This excellent documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges sheds light on the birth of modern art in Los Angeles and a movement that briefly rivaled New York for the crown of the art world. At the center of the movement were Walter Hopps and Irving Blum, two very unlikely business partners that got together during the ’50s to create the Ferus Gallery.

The gallery drew together a close-knit group of artists from the emerging abstract expressionist and assemblage forms, including Ed Kienholz, Craig Kauffman and Ed Ruscha. They soon garnered attention from young Hollywood, with the likes of Dennis Hopper, and the world of architecture, with Frank Gehry.

Ultimately, the scene collapsed by the end of the ’60s, with the rise of pop art. But for a brief period, they achieved greatness.

Grade: A

The Cool School is currently available.