L.A. Story
I have always depended on the kindness of Strangers - and the bastards let me down!

Terminator 2.
Never lose your desire.

Chinatown.
But this was a much better film than I expected it to be.

Practically impossible for any film to top Chinatown; when the topic is LA, it is the best, period. LA Confidential is the second best for many of us born after 1945. It's great to see Curtis Hanson receiving so much praise post-mortem. A stellar detective film, though one can quibble with its upbeat ending.
Life is a state of mind.

Chinatown, but this is a very close 2nd.

Blade Runner and Pulp Fiction

It's not at all close which is the better film. One film is clearly superior than the other in practically every aspect.

The OP is all over it. There are some good movies mentioned in the interim, but it does come down to Chinatown and L.A. Confidential.
I personally prefer L.A. Conf. (watch it at least twice every year), but historical standards tells me Chinatown is the better movie.
But it's damn close.

I was going to say
Chinatown
before I even opened your thread.
But
L.A. Confidential
is terrific, I just saw it again recently and it seems to get better with every viewing. I think it has even more watch-ability than
Chinatown
, which, while excellent, is depressing.

Not just those two. I would add The Big Sleep, Day of the Locust and Heat.

Pulp Fiction.

That would be
Kiss Me Deadly
.

My Top 100 Favorite Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls071561044/

What about Falling Down ?
IMO

The Player deserves a mention.

The Big Lebowski

Neither.
Collateral
should hold that honor.

Finally someone lists "Mulholland Falls" Thank you!
My rating would be exactly like yours.

1. Chinatown
2. LA Confidential
3. Mulholland Drive

Line-Up is San Francisco

I'm posting to you mgtbltp because you're the only person to mention a true LA classic.
Have you seen the Lineup 195x? Eli Wallach and I think Farley Granger. It's a really good movie, but the commentary track has James Elroy and another film historian giving a tour of old LA. The entire movie was shot on location all over Los Angeles. Not only is the commentary interesting, but it's absolutely hysterical. James Elroy is insane!

Finally, one reads these posts and nobody mentions Double Indemnity until now. This aficionado will add another, Sunset Boulevard. Add Chinatown and the viewer has a triple feature of masterpieces.
Joe Gillis: You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.
Norma Desmond: I AM big. It's the pictures that got small.
LAC falls a little short of the aforementioned competition although Hanson uses wonderful locations and Helgeland's adaptation of Ellroy's novel was a Herculean task to come up with a filmable screenplay. A thoroughly enjoyable picture but let's keep the competition in perspective.

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Agree with a lot of the candidates mentioned, but how about: Jacky Brown, The Big Sleep (1946), Shampoo, Singing in the Rain, Rebel Without a Cause, Devil in a Blue Dress, Clueless, L.A. Story, True Confessions or The Day of the Locust?

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