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Lunch » Tags » Movies » Reviews » The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia

13 Ratings: 0.6

A movie directed by Brian De Palma

The Black Dahliadrips withfilm noiratmospherics as it unspools a lurid and complicated story taken from James Ellroy's true-crime-inspired novel of the same name. Two boxers-turned-cops--Lee "Mr. Fire" Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart,Thank You … see full wiki

Tags: Movies, Drama Movies, Action Movies, Mystery, Brian Depalma

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Fiona Shaw, Mia Frye, John Kavanagh, see all

Director: Brian De Palma

Genre: Drama

Release Date: September 15, 2006

MPAA Rating: R

9 reviews about The Black Dahlia

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review by cyclone_march. October 13, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

The Black Dahlia -- tangential, dull, like a tale told by a punchdrunk boxer

Film noir, by and large, was filmed in black and white (despite the prevalence of color film available during much of the period they were popular) and ran fewer than 120 minutes. For the former, it is easier to play with light and shadow in the limited grayscale palate of black and white film. For the latter it was often because the films were rushed into the can using as little money as possible—grit was bread or butter of the film noir oeuvre, so rehearsals and retakes were done as little … more

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review by JohnHolt. April 30, 2009

Black Dahlia Review

I believe there are two movie versions of this story. I am a lover of mysteries. I would say this was a "B" level movie. I would not walk out on it and it kept my interest up to a point. Would not pay $10 to see it but would watch it for free on TV. I think the English to be the grand masters of mystery movies. They do no over do it and even with characters I have never heard of (Honeysuckle Weeks) and low budgets they do it exceptionally well. Series like "Foyles War" … more

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review by cdbaker. March 21, 2009

posted in Movie Hype

Mind Numbingly Boring

The Black Dahlia is an extremely disappointing movie. Adapted from the James Ellroy book of the same name, it uses a real life grisly murder in LA as the backdrop for what should have been a fine suspenseful, mystery. Instead, this movie is one of the slowest and mind numbingly boring films I've seen in a long time. The plot not only unfolds at a glacial pace, but the connection between scenes makes it difficult for the viewer to easily follow what is going on. Yes, it's … more

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review by Samie8183. December 19, 2008

Loosely based on facts, but a good movie

Black Dahlia is a about the infamous murder case of the same name and a novel by best-selling author James Ellroy. The details of the mutilations involved in the murder and the name of the deceased are two of the few things that the film depicts accurately. The film follows Detective Bleickhert (Hartnett) and his partner Blanchard (Eckhardt) as they obsess with the case and attempt to solve the murder, along with several other seemingly unrelated crimes. Plots are rarely … more

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review by arichards. November 01, 2008

Plucking the Dahlia

This movie's not a simple guide To Betty Short and how she died They used the Dahlia as a base And made this film around the case The focus of the movie seems To be the stuff Hollywood dreams Wealth and power, politics $ex and drugs and turning tricks A tag team nicknamed Fire and Ice Crime busters in the lair of vice Ex-boxers, the force's best Soon … more

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review by MzJen_2_review. June 29, 2007

[3.5]--"She was always in the middle, but never between us....,"

Elizabeth Short's death was the sensational centerpiece that attracted viewer's attention but wow, it amazes me what people are saying about this film. I didn't know how to begin with this review and before writing this I read lots who have been misled by the title assuming that the Black Dahlia murder itself was to be the main focus, probably any true McEllroy and De Palma fans will tell you its not and was not ever the case. After viewing this I thought it wasn't bad and it caught my attention … more

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review by newtonooi. February 19, 2007

LA Confidential on crack

The Black Dahlia was a famous murder of a young lady named Elizabeth Short, Betty, that occurred in Hollywood in the 1940s. The case remains unsolved, and spawned multiple books, one of which is the basis for this movie. The movie itself uses the murder and the ensuing investigation to explore multiple facets of LA society at that time; a corrupt LAPD, the criminal underworld, the rich and famous, the ultra-rich and secretive, and the various women who migrated to LA hoping for stardom but ending … more

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review by cdbaker. January 23, 2007

posted in Movie Hype

Mind Numbingly Boring

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review by gradyharp. December 29, 2006

'The Black Dahlia': A Misnomer of a Title

Brian de Palma made an odd decision in creating this apparently very expensive, very strange and confusing version of a film, a movie less about the grisly/twisted unsolved murder (grossly illustrated ad infinitum here) of a wannabe 1940s actress of the title and more about two boxer cops (bland Josh Hartnett as 'Mr. Ice' and over the top Aaron Eckhart as 'Mr. Fire') and their bizarre ménage a trois with unfocused Scarlett Johansson. The film as written by Josh Friedman attempts to follow the novel … more

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