James Ellroy

A dark journey into the mind of noir master James Ellroy. Through an in-depth interview and archive footage, the documentary interweaves Ellroy's personal and artistic narrative with his original vision of the city of Los Angeles, his birthplace, the origin of his traumas and the inexhaustible container of events, crimes and characters that he was able to transform into his countless literary masterpieces. The film retraces an “ideal day” shaped by traumas, events, and infamous crimes in Los Angeles, a city that profoundly shaped his life and inspired his greatest works.

A documentary about film noir films made in Los Angeles.

Writers of crime fiction and nonfiction discuss influential movies about police officers and the criminal element.

The historic election of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the USA has gained new relevance with the success of Donald Trump. Ronald Reagan's election victory was no coincidence, but the work of large-scale manipulation by organized crime. How was it that a second-rate actor was able to get into the White House with the help of the mafia? Who are the men who helped him? And who was Ronald Reagan really? The documentary answers these questions and reveals the string-pullers and backers who pushed Reagan into the highest spheres of power.

The documentary covers the origins, history and curious stories behind the production along with a perceptive reading of the film.

Documentary about Los Angeles.

Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.

Director Curtis Hanson and his cast and crew discuss the arduous but rewarding process of creating a modern classic.

A documentary about James Ellroy and his fascination with unsolved murder cases, especially those of his mother, and the similar, infamous, Black Dahlia murder.

A documentary featuring film historians, directors and authors discussing the making of Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity."

A killer plays a risky game of cat and mouse with the investigating detectives. Short black and white film based on James Ellroy's serial killer novel "Killer on the Road".

Film Noir burrows into the mind; it's disorienting, intriguing and enthralling. Noir brings us into a gritty underworld of lush morbidity, providing intimate peeks at its tough, scheming dames, mischievous misfits and flawed men - all caught in the wicked web of a twisted fate.

Curtis Hanson and his behind-the-scenes collaborators reveal the secrets of bringing 1950s Los Angeles to life in unforgettable style.

The unexplained deaths of Elizabeth Short, a.k.a "The Black Dahlia", in 1947 and of Geneva Hilliker Ellroy in 1958, had a profound impact on the psyche of James Ellroy, today's greatest crime writer. Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD cop, reveals everything about Georges Hodel, his own father as well as the perpetratror of those two unsolved murders, the most notorious ones in 20th century America. Steve Hodel retraces this amazing investigation in which genius and horror, Hollywood and the Marquis de Sade, incest and surgery, are blended into the grimmest of scenarios.

A portrait of American crime writer James Ellroy that is a journey through his dark personal and literary obsessions, marked by the murder of his mother, Jean Ellroy, in 1958, when he was just a ten-year-old boy.

The murder of a young Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short in 1947 is the oldest unsolved murder case in Los Angeles. New information and clues may help solve this case. "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.

In 1988, Chris Bryson was found running down a Kansas City street naked, beaten, and bloody wearing nothing but a dog collar and a leash. He told police about Bob Berdella, a local business man and how Berdella had caputed him, held him hostage, raped him, tortured him and photographed him over several days. Police later arrested Berdella and searched his home where they found several hundred polaroid photographs, a detailed torture log, envelopes of human teeth and a human skull. It was soon discovered that Berdella had murdered 6 young men in his home after drugging them and performing his sick acts of sexual torture. Some lived the horrors for only a few days, one for 6 weeks. After death Berdella would cut up the bodies with an electric chain saw and a bone knife, place the body parts in empty dog food bags for trash collection on Monday. Although he denied this, it is believed that Berdella used organs of the victims as in food dishes he would serve at his shop.

Hungarian home movies are examined by the likes of James Ellroy and Stan Brakhage for evidence of family problems.

Documentary about James Ellroy

Before "L.A. Confidential", there was "Shotgun Freeway" -- the groundbreaking 1995 documentary about Los Angeles coming to grips with it's own history. Against a backdrop of never-before-seen archival footage, Shotgun Freeway presents a diverse group of "Angelinos" who guide the film through their own past as well as the city's. We get crime scribe James Ellroy reliving his youth as a burglar, Actor/writer Buck Henry's tour of Hollywood fakery, Jazzman Buddy Collette's trip down Central Avenue, Historian Mike Davis' tour of LA's eventual Armageddon, and writer Joan Didion's take on LA's own ephemerality. From the Beaches to the Valley, "Shotgun Freeway" will show you a Los Angeles you never knew existed.

Welcome to Los Angeless, hipsters, baddest of the bad cities, home of James Ellory, pre-eminent crime novelist of our generation. "All LA crime lives in me," says Ellroy, in this guided tour of the city that feeds his nightmares.

White Jazz, Nicola Black’s highly acclaimed documentary, follows cult crime writer James Ellroy’s quest to find his mother’s murderer. Ellroy takes the viewer on a visceral journey through the streets of Los Angeles as he re-opens the files of his own mother’s brutal killing in the 1950s.