Great LA films

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So here's the criteria -- somewhere on another thread Gear! notes that what makes a great LA film in large part is that it captures the feeling of the city without relying on the standard tropes or the obvious places. No Hollywood sign, no Rodeo Drive, no LA River etc., or at least not much of it, but it's a case where it's just not that the setting is LA in general but the feel of the film can be nowhere else. So repeating myself from a couple of other threads and tying them together here, here's my three to suggest offhand:

* Repo Man -- the heat, the tar and stickiness on the roads, the grimy corners out and around downtown and more importantly heading east and south from there, taco stands, back alleys, a whole lot of people all smushed together and ragging on each other. A comedy where everyone is perfectly irritable and you can pretty easily taste the bad smog. Does include the LA River but it works.

* Pulp Fiction -- to borrow my words from that thread:

There's that long tracking shot following Willis as he cuts over towards his old apartment building, followed by the cut to inside the building as he goes up to the apartment -- the quality of the light, the colors, the ground, the sound of other people in the apartment building, it's just spot on and could not be *anywhere* else.

* Ed Wood -- enough money was spent on the design to make sure that I feel like I'm really in 1950s LA easy. There's a bit where Depp is gathering his crew together to start filming Glen or Glenda and somehow all the old classic cars parked bumper to bumper on the street or cruising down it all pretty much near-tailgating just makes me think, "Yeah, that would be Hollywood near Sunset all right." Also, BRIGHT outside lighting in black and white just nails it. In contrast I love that the one shot of the Hollywood hills at the beginning and at the end is an obvious set.

Plenty of other examples to name and I haven't even touched on the heights of film noir yet. So go nuts.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:22 (eighteen years ago)

ooh ooh i love these kinds of LA movies
weirdly enough, the two that come to mind immediately are both steve martin movies - LA Story and Shopgirl - i think the LA-ness is the best thing about them (though i did like LA story as a film too. the latter not so much.)

certain parts of mulholland drive have this too

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:31 (eighteen years ago)

Collateral

Swingers

― Gukbe, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:35 (eighteen years ago)

so so many. where to start.

― s1ocki, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:37 (eighteen years ago)

Just pick a few and say why (so Gubke, you must explain your [extremely good, btw] choices).

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:41 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.latinostandup.com/ecomm/images/BornELA.jpg

― chaki, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:43 (eighteen years ago)

you need to get this into your life asap
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070083/

also known as THE OUTSIDE MAN
insane hitman movie that goes all over LA (bonus - a drop deag gorgeous ann margaret)

also decent from this period - Cisco Pike, The Model Shop

― gershy, Saturday, 24 March 2007 02:48 (eighteen years ago)

Explain at 3 in the morning? Preposterous.

Collateral - It manages to be a tour of the city in a way you don't get very often. Certainly not in high-profile action films, and I would say not nearly enough in other genres as well. The most important part is the night-time DV photography. It captures the orange and flourescent haziness of driving down the empty streets late at night incredibly well, and immediately reminded me of the LA I knew (I've not been in a few years). People could probably argue about how it hits the various 'ethnic scenes', but I love the wide range of instantly recognizable (though not necessarily of a specific building or place) architecture and buildings. The great thing about the coyote scene is the fact that it is walking towards one of the innumerable strip malls.

Swingers - Could be a nostalgia thing, but also that cheap film stock and lighting in the apartment and the diner. The bar-to-bar-to-club hopping, and the emphasis on the pain in the ass driving everywhere. I appreciated how they all took separate cars everywhere.

― Gukbe, Saturday, 24 March 2007 03:01 (eighteen years ago)

Los Angeles Plays Itself!

― strgn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 04:06 (eighteen years ago)

LA Law - for being about the law, and LA, and the way the two intertwine in wonderful mysterious ways :)

― s1ocki, Saturday, 24 March 2007 04:12 (eighteen years ago)

Just saw Heat last week and thought it was great.Definitely captures LA's murkiness, sometimes it feels like you're living in a tanning salon, other times it's this place where "it can only happen in LA", odd situations, for an odd city.

Also, Chinatown definitely, this would probably be at the top of my list. Polanski recreates the old LA that people talk about longingly but will never get again. In watching Chinatown it makes you feel like you've entered a John Fante novel.

― oscar, Saturday, 24 March 2007 04:48 (eighteen years ago)

TERMINATOR!

― Alex in SF, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:13 (eighteen years ago)

Also TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY!

― Alex in SF, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:13 (eighteen years ago)

Not so much TERMINATOR 3: STARRING THAT GUY WHO WAS IN BULLY AND CLAIR DANES.

― Alex in SF, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:14 (eighteen years ago)

yeah Heat is an awesome film... a little too sidetracky at times, but Pacino is so fucking good in it.

