Writer/podcast-maker Colin Marshall is several episodes into a new video essay series called Los Angeles, the City in Cinema, focusing on "the variety of Los Angeleses revealed in the films set there, both those new and old, mainstream and obscure, respectable and schlocky, appealing and unappealing — just like the city itself." A recent episode breaks down the "Japanified Babel of a megalopolis" that appears in Ridley Scott's classic, Blade Runner. Looking to figure out why, despite its flying cars and retrospectively hokey video-payphones, Blade Runner's dystopian vision holds up, Marshall suggests it's linked to the elements of LA's "real past" that appear in the movie, including architectural treasures like the Bradbury Building, Union Station, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House. Coming in at just under seven minutes, the video is a wonderful intersection of appreciation for both films and Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, the City in Cinema: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) from Colin Marshall on Vimeo.
Critical successes like Her, as well as cult faves (Repo Man, Strange Days) have been unpacked so far in the collection of brief, but dense episodes.
· The City in Cinema [Vimeo]
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