First of all guys. I am not dead. Yet. I have been MIA from quiet sometime but boys n’ girls now I am back.
Moving on…
Okay…Pop quiz. Hot shot. What in the world is El Pueblo de la Reina de los Angeles.
I guess the last two words probably gave it away.
Britishers call it Los Angelees, Americans call it Los Angelus, Everyone else calls it L.A. Never in the history of humanity a town has been so popular that people all over the world flocked just to be part of the cultural action (or lack of thereof).
Famous cultural icon Andy Warhol said, “I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.“
In the popular culture Los Angeles has been referenced in numerous films, loads of hardboiled fiction (Raymond Chandler, James Ellroy) and off course countless reality shows (Real wives of who knows what, Hills).
So what the hell is this article about?
This is my personal salute to the city people all over [world] loved (or hated) by either being part of it or had a glimpse on the boob tube.
This is first part in the series of articles about Los Angeles as experienced in the popular culture (somebody somewhere really said Holy crap how much free time do you have).
I am listing some of the films that tried to capture the essence of Los Angeles and were really successful in creating the virtual image it strived for.
The films listed here are not aiming for any top spot but are really in a random order.
Chinatown – The first thing which comes to mind whenever I say Los Angeles is almost always Polanski’s Chinatown. Chinatown is a masterful neo-noir. The film successfully captured the essence of valley during the early 20th century when Los Angeles was facing a huge water crisis. The accuracy of location was in part due to Robert Towne’s excellent research about the city and the infamous California Water Wars.
Yeah? Ain’t that something? Middle of a drought, the water commissioner drowns. only in L.A.
L.A. Confidential – Another masterful neo-noir. The film was a true poster child for how a noir should be crafted. Raymond Chandler would have been very happy – dirty cops, femme fatale, grisly locations. What’s not to love. Only bad thing — it lost loads of Oscar to an undeserved contender made by a man who traveled on Titanic to Pandora. Bad joke. Don’t worry after 2.5 billion and counting Cameron can now take it all.
Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. [But you know that ain’t true.]
Lethal Weapon Series – Unabashedly loud, this series of buddy cop action film is one of the first thing comes to mind when you think about L.A. of 1980’s. It was a different era. People look different. Places look different. When you watch and re-watch this film now the only thing you’ll notice is cliche, cliche and more cliche. But boy was it fun or what.
Two cops. Glover carries a weapon. Gibson is one. He’s the only L.A. cop registered as a LETHAL WEAPON. [This has to be one of the worst tagline ever.]
Beverly Hills Cop Series – Another pseudo-buddy cop funny action film for whole family to enjoy. Just the way Disney wants you to. Not as famous as its brethren Lethal Weapon series but equally loud, ridden with similar cliches. But definitely worth a watch.
In Beverly Hills we just take whichever car is closest.
Collateral – One of my favorite gritty thriller from Michael Mann. Mann is the only person deft in creating a character out of a block of buildings. When you watch Collateral you really believe that you know the
city, the people, the places. It’s only Mann who can pull off an ordinary story into an extra ordinary film. Notable mention is his another film – Heat.
All the cabbies in L.A., I get Max, Sigmund Freud meets Dr. Ruth.
So there you have it. Not my top five favorites but top five which I can think from the top of my head.
There are many more which I want to list but man I am tired now. So here are some films which I think are worth mentionining:
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