RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

L.A. Confidential (1997)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
99 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:80

Fresh:79

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.6/10

Consensus: Taut pacing, brilliantly dense writing and Oscar-worthy acting combine to produce a smart, popcorn-friendly thrill ride.

Runtime: 2 hrs 18 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director Curtis Hanson captures the duality of 1950s Los Angeles in this striking film noir adaptation of James Ellroy's novel. The City of Angels might be sunny, inviting, and glamorous to the... Director Curtis Hanson captures the duality of 1950s Los Angeles in this striking film noir adaptation of James Ellroy's novel. The City of Angels might be sunny, inviting, and glamorous to the rest of the world, but it's also filled with corrupt cops, elegant hookers, murder cover-ups, and manipulative paparazzi, all of which are just the tip of the iceberg. It's impossible to know exactly who's trustworthy and who's not as three detectives (Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce) each use their own tactics to investigate a coffee-shop massacre. The script by Hanson and Brian Helgeland maintains the fragile framework of human relationships developed in the novel, while 45 different shooting locations give the film a solidly unique tone and feeling of integrity, immersing the viewer in 1950s Los Angeles. The entire cast is first-rate, with compelling performances from Spacey, Crowe, Pearce, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger, and David Strathairn. [More]

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell, David Strathairn

Director: Curtis Hanson

Director: Curtis Hanson
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Michael G. Nathanson, Curtis Hanson
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Apr 14, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for L.A. Confidential

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Writer-director Curtis Hanson's adaptation of the James Ellroy novel wasn't merely one of the two or three greatest movies of the 1990s; it stands as a masterpiece for the ages.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
11/26/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Everything Angelinos love and hate about their city is here, as well as anything a movie fan could possibly wish for.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment Comment
10/14/08
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

A modern cinematic classic...the alchemical reaction of a director and a charmed collaboration of actors, writers, and design artists...[Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
10/04/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

...one of the most absorbing, compelling, most thoroughly enjoyable crime thrillers to have come along in the past decade.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/29/08
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

A neo-noir masterpiece in the league of "Double Indemnity"...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
09/26/08
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Taut, atmospheric, acted with confident ease -- this is one of the greatest American movies of the 1990s.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/09/08
Channel 4 Film

You have to pay close attention to follow the double-crossing intricacies of the plot, but the reward for your work is dark and dirty fun.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
04/09/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Stop reading. Put this review on hold until after you've seen L.A. Confidential.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
04/09/08
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
Slate

Spacey's Vincennes is the standout in a just about flawless ensemble, and director Curtis Hanson keeps the hugely complicated story zooming along the boulevard of broken dreams without losing sight of the details that make the trip worthwhile.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/09/08
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An irresistible treat with enough narrative twists and memorable characters for a half-dozen films.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/09/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie restores genre elements to a level of potency that's disturbing, satisfying, and rare as hell.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/09/08
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dizzying and powerful.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/24/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

A parlor game has already begun as to whether the supreme acting revelation in L.A. Confidential is provided by Mr. Crowe, Mr. Spacey or Mr. Pearce.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
04/27/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Representing the best of Classic Hollywood Cinema, this noir policier is marked by densely-plotted narrative, psychological depth, moral ambiguity, emotional complxity, and great acting, mostly by non-Americans, such as Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/26/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

As the emotional nexus, a Veronica Lake lookalike trapped in a web of male desires, Basinger is arguably the pick of a perfect cast. Subtle, shocking, compelling and immensely assured.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

You could call it a huge epic, but it's also a scrappy movie, full of energy as well as style.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

I dug it big-time, baby!

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
05/06/06
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

In doing away with manners, Hanson's hardboiled detective stories craft a more hard-hitting picture of the time than any filmmaker who worked in the 1950s could have dreamed

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
08/19/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

There is a gritty, hard-boiled feel to 'L.A. Confidential' that is so audience satisfying.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Kansan | comment Comment
05/28/05
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

With every corner turned, the viewer feels that sinking feeling sink even deeper: everything's poisoned, everything's suspicious, everything's going down.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for L.A. Confidential

April 09, 2008: Total Recall: The 10 Most Corrupt Cops in Movies
In honor of David Ayer's Street Kings we did a little bad-to-worse survey of the boys who soil their blue. Some of them are hot, some of them caustic, but all of them are... More...

May 04, 2007: The Weekly Ketchup: Dunst Forgives Self For Bad Acting, Downey Reflects On "Iron Man," New "Magneto" Director, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, Kirsten Dunst talks about the woes of blue-screen theatrics, Robert Downey Jr. discusses his "Iron Man" pedigree, and the new... More...

May 03, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Spidey Senses Tingling For a Record Opening Weekend
Will the friendly neighborhood webslinger reclaim the holy grail of the movie biz - the opening weekend box office record? More...

July 27, 2006: Trailer Bulletin: Eric Bana & Drew Barrymore in "Lucky You"
I was wondering when we'd start getting smacked with all the poker movies ... and here comes one! Curtis Hanson's "Lucky You" stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Box Office

Box Office

New Moon #1, breaks TDK records

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What to Watch?

What to Watch?

Read our Holiday Movie Preview!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
4
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
98
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
63
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
99
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
74
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
49
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos
32
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
30
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • L.A. Confidential at Rotten Tomatoes
  • L.A. Confidential at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.