Why is this bad?
I haven't seen this and I wonder why people think it's so bad. Is it like Zodiac? Because I love Zodiac.
shareI personally like it. Granted, the only reason I watched this film was because I heard that one of my favorite stories, The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo (and the silent film adaptation starring Conrad Veidt, a favorite film of mine), ties into the story. I was like, "Wow. The Man Who Laughs in a film noir murder mystery. That sounds awesome." and knowing that The Black Dahlia is based on a real-life unsolved murder case makes this fictionalization all the more chilling. So, personally, I'd say check it out. It can get pretty gritty, though, so if you have a low tolerance for that, then avoid it.
I guess why people don't like this film is they feel it doesn't do justice to the James Ellroy novel it's based on and, while as a writer myself I'd normally be the first to say do justice to a source when making it into a movie, in this case, i didn't mind. I went on to read the book and, to be honest, it disappointed me. For a novel titled The Black Dahlia, I expected there to be much more in it about the Black Dahlia, or at least solving her case. Instead, the story in the novel goes off on weird tangents and subplots and really it's more about the detectives and the corruption of the police department at the time. The film focuses more on Elizabeth Short (the Dahlia) and her demise and how it affects the people she knew and the people trying to solve her case. Not to mention that creepily awesome tie-in with The Man Who Laughs.
Nevermore!
I guess why people don't like this film is they feel it doesn't do justice to the James Ellroy novel it's based on and, while as a writer myself I'd normally be the first to say do justice to a source when making it into a movie, in this case, i didn't mind. I went on to read the book and, to be honest, it disappointed me. For a novel titled The Black Dahlia, I expected there to be much more in it about the Black Dahlia, or at least solving her case. Instead, the story in the novel goes off on weird tangents and subplots and really it's more about the detectives and the corruption of the police department at the time.
You answered your own question. The Ellroy novel isn't really about the murder, it just sets the background for the other character drama.
My problem with the film is that it no way does justice to the novel -- trying to film an Ellroy novel is like trying to put lightning in a bottle. L.A. Confidential got the narrative right but did so without really capturing the darkness of the novel.
Ellroy's later novels would be pretty much impossible to make a single film out of from a sheer narrative density perspective and no Hollywood production would be willing to include the level of racism, brutality and depravity perspective.
I do think that HBO could probably do a single Ellroy novel as a TV season and that's probably the only way to do justice to the density problem, but I doubt even they would be willing to include the relentless racism which is so much a constant in his novels. HBO's "True Detective" season 2, though, managed to capture (and update to contemporary times) any of the narrative elements of "White Jazz", although reassembled into a different central narrative.
But as film adaptations go, this one is all early 1950s style and no oomph. Josh Hartnett is a crummy actor and nobody else really stands out. share
I'm one of the few people I know that dislikes LA Confidential. I think it's one of the most overhyped films of All-time. It's NOT Bad, per say, just nowhere near the status it's received(Obviously my useless opinion lol)... As for The Black Dahlia, it's the opposite. I don't think it's GREAT, but I think it's much better than the Credit it gets.
shareI'm not all that hot on LA Confidential either I give it an 8/10. They leave out the hats in LA Confidential, it's a glaring WTF omission. Call it the "romance of the fedora" aside from the DeVitos' character Sid Hudgens and James Cromwell's Dudley Smith, fedoras are absent, missing in action. It just doesn't feel quite right, it would be sort of on par with making a Western without cowboy hats, the characters look naked. -1
Ok I can understand somewhat where Hanson is coming from in a commentary he states that he wanted to make a film that didn't feel like a period piece because he was concerned about getting funding, but you could at least have had 1/4 of the cast wear fedoras and one of the leads. The Author James Ellroy on his commentary on the DVD for Crime Wave "Sterling Hayden-- That is my Bud White. That is my Bud White! f--k Russell Crowe in 'L A Confidential.' I mean he was okay, but he's a shrimpy little sh-t Bud White as Bud Whites go. Sterling Hayden is the real deal. Look at this! He's not even acting. Look at that hat!" 'nuff said.
I wasn't all that fond of the cast as a whole either another minus for me. -1
I do think that HBO could probably do a single Ellroy novel as a TV season and that's probably the only way to do justice to the density problem, but I doubt even they would be willing to include the relentless racism which is so much a constant in his novels. HBO's "True Detective" season 2, though, managed to capture (and update to contemporary times) any of the narrative elements of "White Jazz", although reassembled into a different central narrative.
The only way to do it right, agree. But it has been so long since I've read the novel that I wasn't disappointed and went with it. share