Los Angeles Plays Itself

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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  Thom Andersen

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  Encke King
  Narrator (voice)
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  Ben Alexander
  Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)
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  Jim Backus
  Frank Stark in Rebel Without A Cause (archive footage)
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  Brenda Bakke
  Lana Turner in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)
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  Barbara O. Jones
  Dorothy in Bush Mama (archive footage)
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  Gene Barry
  Dr. Clayton Forrester in The War of The Worlds (archive footage)
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  Richard Basehart
  Roy Morgan/Roy Martin in He Walked By Night (archive footage)
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  Hugh Beaumont
  George Copeland in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)
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  William Bendix
  Buzz Wanchek in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)
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  Ann Blyth
  Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (archive footage)