Among the best films of the 90's

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2001)

POSITION ON TOP 100 (2001): #98. Curtis Hanson's LA Confidential is a brilliant example of people being attracted to old fashioned films. And it is very much an old fashioned films, a film noir very much in the style of the 40's and 50's film noirs and the novels of Raymond Chandler. But it is more than just a film in the style of these film noirs, it is actually like the very best of these films noirs, the script is excellent (it manages to miss big chunks from the James Ellroy book, yet still keep an excellent story with great dialogue) and the cast is perfect, from a pre-Gladiator Russell Crowe to a nasty little journalist played by Danny De Vito ("off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush"), not to mention brilliant performances from Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Guy Pearce and Kim Basinger. As the A.M.P.A.S. now probably realise, it should have won best picture OSCAR over Titanic, no question.
90% - ***** (out of 5)