The Black Dahlia (film)

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The Black Dahlia
Promotional Poster
Directed by	Brian De Palma
Produced by	Art Linson Rudy Cohen Moshe Diamant
Written by	Novel: James Ellroy Screenplay: Josh Friedman
Starring	Josh Hartnett Aaron Eckhart Scarlett Johansson Hilary Swank Mia Kirshner Rose McGowan
Music by	Mark Isham
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by	Bill Pankow
Distributed by	Universal Studios (USA only)
Release date(s)	15 September 2006 (USA)
Running time	121 min.
Language	English
Budget	$40 million (reported)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Black Dahlia is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 film directed by Brian De Palma. It is based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, which was based on the murder of Elizabeth Short. The Black Dahlia had its world premiere as the opening film at the 63rd Venice Film Festival on August 30th. The film's wide release was on 15 September 2006.

Contents 1 Background 2 Synopsis 3 Differences between the novel and film 4 Reaction 5 Box Office 6 Cast 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Background

The movie was originally in pre-production with David Fincher attached as director and Mark Wahlberg attached to play Lee Blanchard. Wahlberg was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with The Brazilian Job. Fincher original envisioned "a five-hour, $80-million mini-series with movie stars."^[1]

When De Palma became director, he replaced Wahlberg with Aaron Eckhart shortly before shooting began in April 2005.^[2]

This film was shot in Los Angeles, California and in Pernik, Bulgaria.

James Horner was originally on board the project but in February, 2006, it was reported that Mark Isham had replaced him.^[2]

[edit] Synopsis

The film follows two detectives in 1940s Los Angeles as they investigate the murder of Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner), known as the Black Dahlia. In a subplot to the movie, the two detectives, Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert (Josh Hartnett), and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) are caught in a love triangle with Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson). Lee and Bleichert become obsessed with the murder and it gradually consumes their lives, as they try to uncover an intricate plot that reaches far beyond the average murder, and into the depths of an urban underworld rife with pornography, femmes fatale, corrupt policemen, and criminals, a wildly graphic storyline set against the backdrop of the Black Dahlia murder.

[edit] Differences between the novel and film

In the novel, Bleichert loses the fight to Blanchard legitimately despite having arranged with gamblers to throw the match in exchange for cash with which to place his senile father in a nursing home. In the film, he appears to actually take the dive by dropping his defenses in the corner, allowing Blanchard to deliver the ferocious knockout combination.

The romance between Bleichert and Kay Lake is dramatically streamlined in the film; in the novel, they are married and eventually separated during the time that the case comes to a resolution.

In the novel, Bleichert succumbs more explicitly to the obsession with the Dahlia that Lee exhibited; this is understated in the film, though still suggested in several scenes. One notable difference along these lines is that at one point in the novel Bleichert hires a prostitute and has her dress up as the Black Dahlia; this scene is absent from the film.

In the film, the Sprague family is renamed the Linscott family.

The subplot involving Fritz Vogel (who appears as a bit character in the film) and his son Johnny Vogel (who is absent from the film) is entirely excised. The corresponding subplot involving the false confessors and Bleichert's brief suspicion of Johnny Vogel as the Dahlia killer is accordingly missing as well.

Due in part to the removal of the Vogel subplot, Bleichert's relationship with police captain Russ Millard is diminished in the film. In the novel, Millard assists Bucky during the resolution of the case toward the end; in the film, Millard never appears during this time.

In the novel, Lee's confrontation with Bobby DeWitt occurs in Mexico, not in Los Angeles as it does in the film, and the culmination of the conflict is discovered later by Bleichert when he tracks Lee's movements to Mexico and investigates his whereabouts. In the film, Bleichert is present for this incident and it occurs in Los Angeles: attacked by Madeleine, Lee and Georgie Tilden (who wanted to kill Lee) fall over the railing and die.

In the novel, Bleichert's recognition of the significance of The Man Who Laughs painting occurs because the painting is located at a neighbor's house, Jane Chalmers, who is not present in the film. In the film, the painting is in the Linscott residence. As such, the manner in which Bleichert deduces the identity of the killer is markedly different in the film.

In the novel, Bleichert confronts and kills Georgie Tilden at the murder site, but never directly confronts him in the film.

In the film, Ramona Linscott commits suicide; she does not in the novel.

In the novel, the incident between Bleichert and Ramona occurs when they are alone together; the film combines this confrontation with Bleichert's questioning of Emmett and Madeleine.

In the novel Bleichert arrests Madeleine while he kills her in the film.

[edit] Reaction

Despite being highly anticipated by many, the film was panned by critics. At Rottentomatoes.com, the film scored a rotten rating of 35 percent. Many critics said it was over the top and that the last half-hour in particular was excruciating. On Yahoo! Movies, the film scored a "C" from users. The film only made 12 million dollars after its opening weekend. Common complaints are that the movie was disjointed, lacked continuity, plot, or substance, and that much of the film was inappropriate given the supposed subject matter.^{[citation needed]} A number of critics noted as preposterous, the character's comments about a close resemblance between the very dissimilar looking (even in full make-up) Mia Kirshner and Hillary Swank, which is repeatedly referenced in the film.

The film was recently nominated for an Academy Award for its cinematography.

[edit] Box Office

The film opened Friday, 15 September 2006, in 2,226 theaters. It came in second place over its opening weekend, with an estimated $10 million gross box office. As of 26 October 2006, after six weeks in theaters, it has grossed only $22,545,080.^[3]

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Josh Hartnett	Ofcr. Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert
Aaron Eckhart	Sgt. Leonard 'Lee' Blanchard
Scarlett Johansson	Kay Lake
Hilary Swank	Madeleine Linscott
Mia Kirshner	Elizabeth Ann Short/The Black Dahlia
Mike Starr	Russ Millard
Fiona Shaw	Ramona Linscott

[edit] References

1. ^ "2 men, 1 obsession: the quest for justice"
2. ^ ^{a b} Trivia for The Black Dahlia
3. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=blackdahlia.htm

[edit] External links

• Official Movie Site
• The Black Dahlia at the Internet Movie Database
• Detailed Summary of the Film
• Detailed Summary of the Novel
• Brian De Palma a la Mod
• A Dark Moment in the Harsh Hollywood Sun - New York Times, February 5, 2006
• SoundtrackNet's First Listen of Mark Isham's score to The Black Dahlia
• Review at Being There
• Review and notes/trivia at the Alternative Film Guide