Paradise (Lost): Los Angeles on Film July 1, 2004

($10 for each screening. More Info). From Roman Polanski's unbeatable noir staple Chinatown (1974) right up to David Lynch's 2001 amnesiac mindf*ck Mulholland Drive, Paradise (Lost) dredges up dark cinematic gems about fallen angels, forgotten has-beens, and foiled schemes. Much as in LA itself, the classic (Wilder's pitch-perfect insurance scam flick Double Indemnity) sits right alongside the cultish (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Repo Man, and The Terminator). Many of the feature-lengths are also preceded by unusual shorts: Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon leads Jacques Demy's The Model Shop and a short doc on River Phoenix ironically opens into Sunset Boulevard, which tracks the decline of starlet Norma Desmond, whose grasp on fame has long outlasted the looks that inspired it.

-- from flavorpill.net