The Black Dahlia is a 2006 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Josh Friedman, based on the 1987 novel of the same name by James Ellroy, in turn inspired by the widely sensationalized murder of Elizabeth Short.

Starring Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, and Hilary Swank, the film follows two Los Angeles Police Department detectives investigating Short's murder, leading them through a series of shocking discoveries.

Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, John Kavanagh, Rachel Miner, and Rose McGowan appear in supporting roles.

The Black Dahlia premiered at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2006, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on September 15, 2006, to largely negative reviews from critics, with several deeming the plot convoluted, though Kirshner's performance was singled out for praise.

LAPD detectives Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and Lee Blanchard are paired as partners after engaging in a boxing match to raise public support for the department.

He also discovers that Kay has been branded with the initials "BD", for Bobby DeWitt, the gangster whose arrest and conviction for a big bank robbery made Lee's career.

Madeleine, who comes from a prominent family, tells Bucky that she was 'very close' to Elizabeth but asks him to keep her name out of the papers in exchange for sexual favors.

Bucky realizes Lee was there to kill DeWitt and leaves, furious, to return to Madeleine, where he notices a painting of a leering clown.

Bucky starts putting the pieces together and remembers props in another movie, The Man Who Laughs, matched the set in Elizabeth's pornographic film.

His original script featured a cameo appearance by Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, reprising their roles as Bud White and Edmund Exley respectively.

[7] Michael Douglas, Johnny Depp, Gabriel Byrne, and Billy Crudup were considered to play Lee Blanchard.

Fincher eventually left the project as he felt he wasn't going to be able to make the film exactly as he had envisioned and moved on to direct Zodiac.

When De Palma became director, he replaced Wahlberg with Aaron Eckhart shortly before shooting began in April 2005.

Eva Green was offered the role of the evil Madeleine Linscott, but declined as she feared being typecast as a femme fatale.

[11] However, De Palma, impressed by Kirshner, ultimately wrote Short's character into the film via screen test sequences and several flashbacks "where you see her life degenerating.

Only a handful of exterior scenes were filmed in Los Angeles: MacArthur Park, Pantages Theatre (and adjoining bar The Frolic Room) at Hollywood and Vine,[11] and the Alto-Nido Apartments are perhaps the most recognizable landmarks.

James Horner was originally on board the project to score the film's music but in February 2006, it was reported that Mark Isham had replaced him.

The site's consensus states, "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.

There are scenes that display De Palma's customary visual brilliance... (b)ut the movie is so complicated, the narrative so awkward, that when the pieces of the puzzle fall into place we get no tingle of satisfaction.

[24] Mick LaSalle wrote that Kirshner "makes a real impression of the Dahlia as a sad, lonely dreamer, a pathetic figure.

"[25] J. R. Jones of the Chicago Reader described her performance as "haunting" and that the film's fictional screen tests "deliver the emotional darkness so lacking in the rest of the movie.

[28] Mill Creek Entertainment reissued the film on Blu-ray in July 2022, though bonus materials found on the Universal disc are absent from this release.