Poor story . Great cast

Worth watching only for the cast. Even with that cast the acting was miserable which has to be attributed to poor directing.

Dreadful film after seeing it. Shallow storyline, wasted actor's, smoking cigarettes in every scene with perfect cars doesn't make a film nor classic. Don't waste your time.

If you're a fan of neo-noir and this time period/aesthetic (Los Angeles in the 1950's) then this'll entertain you for a couple of hours. Worth a watch but easily forgettable. I was also impressed that Nick Nolte kept his hat on for 90% of the film, even indoors at night. I was somewhat disappointed when he removed it for the sex scene. It's a nice hat.

Fantastic movie, love everyone in it. First time I noticed Chazz, Aaron Neville singing after the falls scene, excellent. NRJ.

Jennifer Connolly with her supreme beauty as a call girl is the only reason to see this film.

"Mulholland Falls" (1996) is an L.A. noir 1950's period piece with a stellar cast: Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, and Chazz Palminteri, with John Malkovich, Bruce Dern, Treat Williams, and Daniel Baldwin (Alec's brother). How could it go wrong? It mostly doesn't. Some critics have complained that the "noir" aspect seems contrived and some of the dialogue is corny and artificial. But isn't that true of virtually all film noir? Nolte plays Max Hoover, a married homicide cop with a secret in his past that comes to light when his erstwhile girlfriend-on-the-side is found dead at a construction site in L.A. To make things worse, a reel of film shows up at his desk, showing her having sex with a high-ranking military man (Malkovich), and there are allegedly other reels showing her with Hoover. In addition, the coroner finds bits of radioactive glass embedded in her feet. So Hoover and his three detective buddies (all in three piece suits and fedoras, they're known as the Hat Squad) investigate a nearby government installation where nuclear testing has been taking place. It's a good plot. But the real fun is in the mannerisms of the inhabitants of the 1950's. Everybody smokes constantly. Political correctness does not exist. The women all look like Playboy pinups. And the cars! The Hat Squad cruises around in a Buick Roadmaster convertible that's to die for. Also, Hoover carries a leather sap, which he uses to dispense with three annoying FBI agents and anybody else who gets in his way. Those were the days….. The opening scenes will hook you immediately: The Hat Squad walk into a fancy restaurant, take a gangster into custody (beating up his associates in the process), drive him to the top of a hill on Mulholland Drive, and dump him off a cliff. "Mulholland Falls," get it? "Mulholland Falls" is serious noir, almost, but not quite, making fun of serious noir. If you get that, you'll be hugely entertained.

Another victim of the Peter Stack clown car brigade; Mulholland Falls manages to put a "star studded cast" into a solid story with a decent screenplay. Solid performances from an excellent cast, where surprisingly, the cast doesn't overwhelm the narrative. There are a couple of awful lines, but overall it's a sold neo noir entry that fell afoul of the insecure critic artiste that was a plague on the 1980's: Peter Stack, Mick LaSalle, and the legendarily clueless Glen Lovell, who brilliantly opined "Aliens" was the worst sequel Hollywood created, and the end of Cameron's career. Well worth the watch.

Excellent Movie. Very entertaining, a well-acted timepiece. Film Noir. I wish more of these would be made.

A nice post-war mystery set in Los Angeles about some dirty cops and even dirtier soldiers. Excellent period details, so-so mystery plot.

A mediocre mystery with some unfortunately flat characters. Plus the story got pretty hokey in the last half hour. But it had some entertaining sequences. Wasn’t all bad

It tries so hard to build a mood it fails to do anything else.

Mulholland Falls is an underrated neo noir. If you like Chinatown you'll like this It shares not only a SoCal setting and mid 20th Century setting but also a great cast, great screenplay, excellent production values and superb cinematography.

Potential was squandered on poor direction.

