The Best Movies: “L.A. Confidential” – Old School Film Noir

In most years Director Curtis Hanson's brilliant translation of the classic James Ellroy novel would have won the Best Picture Oscar. The Titanic sunk their chances though. "L.A. Confidential" had career breakout performances from Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, and won Kim Bassinger an Oscar (!!) for Best Supporting Actress. It is has fantastic characters every where you look (including James Cromwell, Kevin Spacey, Danny Devito, Simon Baker, and David Strathain) and the plot is a non-stop whirl of action with plenty of unexpected turns.

Here is what Variety had to say about it in 1997:

Drenched in the tawdry glamour of Hollywood in the early 1950s and up to its ears in the delirious corruption of police and city politics, "L.A. Confidential" is an irresistible treat with enough narrative twists and memorable characters for a half-dozen films. Curtis Hanson's rich and impressively faithful adaptation of James Ellroy's novel will satisfy mystery fans and probably reps the best film of its type since "Chinatown," although as that classic proved, even the most outstanding examples of the genre have only modestly good B.O. potential. 

A quick plot summary from IMDB:

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.

Here's the original trailer. A little corny compared to what we are used to today, but it gives you a good idea.

Unfortunately, this movie is not out in Blu-Ray yet. You can rent the DVD on Netflix, or you can stream it on Amazon (free for Prime customers).