Los Angeles Plays Itself

Jul 28, 2004

2h 49m

★ 7.6

Overview

From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.

Genres

Documentary

Los Angeles Plays Itself Trailers

Cast

Narrator (voice)

Encke King

Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)

Ben Alexander

Frank Stark in Rebel Without A Cause (archive footage)

Jim Backus

Lana Turner in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)

Brenda Bakke

Dorothy in Bush Mama (archive footage)

Barbara O. Jones

Dr. Clayton Forrester in The War of The Worlds (archive footage)

Gene Barry

Roy Morgan/Roy Martin in He Walked By Night (archive footage)

Richard Basehart

George Copeland in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)

Hugh Beaumont

Buzz Wanchek in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)

William Bendix

Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (archive footage)

Ann Blyth

Terry Lennox in The Long Goodbye (archive footage)

Jim Bouton

FBI Agent Little Johnson in Die Hard (archive footage)

Grand L. Bush

East L.A. Interchange follows the evolution of working-class, immigrant Boyle Heights, the oldest neighborhood in East Los Angeles from multiethnic to predominately Latino and a cradle of Mexican-American culture in the U.S. The documentary tells the story of how one neighborhood managed to survive the construction of the largest and busiest freeway interchange in the nation and explores the shifting face of community in the United States today arguing why it should matter to us all.

10.0

Blake and Gwen: Now and Then

Jul 1, 2021

Follow the offstage, unlikely romance of the king of country, Blake Shelton, and pop princess, Gwen Stefani. Both stars braved their share of challenges on the way to writing their own love song.

7.0

Wattstax

Feb 4, 1973

A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.

6.6

Rize

Jan 15, 2005

A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.

10.0

Out of Plain Sight

Feb 7, 2025

From Pulitzer Prize-finalist Rosanna Xia and Academy Award®-winning L.A. Times Studios, OUT OF PLAIN SIGHT is a cinematic exposé of an environmental disaster lurking just off the coast of Southern California. Not far from Catalina Island, aboard one of the most-advanced research ships in the world, David Valentine discovered a corroded barrel on the seafloor that gave him chills. The full environmental horror sharpens into greater clarity once he calls Los Angeles Times journalist Rosanna Xia, who pieces together a shocking revelation: In the years after World War II, as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been quietly dumped into the ocean – and the consequences continue to haunt the world today.

5.3

Mind of a Monster: The Grim Sleeper

May 1, 2021

An LA serial killer goes silent for decades – but he was just warming up.

6.7

High Noon on the Waterfront

Sep 4, 2022

An inventive remembrance of the impact of the Hollywood blacklist on two American classics, rendered as a visually mesmerizing dialogue between Carl Foreman and Elia Kazan.

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0.0

The Debra Hill Story

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Debra Hill's documentary tells the story of her multifaceted life and of inspiring filmmakers around the world, and her legacy as a creative producer, mentor, film pioneer and activist is an enduring one.

4.5

Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire

May 1, 2019

Mixing archival footage with interviews, this film celebrates one of Los Angeles's most influential painters and Chicano art activists from the 1970s.

7.0

The Go-Go's

Jan 24, 2020

As the first all-female band to play their instruments, write their songs and have a No. 1 album, The Go-Go’s made history. Underpinned by candid testimonies, this film chronicles the meteoric rise to fame of a band born in the LA punk scene who became a pop phenomenon.

6.9

An Open Secret

Nov 14, 2014

An investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry.

0.0

Bongo Wolf’s Revenge

Jan 1, 1970

An oddball picture about legendary kooky and colorful Los Angeles fringe eccentric cult figure Bongo Wolf. Through the course of the film, Bongo visits his friends in Hollywood, gives a lecture on vampires and prehistoric man, visits the Count Dracula society, plays his bongo drums...

7.1

The Decline of Western Civilization

Jul 1, 1981

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

7.7

Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992

Apr 21, 2017

An in-depth look at the culture of Los Angeles in the ten years leading up to the 1992 uprising that erupted after the verdict of police officers cleared of beating Rodney King.

7.7

LA 92

Apr 28, 2017

Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, LA 92 immerses viewers in that tumultuous period through stunning and rarely seen archival footage.

6.0

Round About Hollywood

May 22, 1931

This short travelogue depicts snippets of locations in Hollywood, California, most of them as seen from the streets. Considerable time is taken showing the kinds of architecture of private homes. There are images of various important buildings, and a depiction of the Hollywood Bowl. Finally, there is a sequence revolving around the premiere of the film “Dirigible” (1931) at the famed Chinese Theatre.

0.0

Hollywood Ghost Stories

Oct 30, 1998

A chronicle of alleged ghosts, haunted landmarks and the otherworldly doings of Tinseltown, including a cursed script and haunted homes of the stars. A range of celebrities and parapsychologists provide interviews related to the history of Hollywood hauntings and their own experiences hosted by William Shatner.

8.2

Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film

Sep 1, 2006

Ric Burns unearths rarely seen footage and offers keen observations on the life and artistic influence of Andy Warhol. [Made for and aired on PBS's American Masters series.]

6.9

The Blade Runner Phenomenon

May 27, 2021

Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick and released in 1982, is one of the most influential science fiction films ever made. Its depiction of Los Angeles in the year 2019 is oppressively prophetic: climate catastrophe, increasing public surveillance, powerful monopolistic corporations, highly evolved artificial intelligence; a fantastic vision of the future world that has become a frightening reality.

0.0

French Lessons

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Bienvenue en…. Los Angeles! Film executive Kyle and filmmaker Arran rendez-vous for a tête à tête in this crème de la crème of Cinéma Verité.