Black Dahlia

For 50 cents more you could have bought a 6-pack of headache inducing, gut churning, cheap beer and it would have been a better experience than renting this flick... Cinematography and sets were excellent (most all filming was done on sets built in Bulgaria), but little else is worth watching.

b2b

That's odd, I remember multiple very active threads on this. However you're absolutely right, I just searched myself and nothing came up, odd...maybe Santa ate them?

Anyways, I actually liked it, but nobody I saw it with liked it very much. I think I was expecting a Brian DePalma take on noir and they were all expecting L.A. Confidential or something. The trailer was very misleading as to the actual film too, I thought. But overall it was totally along the lines I was expecting and very enjoyable, I would even buy it for home (though I'd have to watch it by myself I think).

Not really interested in the plot.... How does SJ look in this movie?

The DVDTalk review said, "whose cleavage does most of her acting."

Totally agree with your take on this Ron. Not only was the plot hard to follow, it was also a little hard to figure what they were trying to say about the whole thing. It was funny, I'm a huge DePalma fan, and as I told my wife near the end, he's made bad films before but there would always be something interesting that would make them worth seeing. And right after I said that it did turn into a Depalma film. The last 20 minutes or so are as good as he's ever been, imo. Course by that time most would have given up hope-my wife certainly had. Its just all over the place most of the time, plus the dialog is amazingly bad for a major motion picture. The acting is wooden, the pacing nonexistant and the story is confusing...but still, there is that last 20 minutes...

I HATED this movie, the only thing good about it was the costumes, that is IT.

Sold!

Okay, I'll be the black sheep.

I watched today and LOVED it. No it wasn't what I thought. It was much more.

This film has Brian's signature all over it. From the color palette to the shadows that are cast on the walls as someone walks up a stairway to when the cash is found in the bathroom and you see the same reflection cast in multiple mirrors in the bathroom. It was/is cinematography eye candy.

Loved the story. Loved the acting. I did not find it confusing. You just need to pay attention throughout.

Brian De Palma is brilliant and this film could not have said Brian De Palma anymore then it did.

In fact I may need to buy this one!

-Rick

Hillary Swank stole the show from her with her costumless appearances.

I agree this was a let down, and yes LA Confidential is a way better movie, with much better acting, directing. I did like the noir look with the muted yellowish colors and slight grain however , but that's were the good news ended for me.

Mia Kirschner as always was one dimensional

I would love to have LA Confidential on HD-DVD... watched the DVD many times.

No doubt, but that DVD still looks great from the early days, when WB was the leader of the format.

Thanks, I feel a little less crazy now. I didn't think it was confusing at all, in fact I really enjoyed the turns and twists of the plot. I sometimes wonder if people complaining about modern "noir inspired" movies have ever actually seen the real thing and liked it?

I mean if you can't follow or don't like The Big Sleep or something then dude, why even watch something like this? Do people really just see the trailer with soft shots of SJ and a nifty Death In Vegas track and go "ooooh" and then wander into three hours of DePalma? I never once expected this to be a mass market movie or well liked by most folks, it's so obviously a genre tribute (and director's playground) kind of flick...

Soft shots of SJ can be pretty darn compelling. It's amazing what they can do with photography. For me it's like the first time I saw Sin City, and Alexis Bledel pops out with those blue eyes in that crazy outfit and you're just like "holy &*(*". Then you see her on Gilmore Girls and the magic is gone! LOL.

I'm glad there was some positive things to say about this movie, it's in the mail from Netflix
as we speak. Hope it has some redeeming value.

Great post, Rob. A little harsh, but understandable. I didn't like being lectured to either about what a Depalma film is.
Did the last act remind you a little of Argento? Maybe I'm crazy but I kinda thought it was in his style. And for me it was the one part where the film succeeded as a homage.

