Confidential, to discuss the main theme of honor that runs throughout the film. Roger ebert noted that the film features so many disparate and seemingly unrelated plot threads that for a lot of the movie it feels largely episodic, and more of a mood and character piece than a narrative one. Over the opening strains of i love you, california, a montage. Oh, and dont let yourself be confused by the fact that. Adapting a novel into a screenplay is an extremely difficult prospect as the film has to convert the image that was captured over several hundred pages into a few hours of video. The movie is essentially a pareddown, cleaner version of the book. Confidential is one of my favourite books of all time, and my favourite james ellroy book. Confidential, 1997kim basinger two sleeveless fulllength gowns of ivory satin, with swags of ivory chiffon draped from the shoulders, crossing round the body to form a bow at the base of the lowcut back.
Vicennes, a clothes horse, consults for a dragnetlike tv show. The films climactic shootout at the victory motel actually occurs in the books prologue and ends with the death of buzz meeks. Scandal sheet editor danny devito narrates the prurient opening to curtis hansons l. He repels pearces nerd charisma well, and holds up his end of the scene. I love white jazz but a big part of that love is the payoff for it being the end of the series. Confidential marked the halfway point in myers career, who has since gone on to earn an oscar nomination for emma 1996 and work on projects as varied as the painted veil and the golden. Brilliantly adapted from james ellroys nearunfilmable cult novel, it casts.
Personally, i felt that the film deserved better than to descend into. Here the show is thinly disguised as badge of honor and it occupies a place in the background of the action for the sole purpose of showing up the. Confidential is a 1997 american neonoir crime film directed, produced and cowritten by. Youve reached the hub for any and all dramatica analysis of l.
Edgar hoover was an edifying, revelatory, and startling experience. His bythebook approach to police work doesnt allow much of a chance for. Ellroy is a master of crime, seamlessly weaving three narratives in his deliciously dark. Confidential script at the internet movie script database. Ed is an exception, but even exley reaches a rage breaking point at the end of the movie. How does ed exley hear whats said outside the interview room. Confidential, 1997, also starring russell crowe, guy pearce, and kim basinger, from james ellroys novel view the tcmdb entry for l. Confidential is on netflix, and get news and updates, on decider. Every mystery or crime novel ive read since has been chasing the dragon of l. If you have any question about this novel, please dont hesitate to contact us or translate team. Did they make it out to look like the police captain dudley smith was a hero. The second ingenious writing device is exley being able to pick and choose what the other suspects hear and when via intercom, timing the snippets of the conversation so it.
James ellroy on his nervous breakdown, tv adaptations and. But where the book goes through 10 plot lines and eight years of l. He is observed by a group of others, including the chief of police and the da, who sit outside the room behind a oneway mirror. Confidential by brian helgeland based on the novel by james ellroy november 16, 1995 minor revisions fade in. Equally high is the chance of, when in conversation with others about such a movie, some motherfucker opening their mouth and saying, it wasnt as good as the book. His transformation is complete and we see this when he meets bracken at the end, after he strongarms the department into naming him the hero he rightfully is. Towards the beginning of the film, during one quick murder scene, a statue of the three wise.
The epigraph is a glory that costs everything and means nothingsteve erickson. The film tells the story of a group of lapd officers in 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and hollywood celebrity. It is basically a policedetective crime story but it is beautifully constructed with a film noir style. If it is ozzie and harriet which is so often the target of the decades detractors, it is dragnet which is getting the same treatment in l. Come visit sometime to read the latest chapter of l. Bud white, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging. Confidential, ed exley is in a supposedly soundproof interview room, giving a statement to two detectives. White is a bareknuckles brawler whos not above breaking a few rules and a few jaws if he. He takes all of the themes he explored in previous novels and packs them into a book thats an even larger, more epic tale of crime, perversion, and hollywood corruption than any of his previous books. Confidential will make some noise orlando sentinel. As such, the ending is very different as well smith survives the novel one of. Confidential, a drama based on james ellroys noir classic novel. Confidential the likelihood of a given movie these days being based on a book or a short story or some other extracinematic source is pretty high these days.
In the special feature documentary off the record from the dvd, book author james ellroy says, in 1988 and 89, i wrote l. Narcotics sergeant jack vincennes, recovering from substance abuse himself and given to feeding breaking stories to the local tabloid press as well as the hit tv show badge of honor to make himself look good. Breaking bad star anna gunn as a junkie hooker, and most unlikely of. The screenplay by hanson and brian helgeland is based on james ellroys 1990 novel of the same name, the third book in his l. I read it for the first time at 16 and its the book that really got me interested in reading. As such, it enthusiastically breaks most rules of studio filmmaking today. Confidential, a new film directed by curtis hanson from the novel by james ellroy. The big nowhere is probably the best overall book in the quartet. Confidential 1990 is a neonoir novel by james ellroy, and the third of his l. Warning the ending to these books will be revealed. Even when ya know the plot from the movie its still riveting. Kung fu panda book creative filmmaking from the inside out, production designer jeannine oppewall said she chose the spanish style home for l. The book spoiler is always looking for a nice little synopsis including the ending of any current best selling book.
I place special emphasis on startling, because though i had some prior knowledge of hoovers abuses of power and misdeeds as fbi director, it was not until reading this book that the full magnitude of them became all too clear. When he is on there is no writer alive who can touch ellroy. Confidential series in the works at cbs from gotham writer the latest effort to bring the james ellroy novel to tv comes nearly two decades after the last attempt failed. Then ellroy rubs his hands together and really gets going, with this shaggy, incredible novel of justice, violence, politicking, and redemption. The plot concerns a murder investigation that leads to a highclass prostitution ring.
Confidential begins by clearing away any hope you had left after the end of the big nowhere. Dudley smith actually survives the book and goes on to be the antagonist of the novel white jazz, which ends with dudley being confined to a nursing home after he is attacked with an axe and rendered mentally retarded. Confidential and was drawn to its characters, not the plot. Confidential feels like the book that james ellroy has been preparing for and working up to during his entire career up to this point. Confidential is a 1997 american neonoir crime film directed, produced and cowritten by curtis hanson. What was the medal exeley received for and why did he say he was using them because they were using him. The action of the book takes place from 1950 until 1958, with the initial heroin theft occurring in 1950, bloody christmas in 1951, the nite owl massacre in 1953, and the ultimate revelation of the true motives behind the murders in 1958. After his twogrossing films the hand that rocks the cradle and wild river, he was. Based on a book by leading crime author james ellroy, l.
Ed exley, a patrician who venerates his herocop father, presumably holds high ideals and unassailable standards. The plot of the novel has been compressed and slightly switched for the film. Energetic, sprawling and often stylistically irritating police procedural that follows three lapd members over a tenyear period, beginning in 1950. Officer bud white, on the other hand, is brutal, violent, vengeful and jack trashcan vincennes.
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