Hey everyone! Check out a young Russell Crowe in one our favorite modern film noirs - hope you enjoy! And check out Jonathan's not-so-surprising reaction at the end!
@NeilLewis778 ай бұрын
its always funny how we see peoples ages through the lense of film. to me, russel crowe is super young in romper stomper and as i watched this in the cinema, this is crowes normal age and hes now an old man.
@ps539211 ай бұрын
To this day one of my favorites! I watch it at least once a year. Great reaction!
@diarrheagondola Жыл бұрын
Exley isn't corrupt, even in the 2 books he appears in. He's a political climber, and will exploit any corruption or weakness he can find in a rival to advance. At his core, though, he's a good cop and wants to see justice done.
@tomandrews288710 ай бұрын
Hes not corrupt. I wouldn’t call him good. Especially in White Jazz. He cares more about himself than justice.
@diarrheagondola10 ай бұрын
@@tomandrews2887 Even in White Jazz, he cared most about making Dudley Smith pay.
@tomandrews288710 ай бұрын
@@diarrheagondola Of course. But he wasnt really good. He was Fd up and cold and ruthless. Hes one of the most complicated characters ever. In the books at least.
@sephjnr9 ай бұрын
He justified his machinations on wanting to match up to his father's standards. For reasons revealed in the LA Confidential novel he shifts towards personal vengeance.
@Missy-247 ай бұрын
Calling Exley the bad guy at the start put me off this video. I'd understand "unlikable" but "bad"...
@Daddybear-ht8wi9 ай бұрын
I'm in my late 70's, Mickey Cohen was a real gangster. Generally speaking from what I can remember: The 2 men who got shot in the car were real. The 2 men in the house with heroin were real. Johnny Stompanado, Cohen's bodyguard and real boyfriend to Lana Turner, real people. Johnny went to Scotland and accused Sean Connery of having an affair with Lana, while shooting a movie together. He pulled a gun on Connery who took the gun away, beating up Stompanado. The story is built around real corruption in the L. A. Police Dept. in the early 50's Lynn was safe with the Sheriff's dept., not the police dept. Mickey Cohen spent time at McNeil Island Federal penitentiary for tax evasion.
@3sappington8 ай бұрын
Johnny Stompanato was stabbed to death by Lana Turner's daughter.
@alecfoster441311 күн бұрын
@@3sappington And the jury dropped the charges I believe, as she was defending her mother.
@MarcoMM1 Жыл бұрын
Great reaction Jonathan, This is a rare perfect film. Everything about this film is amazing from the cast, their acting, story, directing, cinematography, editing and pacing I can't recommend this film more, an absolute must see! It absolutely should have won best picture that year! There are some fun-facts about it, the look of the film is very authentic. One of the parts of the film that still stands up very well is the production values and overall look of the film in recreating 1950s L.A. This is because much of what we see is real. The “Bloody Christmas” was a real-life event. One of the key moments in this movie is a riot that occurs in the police station on Christmas Eve. Called “Bloody Christmas” by the press, it was actually based on a real event that took place. The casting of the main character was a much simpler process for Hanson. The main character in the film is the ambitious officer Ed Exley. When he was casting Exley, Curtis Hanson always knew he wanted an unknown actor to play him. In his words: “I didn’t want audiences to know what to expect.” So, a casting call went out and extensive auditioning took place. When Guy Pearce auditioned, Hanson loved him. In the novel, James Ellroy describes Bud White as being the biggest cop on the LAPD and well over 6 foot tall. So, to prepare, Crowe moved into an apartment so small that he had to duck to get into the doorways, and could barely stand up. He said this worked in making him feel like a giant by the time he came to the set to shoot. The Fleur de Lis is based on a real-life rumour. This is actually based on a real-life rumour about a similar agency that used to circulate in 1950s Hollywood. There was a screenwriter at the time called Garson Kanin he wrote a couple of Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn comedies and, in his memoirs, Kanin described a place called Mae’s, where there were girls who looked like Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich and Ginger Rogers. And the Fleur de Lis is based on that place. Warners turned down Hanson's request to submit "L.A. Confidential" to the Cannes Film Festival, reasoning that the French fest would be biased against a big-studio production. Hanson went behind the studio's back, submitted the film anyway, and was rewarded with a screening that was well-received by critics. Keep up the good work.
@DrewG-wd8ql Жыл бұрын
Easily in my top 5 all time and I'm 66, so seen a ton of great movies. I'm glad how well you paid attention to the entire movie and didn't get bored at the beginning following our three cops on three different investigations. Now you can see how all three tied together and turned into an explosive ending. Great reaction!
