceover. You don’t need to know that he’s playing a blackmail-fond showbiz hack to understand that the Californian glamour has to come at a price. It's money we've always been willing to put up, at least in fiction. Few places have so willingly basked in their shadow to tell exciting stories, and only LA can turn a profit on it. As a genre, noir could reach its potential without having to leave Los Angeles County.
We were already familiar with the city's underbelly thanks to adaptations of Raymond Chandler, and films such as 'Double Indemnity' (1944) and 'In A Lonely Place' (1950). These films “settled” as a period between the 1920s and the 1950s, in time to be revisited in 1974 by Roman Polanski’s 'Chinatown' (1974). Robert Towne’s script set the detective story against a background of the process through which Los Angeles became a modern city, with water crises and new immigrant populations. What could have been a simple pastiche exercise became something else, but still looked part of a tradition.
Even so, Chinatown’s formula was difficult to replicate (as its own 1990 sequel demonstrated), or feel authentic and worthy of the period setting. As time went on, the “concrete jungle” offered new types of stories - riots and the crack epidemic instead of sleuthing and feel-bad romanticism.
Contemporary neo-noir was the closest descendant but its directors were determined to escape the LA of the past: Michael Mann’s 'Heat' (1995) shot the city in a stark ahead-of-its-time manner, blues and greys and modern architecture. From the same year, David Fincher’s 'Se7en' (1995) was filmed in LA, but its story kept the city’s location anonymous for the purpose of atmosphere. There was no great demand for romanticism about Los Angeles, and even if there was, how much of the “old” city was available for filming? If that were possible, what was there left to express, beyond nostalgia?
The director Curtis Hanson was aware of this when he first became interested in adapting James Ellroy’s 1990 novel, 'LA Confidential'. But the nature of modern Los Angeles acted not as a repulsing force, but as a reason for him to persevere. While 'Chinatown' had alluded to the social cost of turning LA into a modern city, Hanson believed the construction process was ongoing, and that Ellroy’s novel supported that view. Unlike any other metropolis, Los Angeles had a “manufactured image...sent out over the airwaves to get everybody to come there.”
People who fell for the siren song might have tolerated not getting talent-scouted, if they still got to live in prosperity in California; but as Curtis said, “the truth of [the opening voiceover] was literally being destroyed to make way for all the people that were coming there looking for it. It was being bulldozed into oblivion.”
And for so many people, that is when crime became a way out, or entered involuntarily into their lives. A message about the evolution of the American dream's Californian version would make old Los Angeles worth visiting again. 'LA Confidential' would, Hanson hoped, show where the rot started."
- Fred Heffer, 'Why L.A. Confidential Is Hollywood's Last Great Noir'
"The opening scenes of "L.A. Confidential" are devoted to establishing the three central characters, all cops. We may be excused for expecting that they will be antagonists; indeed, they think so themselves. But the film has other plans, and much of its fascination comes from the way it puts the three cops on the same side and never really declares anyone the antagonist until near the end. Potential villains are all over the screen, but they remain potential right up to the closing scenes. What the three cops are fighting, most of the time, is a pervasive corruption that saturates the worlds in which they move."
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
"In Life Magazine’s 'Film Noir: 75 Years of the Greatest Crime Films', writer J.I. Baker details the connection between tabloids and pulp fiction. At a time when respectable journalism reigned supreme, post-war publications like 'New York Daily' and 'Confidential' magazine crashed the party with gossip and a “shocking, sleazy sensibility” that caught on in the culture. Authors Cornell Woolrich, James M. Cain, and, more recently, James Ellroy, lifted these lurid headlines as story inspiration, while Hollywood followed suit with a visual style modeled after photographer Arthur Fellig (a.k.a. Weegee).
Curtis Hanson grew up in the eye of this lurid storm. Born in 1945 and enthralled by his Los Angeles hometown (his uncle supplied clothes for stars like Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe), Hanson decided to pursue a career in magazine photography before he even finished high school. The dropout would ultimately trade his stills for a movie camera come the 1970s, but interest in a make-believe business never waned. In fact, when it came time for Hanson to adapt Ellroy’s 1990 novel 'L.A. Confidential', the director played every sensational angle he could find: criminal scandal, colorful postcards, and tabloid pages pulled from the time period."
