The Ultimate L.A. Movie?

[Zomby Woof]

Poll question: The Ultimate L.A. Movie?

[hobo_baggins]

1. What about Escape from LA?

[Zomby Woof]

4. That is what the Other category is for

I didn't care for it myself, but that is the freedom of taste.

[DS1]

2. HEAT

[Zomby Woof]

5. Dammit

Good call. It's wise that I never cared for the 'Robb is a dingbat' trend in Lounge polling.

[BulletproofLandshark]

3. Miracle Mile

[ForrestGump]

6. I voted for "LA Story"

But for the other side (or one of the other sides) of LA, there're plenty of other good contenders -- I was thinking of one, in particular, but I seem to have forgotten which it was.

Oh, it was Falling Down. There are tons more that explore the seamier side of life in LA, or its minority communities in some degree of authentic detail, but when I finally saw Falling Down in its entirety I was struck with how the film -- apart from everything else -- was also a bit of a journey through the different parts (geographical and otherwise) of LA...perhaps it resonated more with me because the protaganist was on foot, which is how I first saw and explored LA.

[Shine]

7. L.A. Story will always have a fond place in my heart.

Steve Martin was hilarious in it and it captured the stereotypes perfectly. :thumbsup:

:hi: ZombyWoof!

[no name no slogan]

22. I love that movie

In fact, I feel like coctails at L'Idiot. :D

[TheBaldyMan]

8. Eraserhead

[SeattleGirl]

9. It's got to be L.A. Story for me

:thumbsup:

[anarch]

10. The Big Lebowski

[Zomby Woof]

12. FUCK

That is one of my very favorite movies. I CANNOT BELIEVE I forgot that. x(

Good call!

[Initech]

30. Most definately!

I've seen the bowling alley where the movie was filmed. Nobody fucks with the Jesus!

[Magrittes Pipe]

11. The Decline of Western Civilization

[enigmatic]

14. Seconded

:thumbsup:

[SethInUpstateNY]

13. What about Grand Canyon?

[Beaverhausen]

26. Oops- I mentioned this below without seeing you posted it

I agree...a very good portrait of LA.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. To Live And Die In L.A.

I've been living in the L.A. area since about 1970. I thought that movie captured the chaos and sense of being rudderless and on your own that is life in L.A. In Los Angeles, everything looks like the same jumbled mess with the freeways giving people the only sense of the city having different parts within it. Ask anyone in L.A. where a certain event will take place or where someone lives and they will tell you something like "it's up the 101, past the 10 interchange, before Melrose" or something similar. William Friedkin used the Los Angeles smog as a natural filter for his cinematrophy in that movie. And the car chase that occurs against freeway traffic at rush hour was terrific. I think taking the offramp onto the freeway and going the wrong way against L.A. traffic is a fantasy that anyone caught in this mess has had at one time or another.

[driver8]

16. Swingers, baby...Swingers.

You are so money but you left "Swingers" off of your list. I don't think that the beautiful babies are gonna like that.

[XemaSab]

17. Mulholland Drive

Yeah baby yeah!

[aaronbees]

18. oh yes!

One of my favorites ... for the twisted side of L.A./Hollywood. Also, L.A. Confidential does for me too.

[RagingInMiami]

19. Chinatown without a doubt

A city must understand its past -- as corrupt as it may be -- before it can understand its present, as corrupt as it may be.

[RagingInMiami]

20. I also would put Get Shorty on your list

I love that movie. A Miami mobster flies to L.A., catches the Hollywood bug and gets into the movie business, only to discover it's just as shady as his business back home.

It's based on the book by Elmore Leonard, considered the best dialogue in the business.

For example:

Limo Driver With Sign: Mr. Barbone? Welcome to L.A., I'm Bobby, your driver. I hope you had a pleasant flight.
Ray "Bones" Barboni: Yeah well, I hope you drive better than you fucking spell, jack-off. My name is Barboni, not Barbone, okay!
Limo Driver With Sign: Would you like to see the ocean?
Ray "Bones" Barboni: I'm from Miami-fuckin'-Beach and you wanna show me the ocean, huh? And what about sun, does it ever shine around here, or is this smog around all the time?
Limo Driver With Sign: They say the smog is the reason we have such beautiful sunsets.
Ray "Bones" Barboni: That's what they say, huh? What a bunch of fuckin bullshit.

And later in the movie:

Chili Palmer: Whew, this movie business is tough. I might just have to go back to loan-sharking for a while to get some vacation.

[DrGonzoLives]

21. Volcano

The one where a volcano destroys half of the city. I like that idea.

[kwassa]

32. The volcano erupted five blocks from my home ...

the movie sucked, but it was fun to see familiar landmarks destroyed.

[DBoon]

35. and they got their locations correct

including the storm drain work that the lava poured through

[Shakespeare]

23. And just for fun: Bowfinger

And as an added bonus, it takes shots at scientology.

[Zomby Woof]

40. Good call!

I liked that one. It was better than I expected, since Eddie Murphy wasn't quite at full comeback stage. Any movie that pays homage to dedicated B filmmakers is alright by me. :D

[LSK]

24. The Bikini Carwash Company

:D :P

[Beaverhausen]

25. Grand Canyon

A little obscure but very LA.

[Ron Mexico]

27. Fellow Dodger fan selects To Live and Die in LA. (N/T)

[Misunderestimator]

28. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

[Initech]

29. What about "Collateral"?

Sure Tom Cruise is batshit insane but there's no denying that he played an awesome villain in this movie.

[uppityperson]

31. Helter Skelter?

never been in LA so I don't know.

[kwassa]

33. "White Men Can't Jump" and "Training Day"

The movie showed whole sections of LA that never make it into the movies, and the writer really knew the town. Most of what movies show is from Hollywood on west out to the Ocean, only.

WMCJ particularly showed subcultures that almost never register in movies. I know those basketball courts in Venice.

I also like "L.A. Confidential" for the old historic days, though the real corrupt history of LA is much more interesting than any movie yet, even "Chinatown".

[DBoon]

34. Repo Man

with the Decline of Western Civilization a close second

[northzax]

36. what? no Boyz in the Hood?

what's up with all the white folks movies? hmm?

[Zomby Woof]

37. It's in my list - look again

Most of the major African American films are located in NYC, partially due to Spike Lee's dominance.

[northzax]

42. well there you go

teach me to read. huh?

[Kerrytravelers]

38. Heat.

[Kerrytravelers]

39. Collateral.

[BlueIris]

41. "I'll have a double decaffeinated half-caf--with a twist of lemon."