James Ellroy: American Dog (2005)

"I am to the crime novel in specific what Tolstoy is to the Russian novel and what Beethoven is to music" boasts James Ellroy an American crime fiction writer who was both cursed and blessed by his mother's brutal murder in 1958. Haunted by the slaying it became the focal point of his work. In this stylish documentary narrated by Ellroy himself the writer visits his "dark places" literally and figuratively as he returns to his mother's murder scene and ruminates on the meaning of her death. As the author of L.A. Confidential and Black Dahlia Ellroy expanded the boundaries of hard-boiled fiction while also tapping into the moody atmosphere of film noir--a legacy honored in American Dog.System Requirements:Running Time: 53 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MISCELLANEOUS/SPECIAL INTEREST Rating: NR UPC: 736899107826 Manufacturer No: DV92953 Product Description

A gas for Ellroy fans

Riffing on the topics covered in his brilliant "best selling, award winning" 1996 book My Dark Places, Ellroy takes us on a tour of his hometown both past and present in this short, entertaining film. Who would forsake the chance to hear the greatest novelist of our time riff on virtually everthing that matters in this world--namely, sex, death and Los Angeles? The filmmakers' nod to camp (dig the author lit Lugosi style, leaning languidly on a dangling dummy in an emptied LA mannequin factory) elicits morbid chuckles. Also, extras including Ellroy's conversations with Bruce Wagner at the Pacific Dining Car and the LAPD's touching presentation of the Jack Webb award are worth the price of admission. August 15, 2007

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