I watched it last night and thought it was rather old school such that the characters were mostly one-dimensional. On the surface it reminded me of 8MM. I enjoyed the look and feel along with the straightforward storyline. At the same time I didn't get totally lost into the story, which I think was because I never really bought the characters as for one reason or another it felt like they were playing the parts not living them. All and all not a bad movie if you enjoy this type of film noir.

plot: quite messy. bad editing or script writing. most critics agree (movie got on average a ... C )
image: yuck. yellows and browns dominate. intentional but LA CONFIDENTIAL looks miles away better (bright, contrasted, deep with super black level). did de palma asked peter hyams for help ? . the transfer lacks 3-D feeling like LA C.
sound: now here's the surprise, very good, some violent sound kicks. crips crushing bass mediums and highs at times. kuddos to sound team.
score: this aint LA CONFIDENTIAL at all which had a powerful composition by the grand and late Jerry Goldsmith.

now who knows the story of the BLACK DAHLIA, what really happened ?

also imho: there isnt enough 40-50s movies shot today nor is there enough movies about WWI, WWII (still so many events, battles, operations meriting a movie) and there's far too much crap being shot (brainless comedies in particular but we know the 10-24 make the bulk of the box office audience...).

Wasnt "BLACK DAHLIA" a Brutal Crime (Murder) that was never solved? If not,disregard the rest of my comments.

I could see how making a Movie based on an unsolved Murder would make for a confusing plot.

Personally I wonder why I should watch a Movie based on something without a conclusion, unless a Hollywood ending was added?

yes unsolved it all seems. lots of confessions, all fake. why that poor girl was murdered and
so gruesomely??
http://www.bethshort.com/the-murder.php (warning !!)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...aservicesintA/
TRUE CONFESSIONS is also based on the Black Dahlia case.

I love this movie too and watched in three times. It has flaws and the plot was complex and confusing, but everything made sense the second time around. The movie goes over-the-top at times, but that is what Brian De Palma is famous for. Remember Body Double and Scarface? He has a great sense of humor and the scene with KD Lang singing in a lesbian bar was a hoot. The formal dinner scene with the rich eccentrics was priceless.

I wish he had avoided several movie cliches, like throwing the dinner on the floor and having sex on the dinning room table. That never happens in real life, but happens in movies all the time. They should have just gone upstairs and have Johansson take off her top. What did they have to lose? It already had a R rating. Also, shooting down a chandelier with one shot is ridiculous. A 38 caliber bullet would probably just bounce off the steel cable holding it up. The complicated plot did not fit perfectly together, and the murder motive was not entirely believable, but it is such a fun movie to watch you have to put your brain on cruise control. I loved the cast and thought Scarlett Johansson did a great job despite her burden of lugging those large breasts around in every scene. I think she is a good actress and has terrific screen presence. I liked her in Match Point as well. There are plenty of big busted actresses who cannot act at all, and I don't think her fine rack should be held against her. I have no objection to them being held against me, however.

If you want to see a bad Brian DePalma movie, see Mission To Mars! Now that was a waste of film!

PS If you want to see bad female acting, see flat chested Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow!

IB

^ That was so offensive, it actually made me chuckle.

Actually, I liked parts of MTM.

I thought SJ was not well cast for the part. Sure she mugs well and has presence. But her sharp, clever film noir type dialog does not match her sensual but slow witted charm. But its not her fault.

DePalma seemed to be trying too hard for the movie to match the genre, than giving the film a life of its own (being merely influenced by the genre). It was one of the few movies I brought along on my vacation and I tried to get through it no less than 3 times. Even so I couldn't do it.

It was like we all had to suffer along as DePalma fulfills his dream of making a film noire whether it was any good or not. As if just sticking to the genre would make it a success.

Great post ht..its says exactly what I was thinking, only I didn't realize it until you put it in words.

I liked Black Dahlia so much I was in the mood for another De Palma film, so I rented Femme Fatale. What a ridiculous plot! Like Hitchock drunk and on acid. Two thumbs down. De Palma makes some good movies from time to time, but not all of them are gems.

IB

Watched it last night; it's rather gruesome for the 1st half of the movies but the ending seemed to fall apart. Is the book any better?