The Black Dahlia

[J. M. Stovall]

We rented it over the weekend and here's our review:

PU

Skip this clunker.

 

[Julius Xavier]

My Review

As far as the movie goes as a movie and not as a true story it was alright. I never read the book so I can't compaire it to anything. Although I thought it was going to be more about trying to solve the case instead of what ever you call what happened (still alittle lost). I agree with some of the comments that it seems like "Short" was used more of a prop and background scenery.


Here is my question though... Help me please...What's the make and model of the Little black two door automobile Josh Hartnett is driving through out the movie?



-JX

 

[Andykev]

The Black Dahila

I rented the DVD of the Black Dahlia.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387877/

I think this movie SUCKED. It was a cluster of non-connected story lines, and rambling plot lines..which "rambled" on to confusion. Yes, the costume and "look" was fine. But the acting and story line were horrible.

Was it just me? Or did anyone else find this film to be a major disappointment?

 

[Feraud]

I have read too many negative comments about this film.
It is getting tossed out of my Netflix queue right now!

 

[Les Gillis]

Black Dahlia

LA Confidential is one of my favorite books as well as films. Black Dahlia was a big disappointment. I'd really wanted to see it. I finally get to see it, the night it opened. I have never seen so many people walk out of a movie. It was ridiculous. This guy a couple of seats over just gasped and put his head in his hands at about half way point. A few minutes later he and his date walked out. I wish I would have followed; but I just kept thinking "it's going to get better"...it never did....and now I'm scarred for life....

 

[DOUGLAS]

Very,Very Weak!

 

[Kim_B]

Agreed. I was really looking forward to this, but it didn't live up to my expectations. Flushed Away was much better! lol

 

[Mike in Seattle]

There was a big string here on for months during the run-up to the movie and how everyone was hoping it would work (Josh Hartnett...seems to be the death knell to any film project), and then ultimately, how awful the film is. I got an early release of it a week before the premiere and I watched some of it...at least enough to see how bad it really was. And I was really hoping they'd do a great job on it. We were walking through Barnes & Noble a few days ago and Paul saw it on the shelf - "Black Dahlia! It's out on DVD - did you know about that? You should buy this...whoa! $29.99 is the SALE price?!?!?!"

What I've been told is Elroy's glowing review were based on the earliest unedited version - the theatrical release had over an hour cut, so the end result comes out pretty disjointed and hard to follow, even if you've read the book. And there were some major differences between book and movie. But I guess that's what you get in a DiPalma film.

I've still got the copy on my computer and maybe I'll force myself to sit through it in its entirety later this afternoon. I guess I can keep telling myself "Just watch for the great hats and nifty suits!"

 

[Feraud]

(Josh Hartnett...seems to be the death knell to any film project)

Right. As much as I wanted to sit through it for the outfits, Black Dahlia has a death knell x3. Hartnett, Johanssen, and Swank in one film? Scarlett may be eye candy but there is enough wood in these three to make a picket fence.
I read one of Elroy's novels and hated it so his review could never get me in a theater.

 

[MikeBravo]

Elroy review

I haven't read any reviews by Elroy

But I did see an interveiw he did at the Canne Film Festival and when the interviewer asked him anything about how he felt about the movie, all he kept saying was that he was getting paid.

I saw that as a bad sign; seems I was right shame, I wanted to see it

 

[Boston Adam]

I'm a big fan of crime noir stories and thrillers and The Black Dahlia did make me drool over the theatrical trailer before its release in September 06', I didnt get a chance to see it then since I had major priorities in line first but when I rented it, It was alot different and bland with the story and the connections from one character to another. It didnt have the pazzaz it showed all of us on the trailers. Those darn things are always misleading and is why they promote attention to films that make us believe its something worth our time and money, and sometimes even a hot date or a night on the town with the wife.

OH well, I will always feel that The director's "Untouchables" was always a great crime story flick and will always love it.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Here's ten pages of reasons not to see it.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=11004
I'll repeat my review:
PU

 

[cookie]

The Black Dahlia (2006)

This has just hit the video shops in Aussie. I had to get it out having heard that it had a lot of the LA Confidential tone with that Ellroy touch etc.

I thought it was very complicated and enjoyable...Ellroy is a hard man to follow. The Art Deco flat that Scarlet Johanssen inhabited was a classic.

The clothes were good but not in the Chinatown/Mulholland Falls league.

Very enjoyable film but you had to stay concentrated.

 

[Flitcraft]

The Ellroy novel is much better! You should definitely check it out.

 

[scotrace]

Ed. Note: Threads merged and bumped.

 

[Pink Dahlia]

The Ellroy novel is much better! You should definitely check it out.

Agreed. I was terribly disappointed with the film.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I watched the DVD last night. There's not much to add to what's already been said - the film looks good but is, overall, extremely lame. I was never convinced that it was really occurring in the 1940s - it seemed like a very contemporary story with modest period trappings. Josh Hartnett's acting is simply terrible (again) and, actually, none of the performances are especially good. The film mostly just lays there like it's DOA and then occasionally comes to life for a scene or two. Though beautifully photographed by Vilmos Zigmond, it's badly paced and doesn't make much sense - surprising for an old pro like DePalma working from a solid novel. I see now why it got lousy reviews and hasn't made back its cost.

A shame, really, considering that it could have been a fit companion to the masterful L.A. Confidential!

(It's funny to read the early posts on this thread: there was so much *hope* for last year's crop of period films... I wasn't crazy about Hollywoodland either, but I enjoyed it a lot more than this.)

 

[Miss Lucy June]

The Black Dahlia...sucked. And I wish I could get the time I spent watching it back.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Oh my...

...this film is bad. It was as if they put every noir cliche into a blender and fashioned a script from the flotsam. It was , literally, one of the worst films I've seen since "King Kong." This film should have come with a warning label.

It was boring, poorly directed, rambling, unconvincing, & terribly acted. About a half the way through I turned off the sound and posted on the Lounge.

 

[Les Gillis]

a few months didn't help...

I was suckered in to seeing the Black Dalia opening night by the trailers and the fact that I absolutely loved LA Confidential(The movie and the book). At the time I was horribly disappointed. I thought Josh Hartnett was wrong for the part and that they should have cast Molly Shannon from SNL for Hilary Swank's mother.

I watched ten minutes of it last night and realized that Josh Hartnett wasn't the weakest link and that they should have cast Molly Shannon...or at least Will Ferrell in drag...