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Los Angeles Plays Itself
EMAILPRINTThom Andersen Productions

Universal acclaim
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by: Thom Andersen
Directed by: Thom Andersen
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 28, 2004
Running Time: 169 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Encke King (narrator)
This documentary examines how Los Angeles has been portrayed by Hollywood and the impact of the movie industry on the city.
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
It is a remarkable work, quite likely the best documentary on the City of Angels ever made.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Gliding from the physical to the metaphysical, Andersen reveals how films like ''Chinatown'' effectively remade the reality of Los Angeles, replacing history with myth in a way that now anchors the city more than that history itself does.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Thom Andersen's idiosyncratic, three-hour masterpiece is both a dazzling work of film criticism and a fascinating piece of urban anthropology.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
Los Angeles may be the most photographed city in the world, but it has never have been captured with such complex layers of meaning and fascination as in Thom Andersen's remarkable Los Angeles Plays Itself.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
Three words of advice to those who haven't yet seen it: Run, don't walk. Composed of excerpts from hundreds of locally shot movies past and present -- from grade-A prestige pictures to unrepentant grade-Z schlock -- Los Angeles Plays Itself serves as Andersen's exhaustive but never exhausting attempt to reconcile the myriad identities of the world's moviemaking capital.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
So terrifically entertaining, it would be a shame if it didn't inspire a companion piece on New York.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
It is an essay in film form with near-universal interest and a remarkable degree of synthesis.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
A terrific cinematic essay that will have a very, very long shelf life.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine Peter Rainer
What gives Los Angeles Plays Itself its extraordinary density is the way Andersen transforms a cliché into a metaphysical truth that encompasses far more than L.A.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
The commentary alternates between witty insight and opinionated bunk, but it's always fun -- and a must-see for movie buffs.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Gives us a fresh way to think not only about movies but about the town in which so many of them are made, and in that regard it's kind of amazing.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
What Andersen does best is capture the sense of growing up and living among the landmarks of Hollywood's authentic back lot.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Los Angeles Plays Itself, in spite of its length, is rarely tedious, an achievement it owes mainly to the movies it prodigiously excerpts.
Read Full Review >Empire Nick De Semlyen
Andersen makes a far from inspiring guide, intoning his humourless points in a dry-as-powder monotone.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Kelly P. gave it a10:
if you have any interest in film or cities you must see this film.
Len W. gave it a9:
I have to admit this was a bit long, but was amazingly thought-provoking. Fascinating study of the ways Los Angeles is used and protrayed in the films of American and international directors. More information here than many college-level film courses. You'll find yourself thinking about this film for days after you see it.
Mark gave it a3:
The video quality is terrible. It's way too long and toward the end he drones on and on about racism. It's like a bad PBS show, only more liberal. I'm not surprised the critics love it.
Craig J. gave it a9:
Amazing, funny, sad and very moving.
adam g. gave it an8:
Could use a little editing, especially toward the end, but overall lovingly-crafted, insightful and authoritative.
John N. gave it a 6:
Film too long.
