The Black Dahlia is set in 1940s Los Angeles. Two cops, Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and his partner, Lee Blanchard, investigate the death of Elizabeth Short, a young woman found brutally murdered. Bucky soon realizes that his girlfriend had ties to the deceased, and soon after that, he begins uncovering corruption and conspiracy within the police department. - This is taken from imdb.com because I really can't think of a better or less concise way of describing the plot The Black Dahlia is a film of contrasts; a film of unscrupulous beauty and startling ugliness, of engaging intelligence and mystifying stupidity, of rousing energy and ...  Read the complete review

*This is a film only review* 'The Black Dahlia' is a 2006 film adaptation of the James Ellroy crime novel of the same name, and is directed by long established Hollywood director Brian Da Palma. The 'Black Dahlia' of the title is aspiring actress Elizabeth 'Betty' Short, a real life actress who was found brutally murdered in 1947. 'Bucky' Bleichart, played by Josh Hartnett and Lee Blanchard, played by Aaron Eckhart are two of the lead homicide cops working on solving the murder. Their investigation leads them into the seedy underbelly of Hollywood as they uncover corruption at the deepest levels. The somewhat fractuous relationship ...  Read the complete review

The Black Dahlia is a very dark and moody crime thriller filmed in the style of a film noir and set in the 1940s. Director Brian De Palma is known for his variety of filming styles, and here he tries to go moody with his lead males of Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart. However, despite a very dramatic feel to the feel, the plot and acting don't quite pull it off. Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard are partners in the Hollywood crime division, and following the death of the high profile Elizabeth Short, they start to investigate its suspicious nature. Loosely based on a Hollywood murder, the film attempts to match up to author James Ellroy's previous movie ...  Read the complete review

Some of the greatest directors have fallen from grace over the years. The 70s was a fertile time for film and many young and impressive directors came through the ranks. Of those there are only a handful that you could say are still great, Spielberg, Scorsese (maybe). There is a much longer list of directors that have fallen by the side; Woody Allen (marrying your own adopted daughter is NOT acceptable), Coppola. One director who started with ‘Carrie’ in the 70s but probably peaked in the 80s with ‘Scarface’ and ‘The Untouchables’ is Brian De Palma. How could a perfectly adequate director go from making these classics to making dross such as ‘The Black Dahlia’? ...  Read the complete review

I want to start by saying I watched the movie first then read the book. The movie for me was better but they are both bad. While the cinematic colors are nice and it is visually appealing, the story line is pretty boring. I know this movie was inspired by a true unsolved mystery, but this movie seemed to try to glamorize the story and it just went horribly wrong. They should have either stuck to the facts or fictionalized the story completely. The Story: Elizabeth Short was a wannabe actress who was found brutally murdered in California in the 1940's. Former boxer turned detective Bucky and his partner Lee are on the case. Soon Bucky is involved in a ...  Read the complete review