- Danilo Castro, Pop Matters
Curtis Hanson grew up in the eye of this lurid storm. Born in 1945 and enthralled by his Los Angeles hometown (his uncle supplied clothes for stars like Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe), Hanson decided to pursue a career in magazine photography before he even finished high school. The dropout would ultimately trade his stills for a movie camera come the 1970s, but interest in a make-believe business never waned. In fact, when it came time for Hanson to adapt Ellroy’s 1990 novel 'L.A. Confidential', the director played every sensational angle he could find: criminal scandal, colorful postcards, and tabloid pages pulled from the time period."
- Danilo Castro, Pop Matters
Kim Basinger & Guy Pearce
'Accentuate The Positive' ~ Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers
I think the set-pieces in this movie are fantastic. The '109 Avalon' / 'Bunker Hill' switcheroo has become a study tool for editors around the globe, as happened with two set-pieces from Jonathan Demme's crime picture 'The Silence Of The Lambs' (1991) that were edited by Craig McKay (former apprentice to Dede Allen). I don't think you're going to see a better constructed double set-piece in 1990s crime cinema when it comes to gunplay than this one. There's clear, dynamic contrast created by two inter-connected scenes that turns lead characterisation on its head. The first part rides high on emotional tension and turns the story on a pivot, locking in Dante Spinotti's camera, it's cut together carefully by Peter Honess. The second movement's flamboyant use of perfectly composed shots in changing light, dynamic edits and intricate blocking within small spaces is also executed to perfection, drawing from a formidable technical armoury to deliver a serious bout of insanity. I think of it to the 1990s as I do the climax to 'Taxi Driver' (1976) for the 1970s. The first of these investigative set-pieces is concise and methodical, as you might expect to see in a police procedural. The sister set-play is jarring and adrenalised. The two combine to create a turning point in the narrative that switches gears.
"Italian d.p. Dante Spinotti, best known for his work with Michael Mann on such films as “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Heat,” will receive the American Society of Cinematographers’ 2012 lifetime achievement award, following in the footsteps of such revered lensers as Conrad Hall, Vilmos Zsigmond and Vittorio Storaro. The kudo will be presented at the 26th ASC awards Feb. 12 at the Hollywood & Highland Grand Ballroom. Spinotti’s “visual style is infused with the kind of playful experimentation and consummate craft that results in iconic imagery,” said Michael Goi, president of the ASC in a statement. “He is a model for why great cinematographers are truly timeless.”
- Steve Chagollan, Variety
- Steve Chagollan, Variety
"I don’t care about putting a distinctive stamp. What I do care about is… when you read a screenplay, it’s possibly something you’d really like to work on. Something that represents a challenge, and so you go through a lot of things: the history, deep into what the story means — that’s what you’re trying to represent with your cinematography. There are a number of different ways of cooperating with a director. When I work with Michael Mann, Michael is usually very keen on his camera angles. Very rarely, if I step in, was I consulted about where or what kind of lens to use in how to do a shot. Sometimes, it happens. It’s a lot about prepping, so it’s a lot about interpreting the scenes with lighting in a way that is functional — also very efficient, very simple in communication, and possibly, also, somehow fascinating and dynamic. I’ve done films where my cooperation in telling the story with a camera — the angles and the editing — I had a much bigger influence in doing that.
Secretly down, I think a director should have a good idea of how he wants to photograph his film, because the director is the person who most knows, intimately — in an ideal world — what he wants. So it is good to communicate with a director that also has a sense of, visually, what’s going on. But I’ll tell you: I’ve done movies in which I have to take care of the whole reading, with the camera angles; others in which it’s a different kind of collaboration. It’s not a rule. I’m convinced that we are not artists — filmmakers are not artists. I like what Umberto Eco said: “For something to be considered a work of art, it is necessary that the elements of communication between the artist and the viewer are moved forward.” If you imitate another painting, you’re not an artist.
