True Confessions (film)

True Confessions
Theatrical release poster
Directed byUlu Grosbard
Written by
Based onTrue Confessions
by John Gregory Dunne
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyOwen Roizman
Edited byLynzee Klingman
Music byGeorges Delerue
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • September 25, 1981 (1981-09-25)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$12.9 million

True Confessions is a 1981 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall as the brothers Spellacy, a priest and police detective, respectively. Produced by Chartoff-Winkler Productions, it is adapted from the novel True Confessions by John Gregory Dunne, loosely based on the 1947 Black Dahlia murder case. Dunne wrote the screenplay with his wife, novelist Joan Didion. The film was released on September 25, 1981, receiving generally positive reviews from critics.