― the table is the table, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:15 (eighteen years ago)

Up In Smoke
Suburbia
Shampoo
The Trip
Lost Highway

All pretty self-explanatory I think

― walterkranz, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:20 (eighteen years ago)

All the great noir that's been set here--Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, Blade Runner, Body Double, L.A. Confidential, The Big Lebowski, and Mulholland Dr. to pick out a few--for loving the city, and hating themselves for loving it.

― max, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:22 (eighteen years ago)

Oh shit, The Loved One!

― walterkranz, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:23 (eighteen years ago)

Oh and SPEED!!

― max, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:24 (eighteen years ago)

I think Blade Runner might be my favorite L.A. movie; when you come from the east coast that's what you sort of assume what Los Angeles looks like.

― max, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:26 (eighteen years ago)

Man, Collateral is perfect, too; miles better than Crash at dealing with the ramifications of car culture and the nature of coincidence--I love the way Tom Cruise spends the night driving across the freeway and ends up, dead, on the metro when the sun rises. What a great, underraated movie.

― max, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:31 (eighteen years ago)

Minnie & Moskowitz and Killing of a Chinese Bookie also spring to mind. And the second half of State Of Things by Wim Wenders. Great thread Ned. I have thought about this phenomenon for many years.

A fun flip side to this is that type of movie that doesn't take place in LA but still reveals an unmistakable LA landscape -- the brush, the quality of the sunlight. The ultimate here for me is Planet of the Apes.

― walterkranz, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:36 (eighteen years ago)

which, ironically, ends up with the biggest monument on the east coast?

― max, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:42 (eighteen years ago)

long goodbye
the limey

― gershy, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:51 (eighteen years ago)

the hidden
hickey & boggs (not a GREAT l.a. film, but an interesting arcane curio)
lord love a duck (more socal in general than l.a.)
cisco pike (early '70s venice)
midnight madness (great/awful live-action disney thing w/ michael j. fox -- memorable for the denoument in the bonaventure hotel)
mother, jugs, and speed

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:55 (eighteen years ago)

lord love a duck (more socal in general than l.a.)

I was thinking of mentioning this one.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:56 (eighteen years ago)

to live and die in l.a.
point blank (the boorman one; only part of it takes place in l.a. though)

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:57 (eighteen years ago)

save the tiger (early '70s jack lemmon thing; he owns a failing garment company in l.a.'s downtown fashion district)

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:58 (eighteen years ago)

rollercoaster (for the magic mountain scenes)
roller boogie (for late '70s venice beach)

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:00 (eighteen years ago)

kiss kiss bang bang (slocki will back me up on this)

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:02 (eighteen years ago)

modern girls

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:10 (eighteen years ago)

oh yes, of course - which reminds me also of the anniversary party, which i think was also in LA?
ah, and the limey! had forgetten, but i like that movie

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:11 (eighteen years ago)

that was an xpost to kiss kiss bang bang reminding me of the a party that is

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:12 (eighteen years ago)

grease (shot at venice high; drag racing across town in the l.a. river)

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:13 (eighteen years ago)

all of nicole holofcener's films -- she just GETS it

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:15 (eighteen years ago)

ghost world -- the seediness, the hipster scum, the crass consumer babylonia

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:16 (eighteen years ago)

i always remember the LA scenes from Annie Hall too

what about smaller films, like, indie films or even art films? there must be A LOT of them.

hm. i'm really kind of obsessed with the LA sunlight, esp the dusty/polluted light, or the evening light, how everything seems both flat and dynamic at the same time.

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:18 (eighteen years ago)

haha, yeah, that was another xpost...
i second nicole holofcener
i didn't realize ghost world was la

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:19 (eighteen years ago)

you need to see los angeles plays itself, robyn... it's not on dvd but it tours the art theaters from time to time.

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:19 (eighteen years ago)

oh and i just added quinceañera to my netflix queue...

― get bent, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:22 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLc55CZCdGQ

― gershy, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:25 (eighteen years ago)

ok! i will look out for it (but mtl surprisely kinda sucks these days re: art theatres that are likely to run older films...)

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:26 (eighteen years ago)

Therefore you must visit here and see all the films you want. Simple!

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:28 (eighteen years ago)

i am ready for the city, the beach, the sunshine, and the movie-watching scene, i tell ya

― rrrobyn, Saturday, 24 March 2007 06:31 (eighteen years ago)

Friday!

the movie! nailed the typically langorous feel of an average "South L.A." day a little better than Boyz n the Hood, which was also good at it. Just saw L.A. Plays Itself a few weeks ago and I wish I had taken notes, it's a treasure trove.

― tremendoid, Saturday, 24 March 2007 07:16 (eighteen years ago)

how come no dinner + movie faps anyway?

