Great Cast! How come it sucked?

I liked this movie a great deal. As far as cigarettes and hats... well, you better look at films made in the 1940s and you will be surprised to see that EVERYONE smoked and EVERY man wore a hat! I wish more films today cared more about authenticity. I think it adds a lot to a film to have some genuine feel for the period it depicts. Films like "In Harms Way" (made in the 1950s) about World War 2, showed women in late 1950s hair styles and dresses, and it was hard to belive it was THE Pearl Harbor attack. The same for "Singing in the Rain" which was made in the mid-1950s and was about 1927... the music, arrangements and costumes were completely contemporary. Both were wonderful films, but I believe could have been improved by a little more authenticity.

Meanwhile, the music was every bit as appropriate as the masterful Jerry Goldsmith score from "Chinatown". The music WAS contemporary, but instead of "simulating" music of the 1940s, it was more of an "atmospheric" score in the way Goldsmith wrote his. The music was more "mood" than "in your face" art deco style big band. The music was terrific in both films and never took away from the period feel.

This film was not in the caliber of "Chinatown" or "L.A. Confidential", but it still was interesting, thought provoking, fascinating and very entertaining. I also thought it was much better than the long-awaited sequel to "Chinatown" called "The Two Jakes".

In the 1950s, EVERY man wore a hat, had a short haircut and most men smoked a cigarette. It was the style. Check out films, as one man wrote above, but also just take a look at candid street scenes at the L.A. Public Library of ordinary folks on the streets of Los Angeles during the period... you will see what I mean.

The biggest problem with Mulholland Falls is that there are those who will compare it with other modern day film noir COLOR classics.... of which there are very few. "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential" come to mind. This film is not in the same strata as those great films, but has a charm all it's own. The music in those films was written by Jerry Goldsmith and neither soundtrack is anything like the music of those period films, either, but the music works! The soundtrack for this film is by David Grusin, and the music is NOT intrusive, but actually more along the lines of mood setting tonalities. Very quiet, moody and silky in tone, to contrast the austere and sininster character of the story. For me, it works very well and hearing the music on it's own is a real treat. It's beautifully and skillfully written and performed. Like "Chinatown", the CD of the soundtrack to "Mulholland Falls" is out of print.

The fine performances in this film for me, are Nick Nolte and Treat Williams.... the latter totally under-rated as an actor. Some aspects of the story are pulled from actual stories of late 40s and early 50s headlines in the city. The more I see this film, the more I see in it. There is so much to enjoy in films without having to pidgeon-hole and compare them to each other. These are all fine films and all have something to say.

This film was just released on DVD and Brazilian copies of it were selling on ebay for up to 60.00 just a couple of months ago, so obviously there are many people who do enjoy this fine film and are willing to have a copy. The good news is MGM has released it for under 15.00.

I actually agree with you..... I would very much like to see the film given back to the director and see it with his original vision. I would lay money it would be an even better film.

Concerning other great ensemble casts. It is certainly a hard thing to successfully pull off as I'm sure egos come into play, especially as it concerns screen time. I'm sure it's quite difficult to wrangle all the actors and keep them from chewing the scenery to pieces.
Other great or successful Ensemble Films I think would include:

Glenngary Glenn Ross. (One of my favourite films.)
The Long Riders.
The Deer Hunter.
The Dirty Dozen.
The Usual Suspects. (Though it may be argued that many of the actors were unknowns at the time. It depends on what definition of "ensemble cast" one uses. Either a film in which all the main characters are given equal importance to the plot or story, or merely an "all star" cast. The former seems to be correct in the world of film, while the latter sees colloquial usage.)
The Breakfast Club.
The Magnificent Seven.
The Seven Samurai.
Crash. (Though I didn't like the film, I can recognise it as being a well put together, well thought out and very successful film.)
Traffic.(Or just cursorily interconnected stories. But again, an "all star" cast of actors.)
Murder on the Orient Express.
The Thin Red Line.
Once Upon a Time in the West. (Though here it may be argued that the story merely revolved around the three main characters, and were connected by Claudia Cardinal's character and circumstance.)
Pulp Fiction & Reservoir Dogs. (Though these may again just be separate, but interconnected-albeit disjointed- stories of a few main characters. Reservoir Dogs is perhaps a better example.)
The Great Escape.
And finally, the Ocean's # series, though I hate hate hate these films and they bore bore bore me. Really I only saw the first two, so maybe the third film pulls them all together and redeems the first two.... They were just mindless, pandering films that sought audiences by being "star-studded" and by having quick action and "witty" dialogue. But I'm not here to foist my opinions off on anyone, I just could not abide these movies.
I find the Ocean's films silly, pointless and plot-less; instead of a clever twist (which all films seemingly MUST have these days) or a logical denouement, the writers just seem to resort to the deus ex machina style of writing that seems so prevalent in recent years. I can best describe Ocean's 11 as Heat but instead of automatic weapons, a top-notch team of professional thieves, and a great plan (foiled only by Danny Trejo) they use witty dialogue and their boyish good looks to pull off their heists. Ah!! I'm adding Heat to the list of great ensemble films...
Heat.