Hanson delivers something ever rarer in film culture, not a new film noir but an oldfashioned total movie, somehow of a single piece. Most of the coens work is often directly rooted in, or at least somewhat peripheral to noir, but while the most so is the man who wasnt there, but the big lebowski is a pretty clear noir, and i find to be a definitively great movie. Bud white, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his. People can be very pretentious about the genre of film noir, not least in asserting that, to qualify, a film must be shot in black and white, and. Confidentials deeply contemporary approach and layered story sets it apart. Film noir is a retrospective cinematic term referring to a collective era of stylish hollywood crime dramas. Jake gittes upon the world, is a superb private eye mystery and modernday film noir thriller.
A confidential curtis hanson, 1997 is a neonoir film about a shooting at an all night diner and the three las angeles policeman who investigate in their own unique ways. I found it on my dads night table and read it breathlessly, the stories of reefer parties, multiple divorces, wifeswapping and leading men who liked to wear frilly undergarments. In a shady world of powerful gangsters and corrupt policemen, an astudent rookie and a. Sep 29, 2017 kim basinger is escorted by russell crowe in a scene from the film l. Confidential earned nine oscar nominations including a supporting actress win for basinger and an adapted screenplay win. The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the. The magazine sank in a sea of lawsuits, but it created a genre. A confidential and eddie muller with producer alain silver discuss the evolution of film noir, specifically l. Conceived as an homage to classic noir films of the 1940s and 50s, curtis hanson crafted a film that both paid tribute to the classics of the. Confidential, and pearce suggests in a new interview with australian talk show host andrew denton that. Confidential is a 1997 american neonoir crime film directed, produced and cowritten by curtis hanson.
Three different lapd detectives with different personalities, wifebasherbasher bud white russell crowe, straight cop edmund exley, and publicityhungry jack vincennes kevin spacey all get caught up in the case, which turns out be part of the power. The screenplay by hanson and brian helgeland is based on james ellroys 1990 novel of the same name, the third book in his l. A movie of classical virtues is now a classic in its own right. Confidential is a film with an incredible cast worth watching and, if you. But for john payne in phil karlsons kansas city confidential, it gets him framed for a milliontwo robbery.
Below is the full makingof of the movie, as well as the opening scene from the script and how it translated on screen. Contemporary neonoir was the closest descendant but its. Corruption and deceit are two of noirs most common themes, and l. Paying homage to film noir with great success after a long hollywood break from the genre, l. Its appropriate that 1997s laconfidential begins with the most cynical sales pitch committed to film. Confidential riffed on film noir and 1950s cop movies to create a. Guy pearce and kevin spacey costarred in curtin hensons 1997 neonoir film l. Confidential was a critical favorite going into the 1997 awards season. Confidential is described as film noir, and so it is, but it is more. Great performances, great direction, and great writing. Confidential we put together a film noir list that we hope creates new fans of the genrelike confidential did for us.
The most prominent noir thriller to emerge from the decade is 1997s l. Confidential, and pearce suggests in a new interview with. Andersons boogie nights and quentin tarantinos jackie brown. With kevin spacey, russell crowe, guy pearce, kim basinger. This is gonna seem like a rmoviescirclejerk post but i watched l. To coincide with eddie mullers smartphone walking tour l. Its also a film thats sadly relevant to our own times, with its unflinching depiction of.
Apr 06, 2019 people can be very pretentious about the genre of film noir, not least in asserting that, to qualify, a film must be shot in black and white, and date from the age of uncertainty and upheaval that. Confidential is anonymous pablum obviously designed to accompany the rolling of credits. Confidential is a film with an incredible cast worth watching and, if you havent read the script, reading. Confidential is at once a psychological thriller in the film noir genre and an exploration of the tectonic shifts in hollywood culture, set against a backdrop of violence, corruption, and intrigue. One of the milestone american movies of the 1990s, curtis hansons l. Jun 02, 2011 while team bondis masterpiece draws inspiration from classic film noir, raymond chandler, and others, its l. A chintzy cutglass vase next to an empty bottle of bourbon in a fourthfloor walkup but still a vase. Noir, recently released through the application detours, eddie cites ten of his favorite noir films set in the city of angels. His adaptation of james ellroys novel is intelligent and engaging, and the film is shot in a distinctly fantastic noir style. Location in these movies would often times consist of.
Confidential was a key magazine of the 1950s, a monthly that sold millions of copies with its seamy exposes of celebrity drugs and sex. Confidential and modern film noir film noir is a vase. The film is more than just an homage to a former era of filmmaking its evidence that the relevancy of the style still influences filmmaking decades later. A pair of jerry goldsmith miniatures bracket the program, but are not terribly effective an opening miniature entitled badge of honor sounds like a caricature of film noir music, and the closing l. 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 basingers hooker. Jul 03, 2018 guy pearce and kevin spacey costarred in curtin hensons 1997 neonoir film l. Location in these movies would often times consist of nighttime scenes in a busy city. A glamorous throwback governed by the spirit of film noir, l.
Baker details the connection between tabloids and pulp fiction. Often times film noir movies were based upon corruption, usually in an urban type setting. His adaptation of james ellroys novel is intelligent and engaging, and the film is. Kim basinger is escorted by russell crowe in a scene from the film l. It is based on the book by james ellroy and after a very well adapted. Film noir was a recognizable style of filmmaking, which was created in response to the rising cost of typical hollywood movies buss 67. Ed exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out. Confidential last night for the first time and holy shit what a film. While many of those films have maintained a certain mainstream appeal, theres something delectably cultish about curtis hansons 1997 noir. Confidential redefines film noir by reversing the tropes of the genre while many argue that films in the western genre are the most representative of the time period they were made, film noir may actually be even more representative of its time.
It is based on the book by james ellroy and after a very well adapted screenplay, won nine academy awards. Confidential 1990 is a neonoir novel by james ellroy, and the third of his l. In a shady world of powerful gangsters and corrupt policemen, an astudent rookie and a tougherthantough detective are forced to. While many of those films have maintained a certain mainstream appeal, theres something delectably cultish about curtis hanson s 1997 noir thriller, l. Jan 30, 2020 the most prominent noir thriller to emerge from the decade is 1997s l. Confidential, an adaptation of james ellroys classic noir, came out with a bang in 1997 and won over public, critics and the academy with two wins for best screenplay and best actress in a supporting role. Guy pearce, kevin spacey, russell crowe, kim basinger. The epigraph is a glory that costs everything and means nothing steve erickson. A confidential correspondence to film noir one of the most influential film movements in the 1940s was a genre that is known today as film noir. It contains all the elements of police action, but in a sharply clipped, more economical style. Bud white, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence.
At a time when respectable journalism reigned supreme, postwar publications like new york daily and confidential magazine crashed the party with gossip and a shocking, sleazy sensibility that caught on in the culture. This means the year 1997 appears to have been vintage for tinseltown at the movies. Dark city from 1998 used the trappings of a noir tale to tell a scifi story and has since become a cult favorite. But as an actor in the ambiguous world of film noir, hes seldom given the credit he deserves.