― tremendoid, Saturday, 24 March 2007 07:18 (eighteen years ago)

heat
a lonely place
kiss me deadly
killer of sheep
the player
short cuts
jackie brown
bless their little hearts

― 冷明, Saturday, 24 March 2007 07:43 (eighteen years ago)

WELCOME TO LA (1976) directed by alan rudolph in total hommage to altman w/keith carradine who also does the s/s thing on the soundtrack

― m coleman, Saturday, 24 March 2007 10:04 (eighteen years ago)

Some more...

Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round James Coburn attempts to rob a bank at LAX in 1967.
Valley Girl
Out Of Bounds (not a particularly great movie, but there's lots of mid-80s Hollywood, Silver Lake, Melrose action)

― Elvis Telecom, Saturday, 24 March 2007 18:56 (eighteen years ago)

Friday!

the movie!

GOOD call.

Re: dinner and movie FAPs -- we've done that a couple of times, legendarily with a screening of The Apple, which is not an LA film -- but it is definitely a Berlin film.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 24 March 2007 19:03 (eighteen years ago)

Skipping 64 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

buy one plane ticket

― get bent, Saturday, 8 September 2007 18:20 (eighteen years ago)

Cosign.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 8 September 2007 18:24 (eighteen years ago)

I couldn't get into "Foxes" but I know Arthur loves it so I'll try it again.

― admrl, Saturday, 8 September 2007 18:34 (eighteen years ago)

this is as good a place as any to lament the closing of Pacific Hastings Theater in Pasadena, home of the 60 ft. screen. I grew up with that place. sigh. We could tell Pacific was trying to kill it for a long time, they stopped even listing the movies on the huge marquee out front like 2 years ago and they let the infrastructure and parking lot really go to seed but the theater kept running as usual which was weird. Saw the Bourne movie there not two weeks ago. Bye!

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 18:47 (eighteen years ago)

Oh no! I guess I didn't even know where that is but nothing breaks my heart like the closure of a movie theater. I like the Pasadena theaters too. I went to that cheapo Stadium (?) place last week.

― admrl, Saturday, 8 September 2007 18:54 (eighteen years ago)

the regent showcase theater (on la brea and clinton) is breathtaking on the inside. i don't know how they stay open but i'm glad i live in a city where people care enough about film to preserve places like this.

― get bent, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

inside:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1265/531302006_0c8f22d9e3.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1289/531302752_dc0ce53f0d.jpg

― get bent, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:06 (eighteen years ago)

Beautiful!

― admrl, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:08 (eighteen years ago)

yeah wow.
In other news,
OMFG the Rialto in South Pas is dead too?!!! A beautiful art deco one screener. Midnight movie paradise. I hadn't been there since some friends screened their short there a few months ago but I didn't know it was that close to dying. shit.

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:18 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Images/slides/Rialto1.JPG

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:19 (eighteen years ago)

Well THERE'S your problem, it was showing Eric Stoltz movies.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:19 (eighteen years ago)

http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:21 (eighteen years ago)

xpost screw the fickle public, they went with their gut!

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:23 (eighteen years ago)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1287/1177470138_0153f95d73.jpg?v=0

just for you smart guy

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a7bat/1167955627

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:27 (eighteen years ago)

well i don't know how to link those but it was a beautiful theater

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:28 (eighteen years ago)

mr. jealousy was really good!

― get bent, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:36 (eighteen years ago)

the Pacific Hastings:
http://www.cinematour.com/location/usa/ca/pasah8.jpg

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:41 (eighteen years ago)

gasp

― get bent, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:43 (eighteen years ago)

Now that's right purty.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:44 (eighteen years ago)

where that blue is lit up above the box office used to be really big funky translucent orange/brown panels apparently designed by Aurea Aguilar. they made the place more generic at some point. The inside was always pretty nondescript but 60 FOOT SCREEN! and it was even bigger when it opened, it was curved and the auditorium sat over 1000 but this was before my time.

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:47 (eighteen years ago)

it was first run with 7 smaller auditoriums(added in the 80's) and I thought they were doing ok but I guess the stand alone theaters can compete with the mall/shopping center-attached ones these days

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:52 (eighteen years ago)

can't compete

― tremendoid, Saturday, 8 September 2007 19:52 (eighteen years ago)

Point Break, people! How could you forget Point Break? I mean, the chase scene that cuts from the Fox Hills Mall to somewhere in Venice... totally brilliant fast and loose usage of Los Angeles.

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 8 September 2007 20:42 (eighteen years ago)

fox hills isn't THAT far from venice... relatively speaking.

― get bent, Saturday, 8 September 2007 21:17 (eighteen years ago)

Crap and double-crap about Pacific Hastings - we walk to movies there quite often. Damn. Guess we'll be walking down Colorado to the Laemmle. Drove by the Rialto a couple hours ago - group of people out in front, couldn't tell what was going on, though.

