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34
10,000 B.C.
55
Baby Mama
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
36
College Road Trip
xx
Dark Knight, The
31
Deception
41
Drillbit Taylor
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
54
Get Smart
49
Hancock
34
Happening, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
xx
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
71
Horton Hears a Who!
61
Incredible Hulk, The
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
79
Iron Man
35
Jumper
73
Kung Fu Panda
24
Love Guru, The
37
Made of Honor
xx
Mamma Mia!
58
Mist, The
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
55
Nim's Island
22
Postal
69
Redbelt
44
Ruins, The
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
76
Shine a Light
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
61
Stop Loss
47
Strangers, The
55
Street Kings
33
Superhero Movie
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
36
What Happens in Vegas...
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
79
Iron Man
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
xx
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
xx
Dark Knight, The
xx
Mamma Mia!
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
80
Band's Visit, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
47
Bella
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59
Blind Mountain
55
Bra Boys
60
Brick Lane
70
Caramel
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
52
Diminished Capacity
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
84
Edge of Heaven, The
52
Elsa & Fred
79
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
60
Fugitive Pieces
45
Full Grown Men
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
Go-Getter, The
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68
Heartbeat Detector
34
Holding Trevor
68
Honeydripper
55
Irina Palm
69
Jellyfish
60
Jihad for Love, A
68
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82
Last Mistress, The
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
70
Love Songs
64
Married Life
30
Meet Bill
33
Miss Conception
53
Mister Lonely
74
Mongol
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
84
My Winnipeg
61
On the Rumba River
69
Operation Filmmaker
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
Promotion, The
55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
Roman de gare
56
Sangre de mi sangre
51
Savage Grace
76
Shotgun Stories
66
Son of Rambow
70
Standard Operating Procedure
62
Stuck
72
Surfwise
81
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
70
Trumbo
72
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
62
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
64
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
84
My Winnipeg
84
Edge of Heaven, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
82
Last Mistress, The
81
Tell No One
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Reprise
79
Encounters at the End of the World
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
76
Shotgun Stories
75
Young@Heart
74
Mongol
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Surfwise
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Trumbo
70
Love Songs
70
Caramel
69
Go-Getter, The
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Jellyfish
68
Kabluey
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
Son of Rambow
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Water Lilies
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Stuck
62
Expired
62
Wackness, The
62
Kiss the Bride
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Brick Lane
60
Jihad for Love, A
59
Blind Mountain
57
Flawless
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Tracey Fragments, The
53
Mister Lonely
52
Diminished Capacity
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
34
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Thom Andersen Productions
MPAA 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.
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Thom Andersen
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Thom Andersen
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
Theatrical: July 28, 2004
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
169 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
Best Documentary Feature, 2003 Vancouver International Film Festival

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...
100
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Smart, funny, stimulating.

100
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Mesmerizing.

100
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
It is a remarkable work, quite likely the best documentary on the City of Angels ever made.

100
San Francisco Chronicle
John McMurtrie
Ambitious and brilliant.

91
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.

90
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.

90
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.

90
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Dazzling cinema-essay.

90
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.

88
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
So terrifically entertaining, it would be a shame if it didn't inspire a companion piece on New York.

80
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
It is an essay in film form with near-universal interest and a remarkable degree of synthesis.

80
The Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
A terrific cinematic essay that will have a very, very long shelf life.

80
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.

75
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.

75
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.

75
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.

60
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.

40
Empire
Nick De Semlyen
Andersen makes a far from inspiring guide, intoning his humourless points in a dry-as-powder monotone.


The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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