Films & TV Series About Los Angeles (Fictional)
by derekkrantz | created - 14 Aug 2019 | updated - 14 Aug 2019 | PublicScripted Films and TV Series about Los Angeles History or that embody Los Angeles
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1. The Big Lebowski (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Crime
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 860,953 | Gross: $17.50M
2. La La Land (2016)
PG-13 | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons
Votes: 672,352 | Gross: $151.10M
3. The Long Goodbye (1973)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Private investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell
Votes: 37,337 | Gross: $0.96M
4. Mulholland Dr. (1999 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 88 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck, an amnesiac woman sets out to learn what happened to her with the help of a wannabe actress.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller
Votes: 9,910
5. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 384,157 | Gross: $7.22M
6. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Passed | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson
Votes: 236,599
7. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Not Rated | 106 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez
Votes: 22,094
8. Short Cuts (1993)
R | 188 min | Comedy, Drama
The day-to-day lives of several suburban Los Angeles residents.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Andie MacDowell, Julianne Moore, Tim Robbins, Bruce Davison
Votes: 47,397 | Gross: $6.11M
9. Blade Runner (1982)
R | 117 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos
Votes: 823,633 | Gross: $32.87M
10. The Player (1992)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected, but which one?
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 65,830 | Gross: $21.71M
11. Double Indemnity (1944)
Passed | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Byron Barr
Votes: 167,565 | Gross: $5.72M
12. Jackie Brown (1997)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda
Votes: 375,328 | Gross: $39.67M
13. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
R | 161 min | Comedy, Drama
A faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch
Votes: 849,107 | Gross: $142.50M
14. Nightcrawler (2014)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
Votes: 605,056 | Gross: $32.38M
15. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 720,010 | Gross: $67.44M
16. Magnolia (1999)
R | 188 min | Drama
An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 328,693 | Gross: $22.46M
17. Inherent Vice (2014)
R | 148 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
In 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston
Votes: 110,802 | Gross: $8.11M
18. The Big Sleep (1946)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers
Votes: 90,560 | Gross: $6.54M
19. Repo Man (1984)
R | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash
Votes: 41,178 | Gross: $3.57M
20. Shampoo (1975)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
On Election Day, 1968, a hairdresser and ladies' man is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his various girlfriends and his mistress, whose husband he meets and finds out is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant
Votes: 14,161 | Gross: $49.41M
21. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 618,300 | Gross: $64.62M
22. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus
Votes: 115,842 | Gross: $27.09M
23. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
Votes: 260,865 | Gross: $8.82M
24. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
PG | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer
Votes: 217,012 | Gross: $156.45M
25. Drive (I) (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
Votes: 705,033 | Gross: $35.06M
26. Barton Fink (1991)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner
Votes: 129,022 | Gross: $6.15M
27. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II
Votes: 154,791 | Gross: $57.50M
28. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama
A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus
Votes: 98,011
29. Less Than Zero (1987)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
A college freshman returns to L.A. for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Director: Marek Kanievska | Stars: Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader
Votes: 22,138 | Gross: $12.40M
30. Swingers (1996)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
A wannabe actor has a hard time moving on from a break-up, but he is lucky to have supportive friends.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston
Votes: 88,175 | Gross: $4.51M
31. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews
Votes: 177,632 | Gross: $17.84M
32. Die Hard (1988)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 946,240 | Gross: $83.01M
33. Clueless (1995)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd
Votes: 246,181 | Gross: $56.63M
34. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, Jane Leeves, Cherise Bates
Votes: 39,404 | Gross: $17.31M
35. Ed Wood (1994)
R | 127 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Ambitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette
Votes: 184,054 | Gross: $5.89M
36. L.A. Story (1991)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early 1990s Los Angeles.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker
Votes: 34,445 | Gross: $28.86M
37. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr.
Votes: 218,615 | Gross: $161.20M
38. The Graduate (1967)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels
Votes: 288,590 | Gross: $104.95M
39. Them! (1954)
Not Rated | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness
Votes: 24,207
40. Training Day (2001)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger
Votes: 473,295 | Gross: $76.63M
41. The Doors (1991)
R | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley
Votes: 99,159 | Gross: $35.18M
42. The Exiles (1961)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama
Follows a family of Native Americans living in the City of Angels.
Director: Kent Mackenzie | Stars: Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, Tom Reynolds, Rico Rodriguez
Votes: 1,391 | Gross: $0.03M
43. Boogie Nights (1997)
R | 155 min | Drama
Back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Luis Guzmán
Votes: 282,266 | Gross: $26.40M
44. Dragnet (1987)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
The equally strait-laced and "by-the-book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.
Director: Tom Mankiewicz | Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan
Votes: 37,465 | Gross: $57.39M
45. Falling Down (1993)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Rachel Ticotin
Votes: 206,809 | Gross: $40.90M
46. Baywatch (1989–2001)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
At a Los Angeles beach, a team of lifeguards led by Lieutenant Mitch Buchannon save lives, deal with personal dramas, fight crime and participate in over the top adventures on a daily basis.
Stars: David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Jeremy Jackson
Votes: 30,348
47. Black-ish (2014–2022)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
A family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood.
Stars: Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown
Votes: 25,600
48. BoJack Horseman (2014–2020)
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
BoJack Horseman was the star of the hit television show "Horsin' Around" in the '80s and '90s, but now he's washed up, living in Hollywood, complaining about everything, and wearing colorful sweaters.
Stars: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul
Votes: 188,994
49. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
A streetwise, poor young man from Philadelphia is sent by his mother to live with his aunt, uncle and cousins in their Bel-Air mansion.
Stars: Will Smith, James Avery, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana Ali
Votes: 144,773
50. Dragnet 1967 (1967–1970)
TV-14 | 30 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Police Detective Sgt. Joe Friday and his partners investigate crimes in Los Angeles.
Stars: Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Don Ross, Marco Lopez
Votes: 3,409
51. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
Larry David stars as an over-the-top version of himself in this comedy series that shows how seemingly trivial details of day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events.
Stars: Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman
Votes: 147,685
52. The Shield (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Drama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace
Votes: 88,218
53. Californication (2007–2014)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
A writer tries to juggle his career, his relationship with his daughter and his ex-girlfriend, as well as his appetite for beautiful women.
Stars: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Evan Handler, Pamela Adlon
Votes: 188,486
54. Entourage (2004–2011)
TV-MA | 28 min | Comedy, Drama
Film star, Vince Chase, navigates the vapid terrain of Los Angeles with a close circle of friends and his trusty agent.
Stars: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara
Votes: 176,919
55. Ray Donovan (2013–2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
Ray Donovan, a professional "fixer" for the rich and famous in Los Angeles, can make anyone's problems disappear except those created by his own family.
Stars: Liev Schreiber, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Pooch Hall
Votes: 93,596
56. Chinatown (1974)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Votes: 350,109
57. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime
Cheech and Chong live in a decrepit old house and drive their neighbour crazy with their loud music, weed smoking and general anarchy and slacker view on life. Then Chong meets Cheech's Texan cousin Red and things kick up a notch.
Director: Tommy Chong | Stars: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Evelyn Guerrero, Betty Kennedy
Votes: 14,972 | Gross: $41.68M
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