Dark Blue (2002)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writers (WGA):

James Ellroy (story)
David Ayer (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 February 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Sworn to protect / Sworn to serve / Sworn to secrecy

Plot:

A robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.

Plot Keywords:

Lapd | Police | Robbery | Riot | Neo Noir

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Eldon Perry
Scott Speedman	...	Bobby Keough
Michael Michele	...	Beth Williamson
Brendan Gleeson	...	Jack Van Meter
Ving Rhames	...	Arthur Holland
Kurupt	...	Darryl Orchard
Dash Mihok	...	Gary Sidwell
Jonathan Banks	...	James Barcomb
Lolita Davidovich	...	Sally Perry
Khandi Alexander	...	Janelle Holland
Dana Lee	...	Henry Kim
Chapman Russell Way	...	Eldon Perry III
Marin Hinkle	...	Deena Schultz
Jim Cody Williams	...	Suspect
Eloy Casados	...	Rico
Graham Beckel	...	Peltz
William Utay	...	Sapin
Joe McChesney	...	Lefty
Master P	...	Maniac
Faleolo Alailima	...	Lucky 7 Bouncer
Eddie Mui	...	Lucky 7 Bartender
Kaila Yu	...	Lucky 7 Dancer
Wayne King Sr.	...	Mr. Lewis (as Wayne A. King Sr.)
Cheryl Reeves	...	Nurse
Peter Weireter	...	SWAT Sergeant
Keith MacKechnie	...	Interrogation Officer
Jamison Jones	...	Frank
Victor Prince II	...	Metro Cop
David Doty	...	Judge Russo
Ted Marcoux	...	J.R.
John Fadule	...	Shooting Board Officer
Darrell Foster	...	Sgt. Jakes
Heather Hutchins	...	Stenographer
Gregg Marc Miller	...	Officer Charlie (as Gregg Miller)
Nigel Gibbs	...	Pastor Dennis
Carmen Twillie	...	Church Choir Singer
Dorian Holley	...	Church Choir Singer
Monalisa Young	...	Church Choir Singer
Kudisan Kai	...	Church Choir Singer
Julius Rizzotti	...	New Lieutenant
Jordy Oakland	...	Waitress Tina
Michael Bentt	...	Officer Clay (as Michael A. Bentt)
Giovanni Antonio Guichard	...	Rastas
Tom Todoroff	...	Police Dispatcher
Bob Tur	...	Helicopter Reporter (as Robert Tur)
Eric Spillman	...	Newscaster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alan Davidson	...	Leon (uncredited)
Reginald Denny	...	Himself - Truck Driver Assaulted During LA Riots (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rodney King	...	Himself - Impaired Driver Bashed by LAPD Officers (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sean King	...	Promoted Lieutenant (uncredited)
Pablo Lewin	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Renji Philip	...	Swat Commander (uncredited)
Daniel Browning Smith	...	Dead Guy in Freezer (uncredited)
Rosalinde Tropper	...	Dead Call Girl (uncredited)
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Internal Affairs Detective (uncredited)
Timothy Wind	...	Himself - LAPD Officer Bashing Rodney King (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ron Shelton

Writing credits (WGA)
James Ellroy		(story)
David Ayer		(screenplay)

Produced by
David Blocker	....	producer
Moritz Borman	....	executive producer
Caldecot Chubb	....	producer
Sean Daniel	....	producer
Guy East	....	executive producer
James Jacks	....	producer
Nigel Sinclair	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Terence Blanchard

Cinematography by
Barry Peterson

Film Editing by
Patrick Flannery
Paul Seydor

Casting by
Francine Maisler

Production Design by
J. Dennis Washington

Art Direction by
Thomas T. Taylor

Set Decoration by
John Leimanis
David Smith

Costume Design by
Kathryn Morrison

Makeup Department
Romy Fleming	....	key hair stylist (as Romy D. Fleming)
Melissa Forney	....	key hair stylist
Dennis Liddiard	....	makeup department head
Peter Montagna	....	assistant makeup artist
Wynona Price	....	makeup artist: Ving Rhames (as Wynona Y. Price)

Production Management
Brad Arensman	....	post-production supervisor
David Blocker	....	unit production manager
Beth DePatie	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hope Garrison	....	second assistant director: additional photography
Hope Garrison	....	second second assistant director
Danny Green	....	second assistant director
Eric Fox Hays	....	first assistant director (as Eric Fox 'Purple' Hays)
Eric Fox Hays	....	first assistant director: additional photography (as Eric Fox 'Purple' Hays)
Cy Roscoe Strickland	....	additional second assistant director
Chip Touhey	....	additional second assistant director

