Difficult to See Doc “LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF” Finally Set for Home Distribution

Thanks to Cinema Guild, you may have the chance to finally (legally) see Thom Anderson’s documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself. The film has occasionally popped up at film festivals and on YouTube, but is now up for a digital distribution deal, first reported by Indiewire.

Los Angeles Plays Itself is a video essay chronicling the “character” of L.A. and its most famous locales. The 169-minute film hasn’t previously seen distribution due to the use of 169 minutes of legally protected clips from a number of other films. In 2012, Rodney Ascher’s Room 237 seemed to be facing a similar fate, and its eventual release may have paved the way for Los Angeles Plays Itself.

It is not immediately known when or where Los Angeles Plays Itself will be available nor if it will be available for free or on a paid service like Netflix. Cinema Guild expects it to be released some time this fall. The distributor’s deal also includes other selected work from Thom Anderson.