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Regency Enterprises
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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.
CinemaSerf
Apr 22, 2024 · via TMDB
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 Veronica Lake! I think my only problem with this film was that I reckoned on who was doing what really early on, so the jeopardy was a little bit compromised. That said, though, it's one of Crowe's more natural performances and Pearce shows us he can deliver gritty and bruising parts well too. I could have been doing with a little more of Basinger's quite intriguing character, just to break up the relentlessness of the story a bit more, but it's a solid adaptation of James Ellroy's uncompromising book that Curtis Hanson presents and it doesn't hang about.
John Chard
Aug 7, 2016 · via TMDB
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 brutality unfurls, the final destination of the principal characters is never clear, thus there's a continuing edge of seat pulse beat within the pic. It's also sexy and dangerous, the dialogue sharper than a serpent's tooth, and while the ending is a little too cosy as opposed to original noir wave conventions, this is pure noir in all but black and white photography. It won only two Academy Awards, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and for Hanson and Hegeland for Best Writing - Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. Frankly it should have won a dozen or so for it's not just one of the best films of the 1990s, but also one of the best Neo-Noirs ever produced. 10/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Kevin Spacey
Jack Vincennes
Russell Crowe
Wendell 'Bud' White
Guy Pearce
Edmund 'Ed' Exley
James Cromwell
Dudley Smith
Kim Basinger
Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito
Sid Hudgens
David Strathairn
Pierce Patchett
Ron Rifkin
D.A. Ellis Loew
Graham Beckel
Dick Stensland
Amber Smith
Susan Lefferts
John Mahon
Police Chief
Paul Guilfoyle
Mickey Cohen
Matt McCoy
'Badge of Honor' Star Brett Chase
Simon Baker
Matt Reynolds
Sandra Taylor
Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Steve Rankin
Officer Arresting Mickey Cohen
Allan Graf
Wife Beater
Precious Chong
Wife
Bob Clendenin
Reporter at Hollywood Station
Lennie Loftin
Photographer at Hollywood Station
Will Zahrn
Liquor Store Owner
Darrell Sandeen
Buzz Meeks
Michael Warwick
Sid's Assistant
Shawnee Free Jones
Tammy Jordan
Thomas Rosales Jr.
First Mexican
Shane Dixon
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Norman Howell
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Brian Lally
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Tomas Arana
Breuning - Dudley's Guy
Michael McCleery
Carlisle - Dudley's Guy
Jack Conley
Vice Captain
Jack Knight
Detective at Detective Bureau
Gene Wolande
Forensic Chief
Michael Chieffo
Coroner
Gwenda Deacon
Mrs. Lefferts
T.J. Kennedy
Bud's Rejected Partner
Ingo Neuhaus
Jack's Rejected Partner
Jim Metzler
City Councilman
Robert Barry Fleming
Boxer
Jeremiah Birkett
Ray Collins - Nite Owl Suspect
Salim Grant
Louis Fontaine - Nite Owl Suspect
Noel Evangelisti
Stenographer
Marisol Padilla Sánchez
Inez Soto - Rape Victim
Jordan Marder
Officer at Detective Bureau
Gregory White
Mayor
Brenda Bakke
Lana Turner
Patrice Walters
Police File Clerk
Rebecca Klingler
Police File Clerk
Irene Roseen
D.A. Ellis Loew's Secretary
David St. James
Detective at Hush-Hush Office
Bodie Newcomb
Officer at Hush-Hush Office
Jeff Austin
Detective
Jody Wood
Detective
Jimmy Ortega
Second Mexican (uncredited)
Nectar Rose
Marilyn Monroe (uncredited)
Rocco Salata
Uniformed Patrol Officer (uncredited)
Dell Yount
Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Gilbert Rosales
Third Mexican (uncredited)
J.P. Romano
Deuce Perkins (uncredited)
Chris Palermo
Anthony Trombino (uncredited)
April Audia
Mayor's Wife (uncredited)
Fred Lerner
Dudley's Guy with Shotgun (uncredited)
Jeannine Oppewall
Production Design
Jay Hart
Set Decoration
Pablo Ferro
Title Designer
Dante Spinotti
Director of Photography
Gary Archer
Prosthetics
Jeff Imada
Stunt Coordinator
Bob Herron
Stunts
Chris Palermo
Stunts
Danny Rogers
Stunts
Doc Duhame
Stunts
Fred Lerner
Stunts
Gary Epper
Stunts
Gary Price
Stunts
Gene LeBell
Stunts
Gilbert Rosales
Stunts
J.P. Romano
Stunts
Jimmy Ortega
Stunts
Joey Box
Stunts
John C. Meier
Stunts
Joni Avery
Stunts
Kevin L. Jackson
Stunts
Norm Compton
Stunts
Richie Gaona
Stunts
Rick Avery
Stunts
Toby Holguin
Stunts
Tom Lupo
Stunts
Troy Brown
Stunts
Troy Robinson
Stunts
Curtis Hanson
Director
Barbara Harris
ADR Voice Casting
Emily Schweber
Casting Associate
Brian Helgeland
Co-Producer
David L. Wolper
Executive Producer
Arnon Milchan
Producer
Curtis Hanson
Producer
Michael G. Nathanson
Producer
Jerry Goldsmith
Conductor
John Roesch
Foley Artist
Jerry Goldsmith
Original Music Composer
Andy Nelson
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Anna Behlmer
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
James Ellroy
Novel
Brian Helgeland
Screenplay
Curtis Hanson
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Sep 19, 1997
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Bicara Cinta
2020
The Pied Pipers of Harlow
1965
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
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Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
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