Sunset Strip (2012)

Sunset Strip is a compelling and edgy new documentary that looks at the history of the most famous mile and a half on the planet, the road that connects Hollywood to Beverly Hills. The documentary looks at the area From its creation, through to today. It looks at the high points, namely the heyday era 50’s and 60’s, to its low points, the deaths of John Belushi and River Phoenix. It follows the birth of great business empires, and the demise of some of the Strips most recognised venues. It also exposes the true meaning of classic songs such as Joni Mitchell’s lyrics “Paved paradise, put up a parking lot!”

For many the documentary movie can be a fairly daunting experience, but Sunset Strip manages to ease that blow, by moving through the various stories, and by having conversations with legends of the area such as Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone, The Osbourne’s, Courtney Love, and Keanu Reeves; it even manages to score time with Sophia Coppola and Stephen Dorff who were filming the much acclaimed Somewhere at the time. 

It does not matter how up you are on your L.A. Trivia Sunset Strip will undoubtably have a lesson for every single person who watches it. Whether it be the depravity of its bordello’s or its corruption at the hands of unscrupulous businessmen.

Beautifully crafted, this documentary really is a joy to watch. It’s an incredibly thoughtful price of Film-making that goes passed in the blink of an eye. Directed by Hans Fejellestrad, Sunset Strip is a highly engaging, thought provoking movie, that tells the stories we know, with the ones we don’t.