You people who gave this movie a 30% rating need to go back to film school . One of the most entertaining movies of the last 30 years. Nick Nolte is spectacular

Released in 1996, Lee Tamahori's Mulholland Falls has largely been overshadowed by the Oscar winning L.A. Confidential - which followed a year later. Although I often find fault with the Academy, on this occasion, I'm not going to split hairs them and argue that Tamahori's film is as good, because it's not. But that's no shame in Tamahori's efforts as, for me, L.A. Confidential is one of the best films over the last 20 years. Mulholland Falls is a very admirable attempt that doesn't deserve to have become a forgotten addition to L.A. themed noir. Plot: Post WWII, Los Angeles sees the LAPD set up a special crime unit known as "The Hat Squad". It comprises of four no-nonsense Lieutenants: Max Hoover (Nolte), Ellery Coolidge (Palminteri), Eddie Hall (Madsen) and Arthur Relyea (Penn). They are tasked with controlling organised crime within the city - even if it means breaking the law themselves - but when they find the crushed body of a young woman, it opens up some personal demons for Hoover. Her death also implicates the involvement of the U.S. Army and attracts the attention of the F.B.I. Over decades, L.A. Noir has become a sub-genre all to itself. For many, Chinatown is the epitome but my preference is the aforementioned L.A. Confidential. I think Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgaland done a fantastic job in developing a coherent script from a very difficult James Ellroy novel but all that aside, L.A. Noir isn't always an easy endeavour. There are some that promise so much but fail to deliver - Gangster Squad being a recent example of how it can go wrong. In order for stories of this type to be effective, there are many things that need to come together; the cast, the script, the cinematography and the music are all important to setting the mood and, for the most part, Mulholland Falls manages to capture all of these. First of all, Tamahori assembles a very impressive line-up of performers which lends the film an epic feel and the script by Pete Dexter captures the requisite mystery and intrigue to hold your attention. Haskell Wexler's cinematography precisely captures the time and Dave Grusin provides an evocative and dramatic score. The production design by Richard Sylbert is also flawless as you should have no problem feeling like you're back 1950's L.A. Everything fits here, but it's only as the film comes to the denouement that it starts to falter and if any fingers must be pointed, they'd have to be pointed to Pete Dexter's script. Things make less sense as the film draws to a conclusion. The tempo is accelerated to the point that you feel like Tamahori may have been under studio pressure to finish within a certain running time. This is such a shame, as the film is genuinely entertaining and very particularly paced up until that point. It's the exclusion of Chris Penn and Michael Madsen in the final third that lead to some questions over the film being butchered in the editing suite. And this comes just around the time of the film's reveal. The reveal itself is acceptable but it would have been more effective had it not been fumbled. That said, the only reason this stands out is because the earlier part of the film is so measured and involving. Benefitting greatly from its attention to mood and atmosphere, there's much to admire here. It's a reminder of how strong a presence Nolte can be and he's supported by an impressive ensemble. Mulholland Falls is a damn good slice of noir that enthusiasts will take plenty of enjoyment from. Mark Walker

I Love It,,, Love'd The Timing,,, Great Story Line For a Bomb Shelter Baby... I'm Also a Huge Nolte,,, Melanie Griffith,,, and Chazz Palminteri Fan... No It's Not "Casablanca",,, But It's Plenty Entertaining...

A wasted opportunity,

It's an interesting story, but it does fall short in a lot of ways. I really like the cast though so it's worth 3

The acting is okay I guess, not as good as I thought it would be with a star studded cast like this movie had. I have to admit that I have never been a big fan on Nick Nolte, I have nothing against him I guess just never was a fan. The direction is nothing great either, I have heard the name of the director, Lee Tamahori, but not because he did some great film. The big problem with this movie is the writing. Both the dialogue and the story are somewhat of a bore. Plus I thing the story is also a bit ridiculous. The highlight of the movie is the performance by Melanie Griffith, the worst part was the use of Jennifer Connelly. I say use but it was more of a waste, she is beautiful and basically she is used as a pretty face, but she is also so talented at more or less her acting talents are a waste.