L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on the 1990 crime fiction novel of the same title by James Ellroy, the third in his L.A. Quartet novel cycle. Both the book and the film tell the story about a group of Los Angeles police in the 1950s, and police corruption bumping up against Hollywood celebrity. The film adaptation was produced and directed by Curtis Hanson and co written by Hanson and Brian Helgeland.

At the time, Australian actors Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe were relatively unknown in North America, and one of the film s backers, Peter Dennett, was worried about the lack of established stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson s casting decisions and this gave the director the confidence to approach Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, and Danny DeVito.

Critically acclaimed, the film holds a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with 73 out of 74 reviews positive, as well as an aggregated rating of 90% based on 28 reviews on Metacritic. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Hanson and Helgeland for Best Screenplay Adapted.