Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
9KLos Angeles Plays Itself: Directed by Thom Andersen. With Encke King, Ben Alexander, Jim Backus, Brenda Bakke. A documentary on how Los Angeles has been used and depicted in the movies.
“You may have noticed other comments here saying that the film is long, boring and has a droning voice over. While it is 3 hours long and has a narrator with a voice like a sedated Billy Bob Thornton, Los Angeles Plays Itself is one of the most fascinating film-crit documentaries ever made.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enThe director assumes that the viewer has a certain level of understanding of film theory, and that would probably help when the narrator starts citing David Thomson, Pauline Kael, Dziga Veryov and Ozu, but itu0026#39;s not entirely necessary to enoy the film either. All you really need is an understanding that a real place – the city of Los Angeles – is also a fictional place – the LA of the movies. The documentary is like an extended home movie made up of clips from films and interspersed with sections created by the director.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat holds it all together is an examination of Los Angeles as a place in films (locations, buildings), as a stand in for other places (Africa, Switzerland), as a record of places lost (buildings, neighborhoods, people, cultures), as focus for nightmares and dreams (SF like Blade Runner and Independence Day) and more.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the voice over could have been paced a little better and be bit more u0026quot;upu0026quot;, this film really rewards viewers who are willing to accept the documentary on its own terms. I found I just couldnu0026#39;t stop thinking about it and now, when watching movies shot in LA, I keep remembering moments from Los Angeles Plays Itself.”
