It's Tuesday night, time for another Hit Me With Your Best Shot. This week we're looking at Curtis Hanson's 1997 Best Picture nominee L.A. Confidential, which was nominated for 9 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Cinematography (Dante Spinotti) both of which it lost to the 52,000 ton Titanic. But it's a lot of people's idea of a modern masterpiece so I was fascinated to read what others had to say about the movie.
See it through multiple sets of eyeballs, in this case 17 of them by clicking on any of the thirteen shots selected ... and please do comment if you like something you read. The series only works properly when people participate.
BEST SHOT(s)
Arranged in rough chronological order
Making news just like they make movies...
-Coco Hits NY
Opened up and unnervingly close at one and the same time...
-Timothy Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
At its heart, Curtis Hanson's stylish exercise in film noir tropes is a reflection on manhood and masculinity...
-RJ, Home Film Schooled
A clever tip of the hand, although not an overly obvious one...
-Allison Tooey
A turning point for the character...
- Andy Hall, Three Pounds Lost
The birth of Shotgun Ed reveals a confident directorial eye...
-CineMunch
Just as I became disillusioned, my shot would reflect the disillusionment of Ed Exley...
-abstew, The Film's The Thing
Is it possible to pinpoint the exact moment when a performance wins an Oscar?...
-Michael Cusumano, Serious Film
Despite the cool dusky warmth, Bud still walks in haunted noir shadows...
-Nathaniel R, The Film Experience
One of my favorite moments in Kevin Spacey’s career...
- Robert Hamer, Awards Circuit
The rain pours as Bud’s hard-boiled mask crumbles...
-Derreck Johnson
That's how you die when you're in close-up...
-Cal Roth
I'm just the guy they bring in..."
-Intifada
A live wire, always ready to brawl when necessary...
-Shane Slater, Film Actually
At any given point, any of them could be on either side...
-Jason Henson, The Entertainment Junkie
After all his moralizing, Exley has rolled in the dirt...
-Margaret, We Recycle Movies
One of the reasons I love this shot is that it really fleshes out the character of Bud White...
-A Fistful of Films
NEXT THREE FILMS - THE SCHEDULE