Art Department
Kelly Berry	....	assistant set decorator
Jenny DeArmitt	....	art department assistant
David E. Duncan	....	storyboard artist
Dana McCall	....	assistant property master
Dana McCall	....	props assistant
Margo F. Newman	....	art department coordinator
Hope M. Parrish	....	property master
David Ronan	....	on-set dresser
Kevin Shanks	....	set dresser
Jim Wardell	....	lead man
Larry J. White II	....	set dresser
Ronald L. Woodward	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Bob Beher	....	foley supervisor
Matthew C. Beville	....	adr mixer
Gary Blufer	....	additional sound effects recordist
Lance Brown	....	sound designer
Lance Brown	....	sound supervisor
Lance Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Robert Carr	....	sound recordist
Michael C. Casper	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Michael Casper)
Tom Caton	....	boom operator
Patrick Cicero	....	first assistant sound editor
Robert Eber	....	production sound mixer
John Michael Fanaris	....	sound effects coordinator
Bruce Fortune	....	sound designer
Bruce Fortune	....	sound supervisor
Bruce Fortune	....	supervising sound editor
Frank A. Fuller Jr.	....	sound effects editor
Amy Hammer	....	mix facility coordinator
Glenn Hoskinson	....	sound effects editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Michael Payne	....	sound effects editor
Andy Peach	....	sound recordist
David Raymond	....	second boom operator
Becky Sullivan	....	adr editor
Mario A. Vitale	....	apprentice sound editor
Jonathan Wales	....	sound re-recording mixer
Donald L. Warner Jr.	....	dialogue editor
Aaron D. Weisblatt	....	dialogue editor
Martin Schloemer	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Jay Combs	....	special effects technician (as J.T. Combs)
Larry Fioritto	....	special effects coordinator
Wes Mattox	....	special effects technician (as Wesley Mattox)
Virgil Sanchez	....	special effects foreman
Virgil Sanchez	....	special effects technician
Doyle Smiley	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Johnathan R. Banta	....	digital supervisor: Sassoon Film Design (as Johnathan Banta)
Chris Brown	....	visual effects supervisor (as C.B.)
Anthony Longman	....	CG artist
Tim Sassoon	....	visual effects producer
Chie Toshi	....	CG artist

Stunts
Ben Bray	....	stunts
Olivia Chang	....	stunts
Darryl	....	stunts
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	....	stunt coordinator (as Jeff Dashnaw)
Keith Davis	....	stunt double
Brennan Dyson	....	stunts
Jeremy Fitzgerald	....	stunts
Conrade Gamble	....	utility stunts
Henry Kingi Jr.	....	stunts
Robert Powell	....	utility stunts
Darryl Reeves	....	stunts
Ron Stein	....	stunt cocoordinator
Mary Torres	....	stunts
Gary Toy	....	stunts
David Wald	....	stunts
Bill Young	....	precision driving coordinator
Marcus Young	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Dustin Ault	....	grip
Michael Bauman	....	gaffer
Mike Bonnaud	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Thomas M. Dangcil	....	electrician
Donald D. Davidson	....	electrician
Jeffrey De La Rosa	....	electrician
Dhamarata Dhiensuwana	....	rigging key grip
Frank Endewardt	....	electrician
Steven Frohardt	....	rigging grip best boy
Kurt Grossi	....	key grip
Steven A. Guerrero	....	grip
Aundre Johnson	....	videographer
Dan Kneece	....	additional camera operator
Jesse Mather	....	lighting technician
Jim McComas	....	best boy electric: second unit
Chris McNellis	....	best boy grip
Brad Peterman	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Tony Rivetti	....	first assistant camera
David D. Scott	....	video assist operator
Alec Shepherd	....	grip
Vich Thiensuwana	....	rigging grip
Mark Vargo	....	director of photography: additional photography

Casting Department
Tina Kerr	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Toby Bronson	....	costumer
Susan Saldutti	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Patrick Flannery	....	additional editor
Dan Muscarella	....	color timer
Clay Rawlins	....	assistant editor
Charlotte Spencer	....	assistant editor
Paul Tanzillo Jr.	....	negative cutter (as Paul Tanzillo)

