L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE FILM
"L.A. CONFIDENTIAL," produced by Warner Brothers Films in 1997, stands as the most successful Ellroy adaptation to date: the fact that the film tackles one of the Demon Dog's most complex novels makes the film's achievement all the more impressive. The screenplay, written by Brian Helgeland and director Curtis Hanson, takes significant liberties with Ellroy's book (the third chapter in a tetralogy dubbed by Ellroy, "the L.A. Quartet,") but succeeds in capturing the essence of Ellroy's sprawling narrative. Guy Pearce stars as Edmund Exley; Russell Crowe portrays Wendell "Bud" White; Kevin Spacey portrays "Trash Can" Jack Vincennes and James Cromwell appears as a surprisingly effective Captain Dudley Smith. The movie earned two academy awards and is available on VHS and DVD.
CREDITS:
Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson
Russell Crowe...Bud White
Guy Pearce...Ed Exley
Kevin Spacey...Jack Vincennes
James Cromwell...Dudley Smith
Kim Basinger...Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito...Sid Hudgens
David Strathairn...Pierce Patchett
Ron Rifkin...D.A. Ellis Lowe
Matt McCoy...Brett Chase
Paul Guilfoyle...Mickey Cohen
Paolo Seganti...Johnny Stompanato
Graham Seganti...Dick Stensland
Amber Smith...Susan Lefferts
Darrell Sandeen...Buzz Meeks
Tomas Arana...Breuning
Produced by...Arnon Milchan, Curtis Hanson, Michael Nathanson
Directed by...Curtis Hanson
Music by...Jerry Goldsmith
Story editor...Geoffrey Stier