L.A. Confidential (1997)
97%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Won 2 Oscars
92 wins & 86 nominations total
Taut pacing, brilliantly dense writing and Oscar-worthy acting combine to produce a smart, popcorn-friendly thrill ride.
This movie is like a rollercoaster ride, but with better writing and acting. It’s so smart and fast-paced that you won’t even have time to finish your popcorn. And let’s talk about the acting – it’s so good, it deserves an Oscar. Trust me, you won’t regret watching this flick.
Production Company(ies)
New Regency Productions, The Wolper Organization Warner Bros.,
Distributor
Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Frolic Room – 6245 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence and language, and for sexuality
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 16m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 1997 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 23, 2008
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $126,216,940
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $235,278,582
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 606
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 25,657,424
US/Canada gross: $64,616,940
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $120,451,201
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 632
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,211,198
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $9,714,094
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 967
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $35,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $65,242,830
Production budget ranking: 638
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $35,133,264
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $134,902,488
ROI to date (est.): 134%
ROI ranking: 815
Russell Crowe – Officer Wendell ‘Bud’ White
Guy Pearce – Det. Lt. Edmund Jennings Exley
James Cromwell – Capt. Dudley Liam Smith
David Strathairn – Pierce Morehouse Patchett
Kim Basinger – Lynn Bracken
Show all Cast & Crew
Director(s)
Curtis Hanson
Writer(s)
Curtis Hanson, James Ellroy, Brian Helgeland
Producer(s)
Michael G. Nathanson, Arnon Milchan, Curtis Hanson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
92 wins & 86 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (161) | Top Critics (54) | Fresh (160) | Rotten (1)
A masterfully smart and soulful film that bows low before genre even as it betrays it.
October 20, 2021
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Adapted from a novel said to be unadaptable and set in a genre that has seemed increasingly played out, it brings clarity and life to its art and to life. That’s a pretty good definition of a masterpiece, isn’t it?
October 20, 2021 | Rating: A+
Henry Sheehan
Orange County Register
TOP CRITIC
One of the things the film conveys, in addition to institutionalized corruption, is the energy and excitement of a city that knows it’s on the move. L.A. Confidential is juicy dynamite.
October 20, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Dante Spinotti’s widescreen camerawork and Jeannine Oppewall`s production design brilliantly recreate the somewhat tawdry world of a glamorous city which is starting to lose its glamour.
October 19, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
While perhaps too much hype has preceded the film’s release, the buzz about the quality of the performances by local lads Crowe and Pearce is justified, with Pearce the film’s standout.
October 19, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
A sterling cast, a meaty script, high production values and a confident hand at the tiller. It all adds up to a piece of rock-solid entertainment with a body and a brain to match. Who could ask for anything more?
October 19, 2021
Neil Norman
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Darker than piping hot coffee and more hard-boiled than a picnic egg, here’s a colourfully brutal, thriller which might have been hewn from Hollywoods golden heyday.
March 8, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Quentin Falk
Sunday Mirror (UK)
Danny DeVito plays vile Sid for more laughs than such a sleazy type deserves, while Kim Basinger portrays a woman disappointed by life but still hopeful for salvation.
October 20, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Eleanor O’Sullivan
Asbury Park Press (NJ)
The ensemble cast is flawless, anchored by two intense young Aussies, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.
October 20, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Alison Gillmor
Winnipeg Free Press
One of the toughest, freshest movies of the year.
October 20, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Dann Gire
Chicago Daily Herald
All the cops are corrupt in different ways. But as the murk and muck of the story deepens and thickens, three of them rouse themselves out of their moral torpor and rediscover their vocation, if not exactly their honor.
October 20, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Jeff Simon
Buffalo News
Director Curtis Hanson, who adapted the novel with Brian Helgeland, has created a film that delivers in every way.
October 20, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Bill Morrison
News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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