Of the cities in the world, few are depicted in and mythologized more in film and television than the city of Los Angeles. In this documentary, Thom Andersen examines in detail the ways the city has been depicted, both when it is meant to be anonymous and when itself is the focus. Along the way, he illustrates his concerns of how the real city and its people are misrepresented and distorted through the prism of popular film culture. Furthermore, he also chronicles the real stories of the city’s modern history behind the notorious accounts of the great conspiracies that ravaged his city that reveal a more closed and yet darker past than the casual viewer would suspect.

Research/Text/Production by Thom Andersen

 “Andersen’s idiosyncratic, three-hour masterpiece is both a dazzling work of film criticism and a fascinating piece of urban anthropology centered on the one city on earth where one could be mistaken for the other.”

Ken Fox, TV Guide’s Movie Guide

“It qualifies as film criticism on the highest level — analytical, transformative, and political.”

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

“It’s like being squired through town by a wisecracking cabbie with a PhD in semiotics.”

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

“Arguably the best movie about movies ever made.”

Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

“… as provocative a movie as I’ve seen in the last couple years…”

Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

“Its formidable intellectual heft aside, there’s great pleasure to be had in just looking at this guided tour of L.A, fact and fiction.”

Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News