USA – 2004 – 163 MIN – COLOUR - FEATURE - IN ENGLISH
A FILM BY THOM ANDERSEN
LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF is an essay on how the movies have depicted Los Angeles a city symphony in reverse — a symphony with many directions and speeds. A critical history — and counter-history — of Los Angeles via clips from an eclectic list of movies. Many of them are well known (Chinatown, Blade Runner, L.A. Confidential); others are rarer finds (The Exiles, Bush Mama, Killer of Sheep).
The film tracks the various roles that specific landmarks and districts — the Bradbury Building, Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis house, Bunker Hill — have played through the years, with insights on movies, architecture, transportation, racism, class and public space.