Movie

Los Angeles Plays Itself

2004 · 169 min

A dense, witty video essay that makes you see a familiar city and a century of movies with new, skeptical eyes.}{.

Directed by: Thom Andersen
Genres: Documentary, History
Starring: Encke King

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.

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Directed by: Thom Andersen
Genres: Documentary, History
Starring: Encke King

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: earneststrength 3 of 3
satiricalstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: art
media
identity
class
memory
Places: big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: documentary
nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence none
Sex none

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	0
Humour	4
Realism	9
Romance	1
Tension	2
Darkness	3
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	6

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