@AuspexAO11 ай бұрын
"Hold up your badge, so they'll know you're a policeman." James Cromwell is so underrated in this movie. He really is a despicable person, but what makes it worse is that you can always see the teacher and mentor in him. The ethical questions he posits to Exley at the beginning of the movie turn out to be prophetic as he is gunned down to prevent another miscarriage of justice.
@anthonyleecollins9319 Жыл бұрын
You're not the only one who didn't see the "big swerve" coming. I saw this in a crowded theater, and when Dudley fired the gasp from the audience practically drowned out the gunshot on the screen. You may know this already, but "Bloody Christmas," and also the relationship between Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato, were based on real events.
@AuspexAO11 ай бұрын
I was there too and yeah there were people saying, "no!" and gasps. It was crazy how well that scene played.
@billolsen436011 ай бұрын
The story has as many swerves and curves as the highway from San Berdoo up to Lake Arrowhead.
@johnkeenan182911 ай бұрын
One of my top three favorite films, and, to my mind, one of the greatest American films ever made.
@genghispecan Жыл бұрын
Great reaction - glad you could appreciate this rare gem of a modern film... not an ounce of fat in the script. That "big swerve" was one of the handful on instances where I witnessed an audience in shock - a collective intake of breath followed by a deathly, stunned silence across the entire auditorium; it was a tremendous experience. What amazes me is how easily this film could have been murdered in editing because it was "too long" or "too slow" but the studio had the wisdom to let the director tell the story, not talk down to the audience and let the story evolve along with the characters. One of my favorite flicks - truly think it got robbed by the unstoppable spectacle of the year that was Titanic.
@TennSeven11 ай бұрын
Great reaction! This movie is just so damn good, and the book, written by James Ellroy, is even more phenomenal (as are the other three volumes of his "L.A. Quartet" series).
@Al_NERi11 ай бұрын
My favorite of the L.A. quartet novels is the second, The Big Nowhere. Sometimes I wish it would be adapted for the screen but considering the cinematic fate of the inaugural L.A. novel The Black Dahlia (horrible movie unconvincingly shot in Bulgaria instead of L.A. Effectively ended director Brian DePalma's major studio career) maybe not. On the other hand if it were to be made with the same quality as Confidential it would make a gangbusters detective mystery/thriller.
@TennSeven11 ай бұрын
@@Al_NERi Yeah, I like that one, too! I also think it would be hard to convince James Ellroy to even let it be adapted because by all accounts he absolutely hated both The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential movies (though he's said DePalma's original three hour cut of The Black Dahlia wasn't too bad).
@2skeletonz148 ай бұрын
Very cool factoid The final, final, final credit was the movie was dedicated to Sgt. Jack Vincennes.😮
@Tr0nzoid Жыл бұрын
Kim Basinger has said her name is pronounced like "bay-singer" and it is how she has been introduced in talk shows, without dispute. That said, I always have to get reminded how to pronounce "Theron."
@vahaneloyan Жыл бұрын
You guys should watch Kubrick’s The Killings. It’s probably the last old Film noir. It’s Base-Sin-Ger.
@sapfire228811 ай бұрын
Bloody Christmas was a real event, each cop is flawed in someway which is why this movie is so great. Interesting fact, Exley and White live and are the ones that give a reason to why they became a cop, whereas Jack doesn’t and is killed.
@richardkovacs200610 ай бұрын
And the inclusion of Lana Turner and Johnny Stomapnato -later ending up in a murder, which left a few questions... In fact before the murder Stompanato was beaten up by none other than Mr James Bond himself Sean Connery for abusing Lana on the set. So funny how these real life stories/people were used for this story. Very smart.
@maralinekozial91317 ай бұрын
This film is & was on another level back then & today!!!! Best film of 1997 by far❤
@randal_scandal7 ай бұрын
This is my favorite movie of all time. Noir. Twists. Rolo Tomasi.
@987654321wormy3 ай бұрын
This movie is getting close to being 30 years old and it holds up like it was put out last year.
@kennethcrist4438 ай бұрын
Lynn wasn't "perfect". She agreed to be a part of the scheme to get Exley killed. She didn't know that part, but she knew the pictures were being taken and she allowed herself to be screwed by Exley, thus betraying Bud. Even though she thought she was helping Bud, she is smart enough to know that the way she was doing it was wrong at least morally. No "perfect" people in James Ellroy's world.
@tfpp1 Жыл бұрын
This movie isn't the one to be having the debate if it's a "Christmas" movie or not. That one - is Die Hard. 43:57 - I KNOW RIGHT?, I love how much you appreciated this moive. It's pretty much cemented on my top 10 films of all time, of any genre. I just . . . never tire of watching this work of art. And if you like moral ambiguity, watch The Rock. It's rare when your antagonist is a "reluctant villain".
