Los Angeles Plays Itself

Ratings & Reviews

jeanlice

this is why we watch films / this is why we make films

Lynch/Fellini

What a fascinating commentary on locations in cinema and the way Hollywood depicts them!

Zach Closs

The reel/reel history on display here is admittedly astonishing. The second act does drag and falter somewhat, as Andersen goes after specific films for too long -- his critiques of "Chinatown" and "Blade Runner" also mistake noir's inherent post-war cynicism and ambiguity for a denouncement of LA specifically. Regardless, well-worth the 169 minutes.

Cartaphilus

Amazing! Deep and surprising.

Nachtreich

☆☆ e mezzo.

Kotryna

amazing work!

smndvdcl

A video essay articulating the cinema history of the renowned West Coast city. Indispensable for scholars of film.

Andrew Miller

I love the concept, but found the discussion frequently tedious-- like Terence Davies' Of Time and the City, it has a petulant, vibe that obscures its many insights.

Ark V

The city as background, character and subject. The politics in later parts is power itself.

El Biffo

WoW, what a treat for cinema fans. I don't live in L.A., I live in NorCal and only visited L.A. for a day in the 70's, but these clips, lovingly assembled, make me feel like I know the town through these great films. Some of my favorite LA. films are here: The Long Goodbye, Killer of Sheep, Bush Mama, Criss Cross, along with many great images from otherwise forgettable films... and great iconic architecture, too!

John Matrix

LAPI has great purpose but many problems. It starts strong with Andersen examining how LA transitioned from a filming location that could represent anywhere to a city that "plays itself" in movies. Though he remains insightful throughout, Andersen adopts a whiny & bitter tone in the second half. His use of indies & pornos as evidence that "Hollywood" misrepresents LA is unconvincing. Still worth a watch though.

Chris_Parker

The film itself is a surprisingly powerful meditation on the differences between art and reality & whether cinema has obligations to represent the truth. It obviously does this by contrasting how the city of Los Angeles plays itself in fictional films and documentaries but I also think that this film outlines the power of the medium itself and its ability to influence and shape public perspectives.

Log Lady

A hypnotic visual essay that made me want to see all the films immediately instead of tomorrow (eclectic choices!). Several serpentine offshoots go to places you wouldn't necessarily imagine, but that's why this is so fascinating. Almost three hours of mere film clips could get monotonic, but the commendable editing work has created cohesion and a really nice rhythm, complementing the interesting views on cinema.

Samuel Andrade

lies, memories and epiphanies in the most photographed set in the world.

Marc St-Cyr (Death cinéphilia)

Fascinating and melancholic. The tale of a city of simulacrums and his forgotten. Basically, an Americana academic's answer to HIstoire(s) du cinema.

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http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70000095?trkid=3565916

Scott Lucas

L.A. whining blooms into a full scale rebuke of the American ruling class. This is film criticism you can use.

Gerard Corvin

Fascinating portrait, clearly a key inspiration for the films of Mark Cousins

noah

west coast

Jonathan Shields

A great film that will sadly probably never see the light of dvd.

Sudipto Basu

I hope to see this someday, but the description reminds me of Ruchir Joshi's Tales From Planet Kolkata (which I've long been searching for) - image straightjackets imposed by popular film culture on Calcutta.

Jesse Furgurson

After Histoire(S) Du Cinema, the gold standard of criticism-on-film. And Histoire(S) doesn't have any clips from The Glimmer Man.

Roscoe

Admirable film -- fascinating collection of clips and thoughts on the relation of Los Angeles to the film it features in. Andersen is especially interesting on the factual bases for CHINATOWN and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

T. J. Harman

Starting to get into a little loved by yanks genre: the visual essay. I've loved all the ones like this or certain films by Chris Marker or Mark Rappaport I've seen. Maybe it's not "film'' or pretentious to film an essay but I like it. If this was just an cinefile mag or online article, I'd still dig it. This is an awesomely dense and meandering (a sincere compliment-my fave writing) "meditation" on film and a city.