L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997) C widescreen 136m dir: Curtis Hanson

w/Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, David Strathairn, Kim Basinger, Graham Beckel

From Variety's contemporary review of the film: "Drenched in the tawdry glamor of Hollywood in the early '50s and up to its ears in the delirious corruption of police and city politics, L.A. Confidential is an irresistible treat with enough narrative twists and memorable characters for a half-dozen films. Curtis Hanson's rich and impressively faithful adaptation of James Ellroy's novel will satisfy mystery fans and probably reps the best film of its type since Chinatown.

"Sgt. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) made his name busting Robert Mitchum for dope and continues to get plenty of mileage out of arresting celebs in tandem with Hush-Hush magazine editor Sid Hudgeons (Danny DeVito) and acting as unofficial advisor on the Badge of Honor TV show. Officer Bud White (Russell Crowe) is a rough, quick-tempered cop who refuses to rat on his racist partner, Stensland (Graham Beckel). Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) is a ruthlessly honest, college-educated young officer who won't play along with the code of protecting one another.

"Plot proper kicks in with a massacre at the Nite Owl Coffee Shop, a bloodbath that leaves six victims, including Stensland, in its wake. Exley emerges as the hero of the case, and White and Exley are thrown onto a collision course when it appears there may have been more to the Nite Owl case than met the eye --- things that bear upon the conduct of the entire LAD.

"The intrigue and tension mount steadily in ways that are complicated but not confusing. No one is beyond suspicion or, for that matter, elimination. Pic serves as an almost overwhelming reminder of the pleasures of deeply involving narrative in the old Hollywood sense.

"Aussie actors Crowe and Pearce are dynamite. Spacey is aces as the somewhat older homicide veteran who relishes his status as a 'real Hollywood' cop. Kim Basinger's vulnerable whore, a double for Veronica Lake, inspires her best screen work in quite some time. Working deeply within film noir territory, Hanson resists overdoing self-conscious stylistics, telling the story in superbly chosen settings that convey a pungent sense of a virtually vanished L.A."

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL won two Oscars: Best Supporting Actress (Basinger) and Adapted Screenplay (Brian Helgeland, Hanson). It was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography (Dante Spinotti), Editing (Peter Honess), Original Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith), Art Direction (Jeannine Oppewall), and Sound.