Looking at film. Sometimes two very similar films come out close together, let's see which one is better...
2006: Period LA Murder Showdown
An unlikely investigator solves an famous real life unsolved Hollywood death in a Noirish mystery movie.
Round 1
TITLE
"Mack Sennett? Helped him build that housing project he was putting up... Hollywoodland..." ~ Emmett Sprague, The Black Dahlia.
- The Black Dahlia - Named after the press's name for the victim. Evocative.
- Hollywoodland - Named after the original Hollywood sign because DC Comics/Warner Brothers wouldn't let them used "Truth, Justice & the American Way." A bit bland.
WINNER: THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Round 2
PLOT
"Imagine the headlines. "Tycoon's Daughter Questioned in Black Dahlia Case--Played Footsie with Dead Girl at Lesbian Nightclub". Get the picture?" ~ Madeleine Linscott, The Black Dahlia.
- The Black Dahlia - A horrible murder of a young woman is the backdrop to a tale of sex, death and politics in 40s LA.
- Hollywoodland - A struggling private investigator investigates the suicide of Superman actor George Reeves.
WINNER: THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Round 3
NOIR
"Nobody ever asks to be happy later" ~ Toni Mannix, Hollywoodland.
- The Black Dahlia - Beautifully shot attempt at a noir film which comes off as a second rate Chinatown.
- Hollywoodland - Vague attempt at being noir.
WINNER: THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Round 4
MYSTERY
"I can see the pieces. How they should fit. How I want them to fit." ~ Louis Simo, Hollywoodland.
- The Black Dahlia - Throws together a sudden crazy solution to an unsolved crime for a mystery that gets in the way of the character study the film really wants to be.
- Hollywoodland - Come to the conclusion that the original assumption was correct.
WINNER: THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Round 5
CHARACTERS
"I will be on television in a month... Wearing brown and gray underpants." ~ George Reeves, Hollywoodland.
- The Black Dahlia - Well drawn, but essentially uninteresting group of characters.
- Hollywoodland - See above.
TIE.
Round 6
ACTORS
"She looks like that dead girl! How sick are you?" ~ Kay Lake, The Black Dahlia.
- The Black Dahlia - Some average male actors in good roles and some good female actors in average roles.
- Hollywoodland - Some good actors struggling with average roles, both male and female.
TIE.
Round 7
ACCURACY
"You can't see my penis, can you?" ~ George Reeves, Hollywoodland.
- The Black Dahlia - Uses an actual murder as the backdrop for a fictional tale.
- Hollywoodland - Relies a little too much on dramatising urban legends.
WINNER: THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Round 8
HOLLYWOOD
"Get the picture?" ~ Madeleine Linscott.
"Technicolor." ~ Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert, The Black Dahlia.
- The Black Dahlia - Like the victim, touches on the edges of the movies industry. Then blames the murder on the film that inspired the creation of Batman villain The Joker.
- Hollywoodland - A closer look at Hollywood and the making of The Adventures of Superman from the POV of an outsider.
WINNER: HOLLYWOODLAND.
Round 9
TESTS
"How dare you to permit me to talk about myself when I'm standing next to the most beautiful woman?" ~ George Reeves, Hollywoodland.
Bechdel Test:
- The Black Dahlia - A number of named female characters, none of which talk to each other, even a scene in a room full of lesbians and a family dinner with a father, his wife, their two daughter and the lead character. FAIL.
- Hollywoodland - A number of named female characters but they don't interact. FAIL.
Mako Mori Test:
- The Black Dahlia - The two main female character don't have much of an arc beyond both sleeping with the lead character. FAIL.
- Hollywoodland - None of the female characters have an arc, the lead males do. FAIL.
TIE.
Round 10
BOX OFFICE
"An actor can't always act - sometimes he has to work." ~ Art Weissman, Hollywoodland.
- The Black Dahlia - $49,332,692 not quite its $50 million budget.
- Hollywoodland - $16,803,753 far less than its $28 million budget.
WINNER: THE BLACK DAHLIA.
Round 11
RATINGS
"He said he'd give me two hundred dollars to act in a nudie film." ~ Linda Martin, The Black Dahlia.
Rotten Tomatoes:
- The Black Dahlia - Critics 49%/Audience 2.7.
- Hollywoodland - Critics 62%/Audience 5.8.
Metacritic:
- The Black Dahlia - Critics 32%/Audience 27%.
- Hollywoodland - Critics 69%/Audience 47%.
WINNER: HOLLYWOODLAND.
Round 12
SHOWDOWN REVIEWS
"Mr. Fire versus Mr. Ice. For everything people were making it out to be, you'd think it was our first fight. It wasn't. And it wouldn't be our last." ~
Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert
, The Black Dahlia.- They Might Be Critics: Metareview: Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia - Hollywoodland.
- Geoff at the Movies: Hollywoodland Black Dahlia - Black Dahlia.
- Collegian.com: "The Black Dahlia" and "Hollywoodland": He versus she. - Hollywoodland.
WINNER: HOLLYWOODLAND.
Round 13
READER'S POLL
"Impress voters with the quality of our men. Wholesome white boxers are a big draw, Bleichert. You know that." ~ Ellis Loew, The Black Dahlia.
Even if you haven't seen both films, do the survey.
RESULTS SO FAR
- The Black Dahlia - 9 (6 wins. 3 ties)
- Hollywoodland - 6 (3 wins. 3 ties)
Neither is really that interesting unless you're really interested in the actual events and then you probably won't like either film at all.
Upcoming Showdown
1986: Mystic East Meets West Showdown - The Golden Child vs Big Trouble in Little China.
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