

Hero's Journey: Myth or Delusion
A librarian explores the mythical landscape of a timeless storytelling concept and reveals a revelation about a critical key stage.

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.
Narrator (voice)

Officer Frank Smith in Dragnet (archive footage)

Frank Stark in Rebel Without A Cause (archive footage)

Lana Turner in L.A. Confidential (archive footage)

Dorothy in Bush Mama (archive footage)

Dr. Clayton Forrester in The War of The Worlds (archive footage)

Roy Morgan/Roy Martin in He Walked By Night (archive footage)

George Copeland in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)

Buzz Wanchek in The Blue Dahlia (archive footage)

Veda Pierce in Mildred Pierce (archive footage)

Terry Lennox in The Long Goodbye (archive footage)

FBI Agent Little Johnson in Die Hard (archive footage)

Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)

Charles Benton in The Indestructible Man (archive footage)

Matthew Crawford in Timestalkers (archive footage)

Al Hickey in Hickey & Boggs (archive footage)

Frank Boggs in Hickey & Boggs (archive footage)

Dave Pomeroy in Panic in the City (archive footage)

Penny in Three Smart Girls (archive footage)

Mark in Zabriskie Point (archive footage)


A librarian explores the mythical landscape of a timeless storytelling concept and reveals a revelation about a critical key stage.

15 Jan 2005

A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.

04 Feb 1973

A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.

08 Apr 2025

In recent years, Hollywood productions have turned away from sensuality. Is the sex scene on the verge of extinction or reinvention? Alongside film professionals and researchers, this documentary deciphers a trend that speaks volumes about the evolution of the industry and our societies.

14 Oct 2016

56-year-old artist Mindy Alper has suffered severe depression and anxiety for most of her life. For a time she even lost the power of speech, and it was during this period that her drawings became extraordinarily articulate.

01 Jan 1983

TV Party Music Video - (Live @ Target SF 1981) Rise Above - Thirsty & Miserable -Depression - American Waste - Fan greeting in Bologna, Italy 1979 - Revenge (San Francisco 8-20-80) - Jealous Again - Chuck (mock) interviews Dez & Henry - Rise Above (repeat)

01 Sep 2006

Ric Burns unearths rarely seen footage and offers keen observations on the life and artistic influence of Andy Warhol. [Made for and aired on PBS's American Masters series.]

14 Nov 2014

An investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry.

01 Jul 1981

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

01 Nov 1985

A documentary about Dr. Barbara Myerhoff and Los Angeles's Fairfax district.

16 Sep 1983

Using rare historical footage, vintage musical recordings, and interviews with 88-year-old Pedro J. Gonzalez and his wife, this film chronicles Gonzalez’s long and colorful life, from his early days with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution, to his career as a popular radio personality in Los Angeles in the 1930s, to the controversial court case that sent him to San Prison, a victim of the repressive forces operating against the Chicano/Mexicano community during that period.

14 Jun 2024

A young runner adventures solo from LA to Denver seeking answers and healing following a special love lost.

24 Aug 2020

Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy builds a multi-million dollar empire by baking America's favourite pastry: the doughnut.

01 Sep 2021

Interviews from women involved in the 70's and 80's rock music industry. An examination of the people taking advantage of underage fans and calling for a "Me too" movement in the music world

01 Jan 2012

Many consider the 1971-72 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers one of the greatest teams in the history of the NBA. But despite a remarkable run to the title that included a record 33-game winning streak, this group was the unlikeliest of champions.

01 Jan 1964

Amazing, but true: Fort Lee, New Jersey (just across the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan), was once the epicenter of American film production. This documentary of a truly bygone era combines photographs culled from private collections, as well as restored footage from such films as Thomas A. Edison's Rescued from an Eagle's Nest and D.W. Griffith's The New York Hat, filmed at the studios in Fort Lee.

12 Aug 2005

An exhilarating documentary film that celebrates the unsung hero of aviation - the local airport - by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California's Van Nuys Airport. Featuring thrilling aerial photography and a sweeping original score, the film dispels common misconceptions and opposes criticism of General Aviation airports.

21 Nov 2018

Game Girls follows Teri and her girlfriend Tiahna as they navigate their relationship through the chaotic world of Los Angeles’ Skid Row, aka the “homeless capital of the U.S.”

01 Mar 1995

Before "L.A. Confidential", there was "Shotgun Freeway" -- the groundbreaking 1995 documentary about Los Angeles coming to grips with it's own history. Against a backdrop of never-before-seen archival footage, Shotgun Freeway presents a diverse group of "Angelinos" who guide the film through their own past as well as the city's. We get crime scribe James Ellroy reliving his youth as a burglar, Actor/writer Buck Henry's tour of Hollywood fakery, Jazzman Buddy Collette's trip down Central Avenue, Historian Mike Davis' tour of LA's eventual Armageddon, and writer Joan Didion's take on LA's own ephemerality. From the Beaches to the Valley, "Shotgun Freeway" will show you a Los Angeles you never knew existed.

07 Jun 2000

Paid 50 dollars for their time, 101 male prostitutes -- spanning all ages, ethnicities, and personal backgrounds -- are questioned by the filmmakers about their lives.