L.A confidential is probably the best of it's kind, yet Titanic was a milestone and was a film made by a true visionary.
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LukeLovesFilm28 — 11 years ago(December 15, 2014 09:32 AM)
No. Titanic is great in all of those departments as well. But, Cameron's talent as a visual storyteller is too far ahead of its time. People can't see the forest through the glamor.
Rest assured, Titanic totally deserves all of those Oscars and all of the other accolades it received.
Had Titanic not come out that year, yes, LA Confidential would have and should have won Best Picture. -
LennyDH — 11 years ago(February 17, 2015 09:02 AM)
"L A Confidential always finishes in a higher position than titanic"
Not on this list:
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_all1000films_table.php
622 Titanic
761 LA Confidential
In fact, Titanic is regarded as the best American film of 1997 on that list -
thomas-begen-194-976045 — 11 years ago(February 01, 2015 08:57 PM)
With all due respect to "L.A. Confidential," which is one of my favorite films, something's wrong with anyone who dumps on "Titanic" as they have. "Titanic" is probably the most epic love story ever told and unable to be outdone; a story on Shakespeare's level.
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Gun_Murat_Ilban — 11 years ago(February 08, 2015 12:42 AM)
L.A Confidental was an entertaining film; but not exactly a strong contender against Titanic. I didn't really find L.A Confidental that impressive, it was a little cheesy and ordinary crime film. Well-acted, yes; the writing was also alright but nothing special.
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LennyDH — 11 years ago(February 17, 2015 10:11 AM)
If it also won acting and/or writing awards, it would have broken the record for most wins and then the film would have received even more backlash. So detractors (like you) should be glad it didn't get those, even though it deserved them as well (especially for acting)
Btw, you said LA Confidential is always in a higher position than Titanic which isn't true, as I've pointed in an earlier post. Titanic is placed 139 spots higher than LA Confidential on a list that's voted by over 3000 critics and filmmakers -
LennyDH — 11 years ago(February 17, 2015 10:49 AM)
It was in the running for two acting awards, so apparently the Academy thought highly of the acting as well
It's funny you ignore the list I came up with, but it's understandable though. LA Confidential fans were so sure it would come out on top against Titanic on every critics list, but alas -
LennyDH — 11 years ago(February 17, 2015 11:08 AM)
Kevin Spacey was nominated for lead actor at BAFTA, but I suppose he was pushed supporting for Oscar. Crowe and Pearce were pushed lead. All three didn't get an Oscar nom.
Titanic had one lead actor who received a Globe nom
Btw, I'm still waiting for your response on that list. -
LennyDH — 11 years ago(February 17, 2015 11:21 AM)
Yes, he voted as well. His ballot for Sight & Sound (2002) was taken into consideration.
Here are all the sources for that were considered (individual and miscellaneous lists):
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_all1000films_sources.htm -
Bobby9976 — 10 years ago(May 06, 2015 07:32 AM)
As far as I'm concerned the romance in Titanic spoils it for me. I know WHY James Cameron did it, but I would have rather his story focussed on the true story of what happened.
There are some interesting comparisons between the fact and the fiction on this website:
http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/67989947.html?thread=11797216699 -
steve-movies — 10 years ago(October 24, 2015 08:53 PM)
I cannot believe its been four years since I posted this! I completely forgot about this until I came back to this board.
He wanted to add some depth to Titanic I guess. It was his idea to throw in the romance so that way there was an actual plot. However, L.A Confidential is a mega-masterpiece.
Don't get me wrong - I can see why Cameron won. The direction in Titanic is phenomenal. But Confidential is the way better movie. -
wylierichardson-966-922691 — 10 years ago(February 16, 2016 10:47 PM)
But that approach to telling the story of Titanic (i.e. biopic with no tacked-on love story) had already been done, twice before. Those movies were "Titanic" and "A night to remember", both from the 50s.
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mkohary — 10 years ago(December 01, 2015 03:21 AM)
Over 4 years later but I'll reply anyway.
I agree. This and "The Sweet Hereafter" were IMO the best films of 1997, and I personally would have given the nod to "L.A. Confidential". Watching these films age in later years is really telling - "Titanic" is an entertaining film but it's not especially deep (no pun intended). In fact it has almost no depth at all (seriously, pun
not
intended), and plays out like a feature-length TV soap opera. The characters are more like one-note caricatures, the entire film relies on tired tropes for its story, and the dialogue has aged very poorly. The special effects which seemed oh so special back in 1997 have also not aged well. While the set design and costuming is still top-notch, all of the CGI sequences are painfully obvious. They don't detract a lot from the picture, but they still stick out like a sore thumb. Even the miniatures are pretty noticeable these days. While I think "Titanic" is very well-directed and pays great attention to detail, and remains the kind of fast-paced romp that James Cameron is known for, it comes across as overly formulaic and I don't get anything new out of it with repeated viewings.
"L.A. Confidential" on the other hand is timeless, and it looks as sharp and handsome today as it did in 1997. The script is amazing and the 3 lead actors do it full justice (as well as a marvelous supporting cast). It's wonderful to watch Crowe in top form, well before he was a famous movie star, and Pierce and Spacey stand toe-to-toe with him, resulting in a movie that electrifies in scene after scene after scene. The characters are well-drawn and the plotting is extremely intricate yet understandable. In fact, if you've read the book you might have thought it was an unfilmable story, and really it should have been. But somehow they managed to strike just the right balance in giving the audience important information in a manner they could swallow and at a pace they could handle, all without pandering to audience members who wouldn't be willing to work a little to keep up. The result is a super smart movie that rewards repeated viewings with all sorts of tidbits and nuances you didn't notice on previous viewings; this is a movie that never becomes boring due to familiarity.
Both movies are very well made and I'm not knocking "Titanic" at all, it was a huge achievement. But "L.A. Confidential" has stood the test of time much better and I think it's the bigger achievement, due to the extreme difficulty of translating that particular book (a dense read to be sure) to the screen so effectively. I simply never tire of watching it, ever, while I feel I have seen "Titanic" more than enough times. I felt in 1997 that "L.A." should have won Best Picture, and time has only cemented that position. "Titanic" won on spectacle, but "L.A." is the better motion picture.