The Black Dahlia (DVD)

Before starting my review of this DVD let me say that I was surprised to read the vehement attacks on the film in the reviews that other users have written. It made me re-evaluate my opinion for a moment, and to be honest it may be that some of my enjoyment of the film was a sort of carry-over from my enjoyment of James Ellroy’s novel, but then I figured that if I got some entertainment out of it, maybe others will too. Either way, good to have some varying opinions, right?! So, the story centres around one of the most mysterious unsolved murders in American history, which the extensive media coverage dubbed the Black Dahlia. The murder was one of the most ...

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 ...

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’? ...