Genre: Dramas, Murder, Cops, Adaptation, Crime, Actresses, Based On A Novel

 

Director: Brian De Palma

Cast/Crew: Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Mia Kirshner, Rose McGowan, Fiona Shaw, Jemima Rooper, John Kavenagh

 

Condition:

PREVIOUSLY VIEWED - The DVDs will play 100% or you will get a replacement. The keyword to remember is it is USED first and foremost. This DVD may contain spindle stickers and may have minor scratches - cases, artwork, and disk are not going to be mint condition.

 

Description:

Based on the novel by James Ellroy, Brian De Palma's THE BLACK DAHLIA stars Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as a pair of LAPD detectives assigned to the most notorious murder in Hollywood history. De Palma takes things slow, spending a good 20 minutes establishing the relationship between Buddy Bleichert, Lee Blanchard, and their mutual love Kay (Scarlett Johanssen), before introducing the 1947 murder after which the film is named. In the haunting screen-tests left behind after her mysterious death, aspiring actress Elizabeth Short appears to want fame so badly she'll do anything to get it. Her pornographic film appearances, and a rumored affair with narcissist heiress Madeleine Linscott (Hillary Swank), provide just two clues in a sea of confusion. THE BLACK DAHLIA crams every subplot from Ellroy's novel into two hours, but only connects them towards the end of the movie. The screen-tests featuring a sadly desperate Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) are captivatingly filmed in gritty black-and-white. These scenes succeed in showing the industry ugliness most likely behind Elizabeth's death, while the rest of the film self-consciously strives to be noir through elaborate set design, dramatic camera angles, and narration taken straight from the book. If De Palma's goal was to make us examine our own voyeuristic fascination with murder, particularly the gruesome murder of a beautiful young woman, then he succeeds, because throughout a film invested in so many different storylines, Short's remains the most interesting one.

 

Release Notes:

DVD Features: Region 1 Snap Case Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - Spanish Subtitltes - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional Additional Release Material: Featurette - 1. REALITY AND FICTION: THE STORY OF THE BLACK DAHLIA 2. THE CASE FILE 3. THE DE PALMA TOUCH PRESENTED BY VOLKSWAGEN

ItemID: 1159347

StockID: 16575

UPC: 025192918025

ISBN: 6310734199

Catalog Number: MCA 61029180

Rating: R (MPAA)

Rating Reason: for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and language.

Release Company: Universal Studios Home Video

Format: DVD

In Print Date: 12/26/2006

Original Release Year: 2006

Country of Origin: USA

Language: English (English Subtitled, French Dubbed, French Subtitled, Spanish Dubbed, Spanish Subtitled)

Closed Caption: No

Extra Info: Anamorophic Widescreen

Runtime: 2Hr 2min