The Black Dahlia:

Eh. I look at the body of work not just the works that are great or the early pieces before I call someone a "god".

While many of the movies on your DePalma list are considered "classics" I personally only like 3 or 4 or them, if that many.

I love John Carpenter but I'd be lying if I didn't say I like his early work better and not be blindsighted to the fact he's also made a lot of crap, probably more flops than hits.

To me, subjectively, DePalma's made some really good movies, some overrated movies, and some really crappy movies. Dahlia is one of his more crappier movies. When I look at the body of his work I see a talented director who misfires more than he nails the bulleye... and when he misfires, he really misfires...

Raising Cain... Bonfire of the Vanities... Wiseguys... Snake Eyes... Femme Fatale... M:I... Mission to Mars... Phantom of the Paradise...

Yeah.... kind of knocks him a few pegs below "god" for me. For me DePalma and Francis Ford Coppola are on the same boat as far as directors go.

DePalma aside, Dahlia still sucked. From a directing stand point it felt very phoned in and almost paint by numbers. I would rather have seen DePalma rip off every single Noir movie ever made than direct from a trailer. When you're a "god" there's no excuse for lazy directing.... right Mr. Lucas?
 
And I thought this movie was about the Black Dahlia. My friend payed from my admission. It was free, and I still want my money back.
 
I would not put De Palma in the same category as Spielberg but he is definately on god-status. He is a true auteur.

I'd like to subscribe on that one but no filmmkaer has even batted 1000.

Coppolla

The great
Apocalypse Now
The Godfather: Part II
The Conversation
The Godfather

The Rest

The Rainmaker
Jack
Dracula
The Godfather: Part III
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Peggy Sue Got Married
The Cotton Club
Rumble Fish
The Outsiders
One from the Heart (1982)

Spielberg

The Great

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Jaws
Munich
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Schindler's List
Saving Private Ryan

The Rest

Hook
War of the Worlds
The Terminal
Catch Me If You Can
Minority Report
Artificial Intelligence: AI
The Unfinished Journey
Amistad
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park
Always
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Empire of the Sun
The Color Purple
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1941
The Sugarland Express

John Carpenter is still a god even if he has lost the touch simply for Halloween, Escape From New York and The Thing (Christine is still my favorite). More a demi-god.
 
iffy said:
And I thought this movie was about the Black Dahlia. My friend payed from my admission. It was free, and I still want my money back.
Click to expand...

It really is amazing how they kind of forgot about the Dahlia for loooonnnnnnggg stretches of time. Again, the adaptation of the novel was horrible. No excuse for it!
 
John_Hudson said:
I would not put De Palma in the same category as Spielberg but he is definately on god-status. He is a true auteur.

I'd like to subscribe on that one but no filmmkaer has even batted 1000.

Coppolla

The great
Apocalypse Now
The Godfather: Part II
The Conversation
The Godfather

The Rest

The Rainmaker
Jack
Dracula
The Godfather: Part III
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Peggy Sue Got Married
The Cotton Club
Rumble Fish
The Outsiders
One from the Heart (1982)

Spielberg

The Great

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Jaws
Munich
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Schindler's List
Saving Private Ryan

The Rest

Hook
War of the Worlds
The Terminal
Catch Me If You Can
Minority Report
Artificial Intelligence: AI
The Unfinished Journey
Amistad
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park
Always
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Empire of the Sun
The Color Purple
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1941
The Sugarland Express

John Carpenter is still a god even if he has lost the touch simply for Halloween, Escape From New York and The Thing (Christine is still my favorite). More a demi-god.
Click to expand...

By "rest" do you mean good but not great, or just flat out bad/average?


Good side topic for discussion -
Who has the best batting average?

I'll vote for Hitchcock -

61 features...

Bad

Family Plot
Topaz
Torn Curtain

3 bombs - probably 1 or 2 more - still have yet to see a few films of his, but pretty amazing regardless.
 
I don't see what all the fuss is about. I thought it was just fine. The vibe of the movie stuck with me for a few days and that's when I know I've found one I really dig. I kept looking in my backseat on the way home to make sure no one was going to jump out and strangle me. Not the best picture of the year or anything, but as a DePalma fan of sorts (and understanding that he's an acquired taste) I can safely say I really enjoyed it. That's all.
 
I can understand allegiance, but I just can't let that convince me that the movie was anything other than a trainwreck. Sorry.
 
Digging this thread up

I really enjoyed this film and am wondering exactly went wrong.

Obviously, I am in the minority on how I feel about the film, but I just got it. It is a beautiful set piece with some of best cinematography I have seen in a long time. Perhaps Vilmos most inspiring work since The Deer Hunter.

The score is superb. The direction is pure De Palma. I really enjoy watching De Palma's work!

I have heard many a mention of how confusing it was or that it was too layered or the plot got lost ... When ? I followed it from the opening frame to the last; I got it, I loved it.

I have heard many comparisons to Ellroy's L.A. Confidential; L.A. is a better story and a more enertaining movie but find the Dahila to be right up there in prowness.

-

The two best talent's are Hilary Swank, who is hilarious in this film and the mother (Ramona) is a way over the top wonderfully done role.

This film just lets you into 1940's Los Angeles and let's us hang out for awhile. Not sure what one is looking for going into this film, but just sitting back and observing really worked for me.

It isn't really a good versus evil or journey film nor is it a cop story more than it is really just a noir

We'd be oversimplifying things in calling film noir oneiric , strange, erotic, ambivalent, and cruel...."


This film has all of the ingredients and lives up to a classic noir tale. I really wonder went wrong with this that I can't place my finger on. As much as I enjoyed it, I recgonize something is missing.

-

De Palma speaks the langauge of visual story telling better than most any filmmaker out there. Sometimes he get's a bit lost in technique, but this film is a true De Palma visual experience.
 
I haven't seen it but I've read that it doesn't really have much to do with the Black Dahlia herself. Perhaps, you can speak to that...
 
On the contrary

The Black Dahlia serves as a backdrop !

According to the screenwriter, not much was known about Elizabeth Short and there were really no photos of her other than from the crime scene and autopsy.

Throughout the film there is a series of Screentests (being played by Mia Kirschner) that give us some insight into the person

They're really quite chilling; starting in the beginning with a nice little innocent Miss Short and spiraling into the last with a more mature and darker portrayal of her character. These sequences are almost surreal; played in black and white, projected onto a screen with a wonderful piano score

And Mia Kirchsner is smoking hot in it.

black_dahlia_061122070222637_wideweb__300x410.jpg


Aaron Eckharts police character is obsessed with the case and just goes nuts the deeper he gets into it

=

Without giving much away

The film's central characters are all wrapped up and connected with The Black Dahila and ending with the solving of the case (Even though the case was never solved)

I'd be curious to know what Callaghan thought of it with him being into that era in cinema
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top