Music Department
Terence Blanchard	....	orchestrator
Todd Bozung	....	music editor
Robin Burgess	....	music session coordinator
Erika Duffee	....	music session assistant
John Finklea	....	music editor: temp music
Edward Rogers	....	music scoring assistant (as Ed Rogers)
Joel Sill	....	executive music producer
Madeleine Smith	....	music supervisor
Tomica Wright	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Jim Chesney	....	transportation coordinator
Aundre Johnson	....	driver: cast
Brian Joseph Moore	....	transportation co-captain
Mark Valdez	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Gregory Barchie	....	assistant production coordinator
Slade Barnett	....	production assistant: Ron Shelton
Ericka Bryce	....	production medic
Michael J. Burmeister	....	location manager
Michele A. Carmel	....	production coordinator
Dorian Cirillo-Murray	....	additional production assistant
J.J. Dalton	....	production assistant
Scott Devine	....	assistant: Caldecot Chubb
Marcel Donea	....	production assistant
Ava DuVernay	....	unit publicist
Jon E. Edwards	....	production assistant
Roger D. Faires	....	location assistant
Manuel Figueroa	....	production assistant
Rachel Flackett	....	set production assistant
Amy Heidish	....	assistant: Caldecot Chubb
Craig Hosking	....	helicopter pilot
Patrick Ingram	....	office production assistant
M. Evan Jensen	....	helicopter ground coordinator
Alex Kivlen	....	key assistant location manager
Bonnie Kolber	....	assistant: Bordertown Pictures
Jeanine Lalone	....	assistant: Cheryl Nelson
Doug Marshall	....	assistant: Ron Shelton
Karen Evette Martin	....	production secretary
Shannon Mcdonald	....	stand-in
David Morisaki	....	script researcher
India Neilan	....	production assistant
Don Orlando	....	production accountant
Chris Palmer	....	assistant: Sean Daniel
James Pomichter	....	stand-in: Kurt Russell
William Ramirez Jr.	....	key craft service
Zena Shteysel	....	second assistant accountant
Robert Souza	....	consultant
Jim Swidarski	....	payroll accountant
Tom Todoroff	....	dialect coach: Brendan Gleeson
Sandra Tomita	....	clearance
Sandra Tomita	....	researcher
Marc J. Ventimiglia	....	location manager: second unit
Andrew Chitko	....	production assistant (uncredited)
George Holliday	....	footage: Rodney King (uncredited)
Tom Todoroff	....	acting consultant (uncredited)
Peter Weireter	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Thanks
Dan Reardon	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Alphaville Films
• Cosmic Pictures
• IM Filmproduktion
• Intermedia Films

Distributors

• Cinematografica Distributori Indipendenti (CDI) (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• United Artists (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films AB (2003) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Nu Visión de Argentina (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• SPI International (2003) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Tobis StudioCanal (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2003) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Europa Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Paradise Group (2002) (Russia) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• RTL Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL7)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2003) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Sassoon Film Design (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Cello Studio  music recording
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Fish Films Footage World  stock footage
• FotoKem Laboratory  color (as Fotokem)
• FotoKem Laboratory  telecine (as Fotokem)
• Hollywood Rentals Productions Services  electric equipment (as Hollywood Rentals)
• Intermedia Records  soundtrack
• Joan Pearce Research Associates  script research
• L.A. Mad Dogs  voice casting
• Mitchell Livestock  animal wranglers
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Panavision  camera lenses and bodies
• Pargo Bosco  grip equipment
• Piety Street Studio  music recording
• Ruthless Records  soundtrack
• SoundStorm  sound editing
• Wilshire Stages, The  digital sound recording and re-recording

Also Known As:

4-29-92 (USA) (working title)
The Plague Season (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38722) | Germany:16 (w) | Australia:MA | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

La Verne, California, USA

Company:

Alphaville Films

Trivia:

This was an original screenplay written by James Ellroy entitled "The Plague Season". It was in development for eight years. One time the film was set up at Universal Pictures.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Perry goes to 12657 Juliet, the number of shotgun shells remaining in the storage clip on his shotgun after he loads it alternates between two and three between shots.

Quotes:

Jack Van Meter: Your whore's dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Latin Lingo

Good cop or bad cop, all heads will roll!

I'm not the biggest fan of police/crime drama's (with or without some action and thrills thrown in the mix). Most of the time (especially the direct-to-DVD ones) those movies are simply below average. DARK BLUE, however, rightfully received a theatrical release. This movie's got a good story to tell (written by James Ellroy), supported by more than decent acting performances. Kurt Russell delivers one of his best performances yet as Eldon Perry, a middle aged unsympathetic loud-mouth cop on the verge of promotion. He doesn't question his orders given by corrupt superiors, and that's how he was able to follow in his father's footsteps and climb the ranks of the LAPD. I haven't seen Scott Speedman in many movies yet, but from the looks of it he's a decent actor too, who holds strong when acting aside Kurt Russell.

Given this is a James Ellroy story, one quickly is led to believe that there are way more corrupt cops out there than good ones. And even the honest ones (in pursuit of justice) have a few skeletons in the closet. All characters have a lot of flesh on their bones, which make them all very interesting. And because of the many fluent dialogues that demand your attention, you tend to forget that all the things going on the way they do, can't last forever. So when things do go wrong, it's a bit of a surprise for who it goes bad and for who it gets even worse.

The whole background story with the lawsuit against the cops who beat up Afro-American Rodney King is cleverly used to stage the 90's setting. And the riots in the street, caused by the decision of the jury near the end of the movie, add a lot to the exciting climax of DARK BLUE. This one's as decent as L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, only, maybe, a bit less intriguing. But still, an excellent movie with solid acting and a good story.