A few words about...™ L.A. Confidential -- in Blu-ray

Robert Harris · 09-28-2008, 10:11 AM

There are certain entrances in film that hold a special place in cinema history.

John Wayne in Stagecoach; Omar Sharif in Lawrence...

and in a very interesting way, Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential.

Dressed in a long black garment inclusive of hood, with just the edges of the white interior of the hood apparent as she stands at the counter of a liquor store, her face unseen by the camera.

What one notices on this new Blu-ray disc from Warner is the immediate purity of the black and the white, which grabs your attention, leaving you to wonder for a moment who it is.

L.A. Confidential, directed by Curtis Hanson, is now 11 years old, but is one of those films that could be played theatrically today and still bring in crowds. One of the best films of 1997, and possibly of the decade, it continues to bring back memories of textures of Roman Polanski's Chinatown, one of the great films of any era.

Warner gives us L.A. Confidential on a gorgeously produced BD-50 with audio in Dolby TrueHD (yes, they are listening, but there is a production lag-time, and a few other lossy discs may still be in the system).

L.A. Confidential is brilliant filmmaking, beautifully presented on Blu-ray.

Highly Recommended.

RAH

PaulDA · 09-28-2008, 12:34 PM

Another one to add to my growing collection.

Geoff_D · 09-28-2008, 01:38 PM

Thanks RAH. Gonna watch this tonight!

Carlo Medina · 09-28-2008, 03:27 PM

Seems like every Best Buy within a 15 mile radius of me (there are 5) are out of stock on this. When I checked stock on release Tuesday all 5 had it, by Wednesday afternoon they were all sold out. Either each store received 1-2 copies, or this title is selling better than anticipated for a catalog title that didn't exactly blow the doors off with its box office revenue (though the film itself is exceptional).

Finally had to order this through Amazon. So much for instant gratification...

Loregnum · 09-29-2008, 09:01 AM

I have this in an order and can't wait to get it. Great movie and it is good to hear the disc has good quality.

**HTF Ads**

Man-Fai Wong · 09-29-2008, 02:25 PM

Mine arrived early last week on preorder from the WHV site, but haven't had time to watch it yet -- BTW, Kill Bill knocked our socks off(!) over the weekend.

Great to hear that I can expect a beautiful presentation nonetheless

-- and love how you whet our appetite for this one... Mmmmm...

_Man_

Michael Reuben · 09-29-2008, 02:43 PM

I took the chance on pre-ordering this even before getting the RAH review. Watching it again in this version was thrilling. Especially with all the detail that Blu-ray reveals, I was struck by how contemporary the film looks, even though it's a period piece and you're constantly reminded that this is an L.A. of the past. It's a tribute to Dante Spinotti and the production team that they figured out a way to make something look "period" but not "old". I can't think of any other film that's done it so effectively, and I suspect that's a big part of why the film still feels fresh.

And no matter how many times I see it, I still have to pay attention, or I lose the plot.

M.

JohnS · 09-29-2008, 07:53 PM

Already have this sitting on my shelf, waiting for my day off Wednesday to see it

I'm very excited to see this again.
Nice words Mr. Harris

Douglas Monce · 09-29-2008, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Reuben

I took the chance on pre-ordering this even before getting the RAH review. Watching it again in this version was thrilling. Especially with all the detail that Blu-ray reveals, I was struck by how contemporary the film looks, even though it's a period piece and you're constantly reminded that this is an L.A. of the past. It's a tribute to Dante Spinotti and the production team that they figured out a way to make something look "period" but not "old". I can't think of any other film that's done it so effectively, and I suspect that's a big part of why the film still feels fresh.

And no matter how many times I see it, I still have to pay attention, or I lose the plot.

M.

Interesting that if you watch you see very few men wearing hats, when everyone should have been wearing one. It was decided by Hanson that hats would be too off putting to a modern audience.

They intentionally chose clothes, cars, homes and other things that were modern looking for the time, to try and get the audience to forget they were watching a period film.

Doug

DavidJ · 09-30-2008, 12:06 AM

Thanks for the review. I'm glad the news is good as this is one of my "modern" favorites. I pre-ordered the disc, but I'm still waiting for a nice quiet evening to watch it.

Thivanka R. Perera · 09-30-2008, 04:02 AM

These 'few words about' sections are totally unnecessary. A dude comes in and says a film looks good, and the other sheep come in and thanks him for it. WTF?
And when somebody says otherwise, they get banned or reprimanded for not kissing ass.