So you need to move forward, to make a step forward, with whatever element you use to communicate. In that sense, it’s a major step forward, because it’s a step forward for the whole of humanity, if you think about it. But this doesn’t happen. What I’m really saying is that I don’t think we’re artists. We are conditioned too much by a series of problematic elements — the weather, the mood of the people, the schedule, lack of money, lack of time, actors that come and go — but we all know that a movie can be a work of art. So, for some interesting reason, it’s cooperation that takes you there."
- Dante Spinotti, The Film Stage
Secretly down, I think a director should have a good idea of how he wants to photograph his film, because the director is the person who most knows, intimately — in an ideal world — what he wants. So it is good to communicate with a director that also has a sense of, visually, what’s going on. But I’ll tell you: I’ve done movies in which I have to take care of the whole reading, with the camera angles; others in which it’s a different kind of collaboration. It’s not a rule. I’m convinced that we are not artists — filmmakers are not artists. I like what Umberto Eco said: “For something to be considered a work of art, it is necessary that the elements of communication between the artist and the viewer are moved forward.” If you imitate another painting, you’re not an artist.
So you need to move forward, to make a step forward, with whatever element you use to communicate. In that sense, it’s a major step forward, because it’s a step forward for the whole of humanity, if you think about it. But this doesn’t happen. What I’m really saying is that I don’t think we’re artists. We are conditioned too much by a series of problematic elements — the weather, the mood of the people, the schedule, lack of money, lack of time, actors that come and go — but we all know that a movie can be a work of art. So, for some interesting reason, it’s cooperation that takes you there."
- Dante Spinotti, The Film Stage
"Curtis Hanson's teased us with his high-calibre crime thrillers for decades but has not been given his due - 'Sweet Kill' (1973), 'The Bedroom Window' (1987), the underrated 'Bad Influence' (1990), 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' (1992), and 'The River Wild' (1994) are some of Hollywood's top rentals. He's back with a bang, releasing one of the best crime films of the year, 'L.A. Confidential', a mean epic about dirty cops raiding the L.A. underworld."
- Manolo Mari Cuenca, 'Crime Rentals For Sale'
- Manolo Mari Cuenca, 'Crime Rentals For Sale'
Kevin Spacey
'You Can't Fool The Fatman' - Randy Newman
During the thunderous climax to 'L.A. Confidential', Curtis Hanson demonstrates how he always brings the juice. A major set-piece lasting 9 minutes and 3 seconds plays like 'Assault On Precinct 13' (1976) on steroids, it's that good. Natural adversaries are forced to work in tandem. They're professional now and ready for death, whatever comes to them in the line of duty. Don't miss the oil derricks of the sunshine state.
"Based on James Ellroy’s novel, this movie gives us all the things we semiconsciously crave in such dramas: Machiavellian figures behind the scenes, double dealings, hard information from sleazy sources, dirty politicians, haunted and beautiful women, and detectives with one foot in law enforcement and the other in moral ambiguity. There are so many things to enjoy here. Director Curtis Hanson, who helmed "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and "The River Wild," and adapted "L.A. Confidential" with Brian Helgeland, keeps a complex story coherent and absorbing -- if bloody at the end."
- Desson Howe, The Washington Post
- Desson Howe, The Washington Post
"I look for characters that interest me, and a story that keeps me involved and makes me want to know what happens next. Then, after the fact, you look back and see some things that were common in both pictures or several pictures, as you mention. On the surface, 'Wonder Boys' seemed like such a departure from 'L.A. Confidential' — it's funny, it's contemporary, and so on — and yet at a certain point, I had a feeling that reminded me how I felt when I was shooting 'L.A. Confidential'. I analyzed it for a while, and thought about how emotionally involved I was with the characters. Then I realized that in both movies, there are three main male characters and one female, and all of them are struggling to figure out what they're doing with their lives, independent of each other. The only major difference is that the 'Wonder Boys' characters are funny when they're struggling. But I don't consciously think about that ahead of time.