And to add to the LA films part of the thread, I'll toss in Strange Days though I can't really advocate for its greatness (except for Michael Wincott, who is great, period).

― MsLaura, Sunday, 9 September 2007 08:05 (eighteen years ago)

knocked up was in LA!

― rrrobyn, Sunday, 9 September 2007 13:40 (eighteen years ago)

interestingly, it got a u.k. release almost a year before it got a u.s. release (it just came out here in late august). did it receive much attention on that side of the pond?

-- get bent, Saturday, September 8, 2007 6:23 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

for a no-stars, no-name director film it got a fair bit, yeah. quite well received iirc but it had completely disappeared from my memory. i may seek it out on dvd.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, 9 September 2007 14:55 (eighteen years ago)

I'm sad about the Rialto, but not altogether surprised. It's been in bad shape for awhile and was in dire need of some $$$$ to spruce it up a bit. Last movie I saw there was a midnight showing of Raiders Of The Lost Ark

― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:02 (eighteen years ago)

Cinema Treasures on the Pacific Hastings

― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:05 (eighteen years ago)

i don't know how they stay open but i'm glad i live in a city where people care enough about film to preserve places like this.

^^this is otm, and I wish I also lived in such a city.

LA has more movie palaces per square mile, I'm sure, then anywhere on earth. This is a glorious thing.

― kenan, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:06 (eighteen years ago)

Also: http://www.edcollins.com/images/hastings-article-small.jpg (might take a couple times to load)

― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:08 (eighteen years ago)

I think I may move to LA just to go to the movies.

I'm only half kidding.

― kenan, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:10 (eighteen years ago)

Also, the National Westwood is on its last gasp.

― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

Ah, that's a pity -- only saw a couple of movies there during my UCLA stay but it was a great spot.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:19 (eighteen years ago)

Strange Days is awesome! You know not what you speak of.

― Jeff Treppel, Sunday, 9 September 2007 20:29 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

Been a couple of years -- any new candidates?

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 1 November 2009 17:52 (sixteen years ago)

Probably one of my favorites for it's efforts NOT to seem like an LA movie is This Is Spinal Tap which was filmed entirely in LA despite following ST's tour around "the country".

― ♪♫(●̲̲̅̅̅̅=̲̲̅̅̅̅●̲̅̅)♪♫ (Steve Shasta), Sunday, 1 November 2009 18:01 (sixteen years ago)

Hahaha exactly right. I like how many times they used the Bonaventure Hotel.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 1 November 2009 18:10 (sixteen years ago)

In Search of a Midnight Kiss does a pretty good mumblecore LA.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Sunday, 1 November 2009 18:11 (sixteen years ago)

riot on sunset strip is at the egyptian tonight.

― the tamiflu show (get bent), Sunday, 1 November 2009 23:00 (sixteen years ago)

I can't vouch that it's great--it's been ages since I saw it--but I remember Aloha Bobby and Rose from '75 as having some good period atmosphere and a great Elton John soundtrack. I think it's set in L.A....I retain a great image of Paul Le Mat and whoever played Rose driving down Sunset Strip and passing a huge billboard for Neil Young's Time Fades Away.

― clemenza, Monday, 2 November 2009 17:50 (sixteen years ago)

Has anyone seen The Informers? I'm reading (and enjoying) the book. Wondering if it's any good.

― Nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 2 November 2009 18:12 (sixteen years ago)

the Mayor of Sunset Strip

― one less mouth to feed is one less mouth to feed (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 2 November 2009 18:17 (sixteen years ago)

i saw the informers. it got horrible, horrible reviews, but i liked the vacuousness of it. i liked winona ryder as the frumpy anchorwoman.

― the tamiflu show (get bent), Monday, 2 November 2009 18:25 (sixteen years ago)

Isn't Mickey Rourke in it as well? Ah fuck it, I'll watch it. I like the book a LOT.

― Nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 2 November 2009 18:38 (sixteen years ago)

Over the weekend, I saw (on demand) Thrashin'. In some ways it's a very L.A. movie in its gangs and its soundtrack (full song performed by Red Hot Chili Peppers), but has no geography to it. Josh Brolin's first movie.

I'm gonna put in a good word again for Echo Park.

― (nutty nuggets at HEB) (Eazy), Monday, 2 November 2009 18:46 (sixteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6allGZw0-qU

― (nutty nuggets at HEB) (Eazy), Monday, 2 November 2009 18:48 (sixteen years ago)

six years pass...

Bill Bennett ASC
‏@CineBill
Last shoot on LA's 6th St. Bridge: "The Terminator", "To Live & Die in LA",+countless others. Closed for demolition.

https://twitter.com/CineBill/status/692082366278344705

― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 27 January 2016 19:15 (nine years ago)

^fave: Point Blank

― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 27 January 2016 19:15 (nine years ago)

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