MovieChat Forums > The Black Dahlia (2006) Discussion > Another De Palma trying to copy someone ...

Another De Palma trying to copy someone else...

posted 14 years ago by breadman8
9 replies | jump to latest

it was a big fat splat. The mournful trumpet just couldn't carry the mood AND the weak imitations of other peoples work.
How does Di Palma keep getting all this Hollywood money $$$ to Throw Away. Yeah but Carrie and Scarface were long ago...and they were really more commercial successes than great films.

Some one told me "Body Double" was one of his great early works. I was astounded at how abysmal it was. Was it supposed to be comedic? By its standards Dahlia was okay.
Hartnett was totally wrong for the role. He's okay otherwise by how do folks rolling $50 million into this NOT SEE THAT?

I admit it I went to see Scarlett play a 'sweater girl' of the period. That was the ONLY redeeming feature. (didn't even notice her acting)

Hillary is a stalwart...she can even play a babe....but of course a strange one.
The ending was junk.
If your thinking 30's and 40's LA....Chinatown or LA Confidential were 17 levels Above this sad effort.

[–] bsharporflat 14 years ago

Ah it wasn't that bad. But it wasn't that good either.

[–] IndianaBat 14 years ago

I'm big on cinematography and I thought this film did an awesome job with that. I also thought it was very film noir, which I also like.

[–] waldenpond88 10 years ago

It reminded me of "L. A. Confidential". Even though the composer is not the one who did the L. A. Confidential score, it resembles it a lot.

[–] gary_overman 10 years ago

Ah it wasn't that bad. But it wasn't that good either.

I'll go along with this.

[–] moosefeathers 12 years ago

Who was he trying to copy?

He wasn't copying anyone. He made a neo noir film.

Body Double was a satire on Dressed to Kill Angie Dickenson scenes.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

[–] dalldorfw 11 years ago

Yeah, all de Palma ever does is copy. He's not like the unique and original Quentin Tarantino.

[–] Disardor 10 years ago

Yes, Body Double was intended to be comedic in some ways.

Who/what did you think The Black Dahlia was "trying to copy?" It's a neo noir picture like Chinatown and L.A. Confidential, but just because it's in the same genre as those two movies doesn't mean it's a "copy" of either. If that were the case than any movie made in any pre-existing genre would be a "copy" of everything that came before, which is ridiculous.

Upon my initial viewing I thought this was a perfectly serviceable film. I wouldn't rate it among De Palma's absolute best, but it was entertaining, well made, very well shot and well acted. I think it's deserving of far more respect than it's received from reactionary critics and audiences.

[–] alex-simmons-843-329258 10 years ago

I thought the Black Dahlia was great. I'd love to see the 3 hour cut.

[–] 10 years ago

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