Los Angeles Plays Itself
2003 · Movie · 169 min · ★ 7.6 · 91% critics
Los Angeles has been the backdrop for countless films, and this documentary spins through the city’s real neighborhoods and cinematic legacy. It assembles legends and stories from screen portrayals to show the Los Angeles beneath the movies, blending visual history with an investigative, essay-like journey through the metropolis.
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Watch free on Kanopy.
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Details
- Years
- 2003
- Release date
- 2004-07-28
- Language
- English
- Runtime
- 169 min
- Critic score
- 91/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (63 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this essay-style LA mashup if you love documentaries about how movies shape our view of real places; Not for you if you want a lighter, straightforward city tour like Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 or Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood.
Pros: big LA film-history sweep; insightful clip-based approach; often funny and engaging | Cons: very long runtime; heavy narration; some stretches feel boring
Themes
- los angeles, california
- film industry
Cast & crew
- EK
Encke King
as Narrator (voice)
Ben Alexander
as Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)
Jim Backus
as Frank Stark in Rebel Without A Cause (archive footage)
Brenda Bakke
as Lana Turner in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
Barbara O. Jones
as Dorothy in Bush Mama (archive footage)
Gene Barry
as Dr. Clayton Forrester in The War of The Worlds (archive footage)
Richard Basehart
as Roy Morgan/Roy Martin in He Walked By Night (archive footage)
Hugh Beaumont
as George Copeland in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)
William Bendix
as Buzz Wanchek in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)
Ann Blyth
as Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (archive footage)
Directed by Thom Andersen