@jaymedina31426 ай бұрын
Perfect. Every performance, of every character, was perfect.
@richardkovacs200610 ай бұрын
This movie is packed with great acting. Kevin Spacey to me is perfection in this, but all the other actor are in their top game. The whole mood of the movie is just great (in being dark). Love this movie, I-ve seen it so many times, but never get tired of it. Love love love the Rollo Tomasi scenes.
@gordonhaire92068 ай бұрын
"Chinatown" "The Two Jakes" "Mulholland Falls" "Sunset Boulevard"
@johnr80956 ай бұрын
not only are they a perfect team once they start working together they naturally coordinate their movements. At one point Exley tosses keys at Bud and bud immediately knows to catch them. and they had just started working together.
@janehollander38432 ай бұрын
I really wanted a sequel with them together solving another conspiracy. I was so sad to see them separate at thr end.
@krisbrown66928 ай бұрын
This is the last film I bought on VHS, the first film I bought on DVD, Bluray, and Digital Video. Just an amazing film.
@maralinekozial91317 ай бұрын
Same here & I re bought it a second time on VHS back in 2000 also because I couldn't afford a DDV player yet ❤ Masterpiece film to this day
@phoenixfire1243 ай бұрын
This is such a great movie. I think it gets lost in the mix more than it deserves. Great reaction! Very fun
@Dude_on_a_Map Жыл бұрын
I just saw this in 2023 as well, I was blown away by this film and sad I had not seen it sooner
@pajanightbadger17136 ай бұрын
I've given Kevin Spacey the same pass I gave Michael Jackson after watching this. To call this film a hidden gem is doing it a disservice, it's a true masterpiece.
@leebrandt859710 ай бұрын
Everything about this movie feels like lightning in a bottle
@criminalcontent10 ай бұрын
it’s not talked about enough!
@chickmcgee1000 Жыл бұрын
You should get the deluxe dvd, it comes with an earlier attempt at making a folm from the novel, starring Kiefer Sutherland. Not knocking that movie, but it really reveals just how perfect Lee Curtis Hansen made magic with his version of James Elroy, writer of the trilogy does interesting commentary about the movie. Great review. This movie is missed by too many people it’s a true masterpiece film.
@Ddoc0802 ай бұрын
I saw it three times in the movie Theatre when it came out. Then went to a 20th anniversary screening at my local art house theater. It's perfect except Exley's decidedly 1990's style glasses. In the 50's his glasses would have been more Buddy Holly. I only recently realized this one mistake. Lol
@MikeKruzel3 күн бұрын
I remember seeing this in the theater. Great cast! I remember Matt McCoy playing Chainsaw, Mark Harmon's student in Summer School. 😂
@HK-wv4hr9 ай бұрын
Such a great reaction! I love when someone appreciates how good this is.
@RichardFay10 ай бұрын
You nailed it. All three of the protagonists are flawed - Exley is ambitious, Jack is venal, Bud has serious anger issues - yet all three of them are effective at their job. They do the right thing for bad reasons, or in Bud's case the wrong thing for good reasons. Dudley OTOH, does bad things for bad reasons. If you like films with moral ambiguity, you should check out "Lone Star". A Sheriff in a Texas border town in modern times is trying to solve an old murder - and one of the suspects is own dead father.
@myoung76549 ай бұрын
Lone Star is a great movie and one that hasn't been covered by other reaction channels 👍
@JnEricsonx11 ай бұрын
Excellent movie. Saw it 4 times in the theater.
@chuckleezodiac246 ай бұрын
awesome movie. great reaction.
@jdolan74 Жыл бұрын
Jonathan always makes me laugh. I think I’ll always be partial to 20th Century Fox’s opening since I don’t get it any more not like I used to. Not only is DIE HARD a Christmas movie but DIE HARD 2 DIE HARDER is a Christmas movie.
@stevenhenry960510 ай бұрын
This is a top 3 movie for me. Not just crime movies, all movies, all time. The screenplay is absolutely phenomenal, the performances are amazing, the cast is stacked. The tension, the slow unraveling and reveals, and as you said, the symmetry of the storytelling. If this had come out any other year, it could've been best picture. And it should've beaten "Titanic." It's twice the movie.
@browniewin41218 ай бұрын
Die Hard is my favorite Xmas movie. L A.Confidential is one of my all time favorite movies, I think it is practically perfect in every way. This did not start Russel Crow's career. You liked this, I think you would like Lone Star (1996), and 2 Days in the Valley (1996).
