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The Black Dahlia

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The Black Dahlia

R

Released Sep 15, 2006

2h 1m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

32%

Tomatometer

192 Reviews

27%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Two cops in 1940s Los Angeles investigate the murder of a Hollywood starlet (Mia Kirshner), and one (Aaron Eckhart) puts his marriage in jeopardy by obsessing over the crime, while the other (Josh Hartnett) becomes involved with a woman (Hilary Swank) from a prominent family, who happens to have an unsavory tie to the victim.

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Critics Consensus

Though this ambitious noir crime-drama captures the atmosphere of its era, it suffers from subpar performances, a convoluted story, and the inevitable comparisons to other, more successful films of its genre.

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Brian Tallerico

UGO

You have to wonder just how vibrant the film would have been during the Reagan or Clinton administration, when De Palma was in his prime.

Mar 24, 2007

Full Review

Keith Uhlich

Reverse Shot

Ghost World: Keith Uhlich on The Black Dahlia for Reverse Shot's Brian de Palma symposium.

Nov 11, 2006

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Forty-five minutes in, I was already glancing at my watch and wondering why the only lively actress in this film was playing the dead girl. Go figure.

Rated: 1.5/5

Sep 30, 2006

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Noah Berlatsky

Splice Today

De Palma should be the perfect choice to helm a seedy neo-noir, but the script meanders, and the director ends up turning a story of greed, lust, and betrayal into an exercise in tedious moralism.

May 22, 2025

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

De Palma pours some of his aesthetic adjustments on it, but unfortunately its narrative often loses track of police intrigue and remains situated in common places in its uchronia about The Black Dahlia's nefarious murder case. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Nov 17, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Until it derails while heading into its final turn, The Black Dahlia represents Brian De Palma's most assured moviemaking in at least a decade.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 13, 2023

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Fil S

It could be much better.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Longoni M

Boring, slow lack of storytelling. How a movie should not be.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/01/25

Full Review

Daniel G

Not bad but not great. The cast was great josh hartnett Aaron eckhart scarlett Johansson Mike starr rose mcgowan and Hilary swank. The acting was great but i felt like Josh and Aaron did not have a whole lot of screen time together. The beginning of the movie was very slow paced didn't even get to the murder mystery story until 30 minutes in the movie. And also the ending was slow paced aswell and they show you who is the killers and the murder was unsolved. So it felt like they were making fun of the murder. So decent movie 7.2 out of 10 but wished it was better.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/25

Full Review

Donald W

Hard to watch a meandering movie looking for a plot. Reminded of many similar but far superior movies while watching. Depalma has never impressed. Only it gets worse over the years

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/05/24

Full Review

Heidi A

Lukewarm, mess of storytelling, boring and lacking in engaging material. i doggedly persisted til the end, but shouldnt have bothered.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/17/24

Full Review

Jelisije J

An enjoyable neo noir film that has a lovely cast and has enough plot twists that keeps you engaged throughout its run time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

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Brian De Palma

Director

Josh Hartnett

Officer Dwight Bleichert

Scarlett Johansson

Kay Lake

Aaron Eckhart

Sgt. Leland Blanchard

Hilary Swank

Madeleine Sprague

Mia Kirshner

Elizabeth Short

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Synopsis

Two cops in 1940s Los Angeles investigate the murder of a Hollywood starlet (Mia Kirshner), and one (Aaron Eckhart) puts his marriage in jeopardy by obsessing over the crime, while the other (Josh Hartnett) becomes involved with a woman (Hilary Swank) from a prominent family, who happens to have an unsavory tie to the victim.

Director: Brian De Palma
Producer: Art Linson, Moshe Diamant, Rudy Cohen
Screenwriter: Josh Friedman
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Signature Pictures
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language|Some Grisly Images|Strong Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 20, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.5M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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