Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992

Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992
Directed by John Ridley
Produced by Jeanmarie Condon
Melia Patria
John Ridley
Music by Mark Isham
Cinematography Sam Painter
Edited by Colin Rich
Release date
  • April 21, 2017 (2017-04-21)
Running time
 144 minutes
Country United States
Language English, Korean

Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992 is a 2017 American documentary film directed by John Ridley about the 10-year period leading up to, and including, the 1992 Los Angeles riots. It was produced by Lincoln Square Productions, a subsidiary of ABC News, and was released in theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on April 21, 2017. A shorter version aired on the American Broadcast Company on April 28, 2017.[1] The film received critical acclaim.

Overview

Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992 is a deep examination of the unrest that ensued after the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged in the beating of Rodney King. Along with extensive archival footage, the story is told through first-hand accounts of the events. Those who speak include police officers, city officials, victims, citizen rescuers, and those who perpetrated violence. The New York Times described the film's style by saying, "the multiethnic oral history allows politicians and the police, victims and survivors who witnessed the events of April 29 and 30, 1992, to expose a relentless accretion of official decisions and public resentments."[2]

Because the full-length film played in theaters and a shorter version played on television, on May 10, 2017, Variety reported that the film's producers chose not to submit the TV version for the Primetime Emmy Awards, and would instead focus resources on an Academy Award campaign.[3]

Production

In 2007, Ridley was approached by Spike Lee to make a scripted film about the L.A. riots,[4] and with Brian Grazer producing, principle photography was set to begin in spring 2016.[5] The narrative film was never made, with Ridley saying, "the fact that it covered many communities, the fact that there was no one person who was a complete protagonist or a complete antagonist... and that it was not a necessarily happy ending, but the scope and scale of it begat a particular price point. All of those things, when you sit down with the individuals who have the decision-making power, it's not easy to look at that and go 'Yeah, okay, that's a movie that we want to make.'"[6]

Elsewhere, Lincoln Square Productions was using a team of ABC News journalists, including former Nightline producer Jeanmarie Condon, to make an unrelated piece for the 25th anniversary of the L.A. riots.[7] They approached Ridley to direct, and on December 16, 2016, Deadline.com reported that the documentary was underway.[8]

Vogue describes the ultimate product, Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992, by saying, "Let It Fall, in the broadest sense, is about memory: what we remember, how we remember it, and how the collective accretion of individual memories can illuminate the complexity of history in a way that official institutional memory cannot."[9]

Reception

Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992 has an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[10] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 92/100 based on 6 reviews.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992 on IMDb
  2. ↑ Jeannette Catsoulis (April 20, 2017). "Review: ‘Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992,’ a Wrenching John Ridley Film". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  3. ↑ Kristopher Tapley (May 10, 2017). "John Ridley’s L.A. Riots Documentary ‘Let It Fall’ Aims for Oscars Over Emmys". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ John Horn and Monica Bushman (April 20, 2017). "John Ridley's documentary about the LA Riots is meant to 'break hearts and lift spirits'". KPCC. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ Pamela McClintock (October 12, 2015). "John Ridley to Direct L.A. Riots Movie for Broad Green, Imagine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ John Horn and Monica Bushman (April 20, 2017). "John Ridley's documentary about the LA Riots is meant to 'break hearts and lift spirits'". KPCC. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ Greg Braxton (December 16, 2016). "What it took for Oscar winner John Ridley get the story of the 1992 Los Angeles riots to screen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ Denise Petski (December 16, 2016). "John Ridley Teams With ABC News On L.A. Riots-Themed Documentary". Deadline. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ Julia Felsenthal (April 28, 2017). "John Ridley on Why It Took a Decade to Make Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992". Vogue. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 (2017)". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
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