@Ddoc0802 ай бұрын
Lone Star the overlooked mid 90's masterpiece
@ajcorreira-hv8vi11 күн бұрын
Fun fact in the book the gun fight at the end of the book happened in the opening of the book and it wasn't bud and exile In the gunfight
@wham-shirt-trimmer Жыл бұрын
The movie in Home Alone what Kevin watches is a fake movie made specifically for Home Alone. I don't know if that's the same actor. That you reference.
@criminalcontent Жыл бұрын
Right, it's an actor named Ralph Foody and the fake film is called Angels with Filthy Souls. (Thank you, wikipedia;)
@billolsen436011 ай бұрын
@@criminalcontent In this movie, he looks like a Dick Tracy comic strip villain.
@davidtoupal10157 ай бұрын
Voted best movie ever by rotten tomatoes
@davidtoupal10157 ай бұрын
Russel Crowe in good guys
@jodrizzle1 Жыл бұрын
Great showdown at the end.
@WUStLBear82 Жыл бұрын
The real Best Picture of 1997. If you want another unconventional Christmas movie, try _The Lion In Winter (1968) _ . Christmas with one of the most disfunctional families in history--the Plantagenets. Katherine Hepburn wins her 3rd Best Actress Oscar, and the film debut of a future James Bond, a future Hannibal Lecter, and a future King Arthur.
@RichardFay10 ай бұрын
...AND some of the best lines ever written : "Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife ! We all have knives, it's 1183 and we're barbarians".
@pasteye167110 ай бұрын
Such a great film and book. Now onward to another Elroy book/film The Black Dahlia, and then Chinatown...
@johnmoreland60892 ай бұрын
Nice reaction to this perfect film. I still can't believe this didn't win Best Picture over Titanic, even with Titanic's record-setting box office. Ah, well. Neither the first nor last one the Academy got wrong. LOL.
@larksmom7 ай бұрын
I am enjoying your reiew of this movie. But one thing bothers me. (I have seen the whole movie, but it has been a long time ago.) Why was the prosecutor not punished? He was with the top cop at the end.
@rafaelrosario5331 Жыл бұрын
Young Sherlock Holmes has a bit of a post credit scene...1985 Enjoy your perspective!
@jodrizzle1 Жыл бұрын
Great climatic shootout.
@obscillesk10 ай бұрын
Nono, i think you may be right about the home alone thing, cause Angels with Filthy Wings is fake, they made it specifically for those clips in the movie
@xxsilentreatmentxx10 ай бұрын
Wait do you think the gangster movie in Home Alone is really from the 40's? They filmed it in the 90's specifically for Home Alone lol
@kevinmckoy22768 ай бұрын
“Die Hard” is definitely not a Christmas movie. It is an action movie set at Christmas time.
@haroldshipmen9715 Жыл бұрын
you look exactly like the guy in the movie theatre in scary movie 1 who stabs brenda for talking too much.😂
@joeybrazil202411 ай бұрын
I love that scene! Lol Brenda crying on the platform.
@haroldshipmen971511 ай бұрын
@@joeybrazil2024 watch it back he looks like him 😂
@michaelatteberry6462 Жыл бұрын
I had to subscribe after the angel on top of the Christmas tree. Your reactions and analysis were spot on
@billolsen436011 ай бұрын
Seen the flick maybe 10 times through & never noticed that before. This guy does good work!
@jillfromatlanta4273 күн бұрын
No comment when the captain says the name Rollo Tomasi to Exley??? Geez louise. Poor.
@rollotomassi623210 ай бұрын
Great watching you mis-step your way through this masterpiece whodunnit. Rodrigo Salvador? C'mon man!
@jillfromatlanta4273 күн бұрын
Bay-sing-ur
@orangewarm1 Жыл бұрын
the world needs bad men (True Detective).
@lewismaddox413210 ай бұрын
You haven't even seen Chinatown yet, or if you have, you haven't shared it with the world. It's better. Jack Nicholson may be the best gum shoe in cinematic history. Don't look for anyone riding off with a hooker to Arizona, however. It's...Chinatown.
@criminalcontent10 ай бұрын
only nicolette hasn't seen it
@classiclife720410 ай бұрын
Lol, who the hell said this was a Christmas movie? Buzzfeed?
@TheWidowsSon704 ай бұрын
Morally ambiguous characters are much more interesting. It is why I have never been able to enjoy Superman as a character.
@criminalcontent3 ай бұрын
DC universe characters not as much depth as Marvel ones for sure (other than Batman)
@myfootballjesus Жыл бұрын
JUST BECAUSE a movie takes place in mid december DOES not, i make it a xmas movie , PSYCHO takes place around Xmas , but is NOT a xmas movie, it has nothing to do with the plot. Same with Diehard...( action movie)