Yes I know it isn't very much like the book ..
Added 10/12/2009
.. but it is, nevertheless, a well though out and scripted film which conveys much of the feel of the book and the seediness that was apparently (I wasn't there so I can't really know) a feature of LA in the 50s.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Worst Ever...Seriously....
Added 9/2/2009
Worst movie I've ever seen. Seriously. I actually got dumber during this film.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Classic DePalma : Stylish but silly
Added 5/17/2009
If Brian DePalma would have focused solely on the murder and police investigation of the Black Dahlia this film would have been a near masterpiece. It certainly looks amazing thanks to production design by Dante Ferretti and photography by the Oscar nominated Vilmos Zsigmond. Everything else about it sucks. Set in the mid to late 40's the film resembles so many films from that era. Which is to say it's melodramatic and absurdly over the top in spots. Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) are two homicide detectives assigned to the murder case of Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) a.k.a. The Black Dahlia so named because of her all black wardrobe and promiscuous nature. Bleichert is a by the book cop whereas Blanchard is a hothead zoned out on Benzedrine. He becomes obsessed with the Dahlia causing him to alienate his girlfriend Kay Lake (Scarlet Johansson) and letting a murderer go free. The film throws so many characters and motivations at us in the first half hour that after an hour and a half it's impossible to remember them when DePalma tries to tie up all the loose ends. It's a losing game because just when you think you've got it under control there is a gaping hole in the logic. Hilary Swank is useless in the role of Madeline Linscott a rich girl who keeps insisting she looks like the Dahlia when clearly she doesn't. Her and Bleichert have a steamy affair even though Buck is involved in a love triangle between Lee and Kay. All the sex scenes are ridiculously overheated. The whole film is laughable.The only things that save it are good looking femmes like Johannson, Rose McGowan, and Rachel Miner all of whom look good in the period costumes and hairstyles. The real highlight for die hard DePalma fans is his re teaming with the Phantom himself William Finley. What does Finley play? A disfigured killer of course. This film could have been something special instead of a film that looks great but is confusing and frustrating.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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This is a movie about the Black Dahila murder? Right?
Added 3/21/2009
I should have come to Amazon to read the reviews before I rented this movie. This has to be one of the most horrible movies I have seen in my entire life.
First we begin with the Zoot suit riots. Why I'm not really sure..but we do. Then we have a boxing match between two young men who later become partners. Why we have this boxing match I'm not really sure. However, I was eating dinner at the time and I must have been more focused on my salad than the movie.
Anyway, Lee Blanchard and Bucky Bleichert are cops investigating pimps, I think. They are partners and there is some sexual tension because Bucky like Lee's wife (at least I think she is his wife). Finally 20 or 25 minutes into the movie we finally get into the Black Dahila murder. Our detectives stumble upon the crime scene because they happened to be in the neighborhood.
What happens next is mostly about the men's lives. We get bits and pieces of the Black Dahila's murder, but not enough to keep my interested in this movie and I nearly drifted off to sleep three times (after I finished eating). There are four different plots going on at once which makes this movie bloated.
The detectives' storyline is the main plot to this story which was aggravating to this viewer. If they wanted the Black Dahila murder to be a subplot, fine, but could it have been a little more prominent than what we got?
The book maybe better. I dont know because I haven't read it. Although books always tend to be better than movies. Still, go with the reviews on this. The majority of Amazon costumers believe this movie is bad, and they are right. Try the book before you rent this piece of garbage.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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I thought the movie took an interesting turn from the true story but would have like it more if they kept the story ending close to the true story.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Yes I know it isn't very much like the book ..
Added 10/12/2009
.. but it is, nevertheless, a well though out and scripted film which conveys much of the feel of the book and the seediness that was apparently (I wasn't there so I can't really know) a feature of LA in the 50s.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Worst Ever...Seriously....
Added 9/2/2009
Worst movie I've ever seen. Seriously. I actually got dumber during this film.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Classic DePalma : Stylish but silly
Added 5/17/2009
If Brian DePalma would have focused solely on the murder and police investigation of the Black Dahlia this film would have been a near masterpiece. It certainly looks amazing thanks to production design by Dante Ferretti and photography by the Oscar nominated Vilmos Zsigmond. Everything else about it sucks. Set in the mid to late 40's the film resembles so many films from that era. Which is to say it's melodramatic and absurdly over the top in spots. Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) are two homicide detectives assigned to the murder case of Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) a.k.a. The Black Dahlia so named because of her all black wardrobe and promiscuous nature. Bleichert is a by the book cop whereas Blanchard is a hothead zoned out on Benzedrine. He becomes obsessed with the Dahlia causing him to alienate his girlfriend Kay Lake (Scarlet Johansson) and letting a murderer go free. The film throws so many characters and motivations at us in the first half hour that after an hour and a half it's impossible to remember them when DePalma tries to tie up all the loose ends. It's a losing game because just when you think you've got it under control there is a gaping hole in the logic. Hilary Swank is useless in the role of Madeline Linscott a rich girl who keeps insisting she looks like the Dahlia when clearly she doesn't. Her and Bleichert have a steamy affair even though Buck is involved in a love triangle between Lee and Kay. All the sex scenes are ridiculously overheated. The whole film is laughable.The only things that save it are good looking femmes like Johannson, Rose McGowan, and Rachel Miner all of whom look good in the period costumes and hairstyles. The real highlight for die hard DePalma fans is his re teaming with the Phantom himself William Finley. What does Finley play? A disfigured killer of course. This film could have been something special instead of a film that looks great but is confusing and frustrating.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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