It's interesting you mention 'Bad Influence', which is an early movie of mine that I'm very fond of. It was an unhappy experience when that picture got released, because it coincided with that ridiculous Rob Lowe videotape scandal. Rob, who I thought was really good in the movie, had his performance overshadowed by this sort of tabloid approach to him and the movie. As ridiculous as it is for anybody who knows how movies are made, there were people who actually wrote in reviews that this picture had been put out to capitalize on the scandal. Which, of course, would have been impossible."
- Curtis Hanson, The A.V. Club
It's interesting you mention 'Bad Influence', which is an early movie of mine that I'm very fond of. It was an unhappy experience when that picture got released, because it coincided with that ridiculous Rob Lowe videotape scandal. Rob, who I thought was really good in the movie, had his performance overshadowed by this sort of tabloid approach to him and the movie. As ridiculous as it is for anybody who knows how movies are made, there were people who actually wrote in reviews that this picture had been put out to capitalize on the scandal. Which, of course, would have been impossible."
- Curtis Hanson, The A.V. Club
"L.A. Confidential" finished at No. 1 in a list of films shot in the last 25 years about Los Angeles culture. In a poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times, Curtis Hanson's 1997 drama topped P.T. Anderson's "Boogie Nights" and Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown." This means the year 1997 appears to have been vintage for Tinseltown at the movies: the top three films on the list all came out that year.
1. "L.A. Confidential" (1997)
2. "Boogie Nights" (1997)
3. "Jackie Brown" (1997)
4. "Boyz N the Hood" (1991)
5. "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)
6. "The Player" (1992)
7. "Clueless" (1995)
8. "Repo Man" (1984)
9. "Collateral" (2004)
10. "The Big Lebowski" (1998)
{Entertainment News Service}
"L.A. Confidential" is described as film noir, and so it is, but it is more: Unusually for a crime film, it deals with the psychology of the characters, for example in the interplay between the two men who are both in love with Basinger's hooker. It contains all the elements of police action, but in a sharply clipped, more economical style; the action exists not for itself but to provide an arena for the personalities. The dialogue is lovely; not the semiparody of a lot of film noir, but the words of serious people trying to reveal or conceal themselves. And when all of the threads are pulled together at the end, you really have to marvel at the way there was a plot after all, and it all makes sense, and it was all right there waiting for someone to discover it."
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
1. "L.A. Confidential" (1997)
2. "Boogie Nights" (1997)
3. "Jackie Brown" (1997)
4. "Boyz N the Hood" (1991)
5. "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)
6. "The Player" (1992)
7. "Clueless" (1995)
8. "Repo Man" (1984)
9. "Collateral" (2004)
10. "The Big Lebowski" (1998)
{Entertainment News Service}
Consider, too, the choreography after two of the characters burst into the district attorney's office. The D.A. tries to put them off with a clever line about "good cop, bad cop," until he finds out in a horrifying way what "bad cop" can really mean. I've seen endless hours of violence in movies over the years, but hardly anything to equal what happens to the D.A. in a minute or two.
"L.A. Confidential" is described as film noir, and so it is, but it is more: Unusually for a crime film, it deals with the psychology of the characters, for example in the interplay between the two men who are both in love with Basinger's hooker. It contains all the elements of police action, but in a sharply clipped, more economical style; the action exists not for itself but to provide an arena for the personalities. The dialogue is lovely; not the semiparody of a lot of film noir, but the words of serious people trying to reveal or conceal themselves. And when all of the threads are pulled together at the end, you really have to marvel at the way there was a plot after all, and it all makes sense, and it was all right there waiting for someone to discover it."
- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
Curtis Hanson
'The King Must Die' - Elton John
For maximum effect, I prefer watching 'L.A. Confidential' in total darkness. But that's just my personal preference. If you've not seen 'L.A. Confidential', you might like to give it a try. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected 'L.A. Confidential' for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
