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Old 01-18-2011, 10:17 AM
 
Location: the illegal immigrant state
767 posts, read 1,737,735 times
Reputation: 1057

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I've read White Oleander and Paint It Black.

I've been watching shows such as Californication, Southland and have seen a number of movies including Training Day, Dark Blue and others set in the LA metro.

Of course, the TV shows and movies show a sensationalized, dramatized version of LA. However, they still provide a person with an impression of the place, however skewed.

That said, what other books and movies will allow me to virtually experience the culture and cityscape of LA?
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Old 01-18-2011, 02:57 PM
 
Location: West LA
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Michael Connelly and Robert Crais write some stellar LA based crime fiction.
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Old 01-18-2011, 03:27 PM
 
Location: United States
199 posts, read 543,605 times
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Movies: There's a list by decade on Wikipedia here: List of films set in Los Angeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A few of my favorites include L.A. Confidential, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Mulholland Drive, In A Lonely Place, Kiss Me Deadly, Swimming With Sharks, The Big Sleep and Chinatown.

Books: Anything you can get your hands on by Raymond Chandler. After that, yeah James Ellroy's stories are good, but I'm not that fond of his writing style. I really enjoyed Hollywood Station by Joseph Wambaugh. Amazon.com: Hollywood Station (9780446401241): Joseph Wambaugh: Books And more of Wambaugh's books are on my stack of books to be read. Connelly is very popular, but his books bore me.
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Old 01-18-2011, 03:37 PM
 
Location: California
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I just got a movie from Netflix called Laurel Canyon.
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Old 01-18-2011, 04:12 PM
 
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"my dark places" is one of the best autobios i have ever read. ellroy pulls no punches on that one.

"L.A. despair" by john gilmore- highly, highly recommended. has the john holmes/four on the floor murders, barbara payton and spade cooley stories in there. i have read that book at least a dozen times.

"barton fink" is amazing. must see that one. "helter skelter" is a great, great movie. far outshines all the past decade's attempts at bringing that story to the screen. at this point they are just fetishizing it.

i would also recommend alot of noirs from the 40's, as they are so often set in los angeles, as to be almost ubiquitously angelean (at least in my mind). "Touch of Evil" is filmed in Venice. "murder my Sweet" and "double indemnity" are movies you need to see regardless of where they are set, because they are AWESOME. lets not forget "sunset boulevard" as well.
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Old 01-18-2011, 04:13 PM
 
Location: Charlotte
679 posts, read 612,860 times
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Entourage is really good about filming large portions of the show outside and in daylight so you can really start to pick up where they are around town.

Books: LA Confidential is one of my faves but its of course set several decades ago.
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Old 01-18-2011, 05:17 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
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Old 01-18-2011, 07:20 PM
 
Location: the illegal immigrant state
767 posts, read 1,737,735 times
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All good stuff.

That list of movies on Wikipedia is a great resource, and Falling Down is viewable by streaming video on Netflix .
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Old 01-18-2011, 07:39 PM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
16,806 posts, read 39,805,200 times
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Take a trip back in time to old L.A. Read some stuff by Raymond Chandler. Start with Red Wind.
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