Synopsis
A federal agent is dead. A killer is loose. And the City of Angels is about to explode.
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
1985 Directed by William Friedkin
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
Rodger Pardee Gary Alexander Robert Glass Chris Jenkins Louis L. Edemann Sergio Reyes Jeff Bushelman Jean-Louis Ducarme Mike Dobie
Police Fédérale Los Angeles, 驚天大行動, Отмъщение в Ел Ей, Elää ja kuolla L.A:ssa
This is the kind of movie where when someone gets shot, their head explodes, the blood is super bright red, and Wang Chung is playing. Masterpiece.
Purely quintessential 80's cinema- a blood laced, coke-induced thrill ride set to the timeless backdrop of a neon sunset and the eternally melodic bars of Wang Chung.
Possibly William Friedkin's masterpiece.
"Guess what? Uncle Sam don't give a shit about your expenses. You want bread, fuck a baker."
Removed from the partnering of the other stylish cop picture featuring William Petersen (Manhunter) and whatever feeling you have about Wang Chung (it's probably wrong), this sleaze jam is as deserving of the praise now being bestowed on the first film in tonight's Friedkin double bill: Sorcerer.
Friedkin's continual fascination of the internal struggle between good & evil roars through the grimy & steamy haze of Los Angeles. Petersen's Richard Chance is a thrill junkie, stretching each case, bust, and interpersonal relationship to a breaking point; his nemesis, Willem Dafoe's Rick Masters is an icy artist/counterfeiter who never makes a false move. The image of…
William Friedkin’s thematic extension/reversal of The French Connection with gritty 70s semi documentary given to 80s synthetic artifice (all warm colors, decadent behavior, modernist architecture). This would be a gem for Robby Mueller great cinematography alone. It is pure pulp, a dance of seduction and death between cinema’s toughest mannequin (William Petersen) and an ambiguous capitalist zombie (Willem Dafoe). A tale of bad crooks and even worse cops that plays against the usual hyper competence of the genre with a comic series of blunders and failure (I don’t think Petersen does a single thing that actually helps him catch Defoe the whole movie). It starts around Christmas but the only thing shared here is brutality and obsession. It is one…
Treated myself with the Arrow Blu-Ray from this and it didn’t disappoint. Great photography, brutal shoot violence at times and fast pacing. It’s similar to a Michael Mann film although it never knows to top his style. I also can also see Refn watching this before he made Drive. Willem Dafoe is great in this as this scum criminal but also William Peterson was doing his thing quite well. The car chase and that unexpected ending were also crazy.
The soundtrack also bangs hard, especially that money making scene with City of Angels - Wang Chung is almost pure ASMR. Fantastic cult flick, best Friedkin film I’ve seen from him yet.
The 2000th film I’ve seen!
aesthetically invigorating, formally incomparable to any of its contemporaries, paced immaculately with no moments of fat or sluggishness. fronted by two incredible leading performances, one a sweaty psychotic william petersen whose dilated pupils and intensity inflect every inch of the frames he's in, his reaction to finding his partner's body is one of the greatest 20 second performances in film history, and on the other end a flamboyant merciless queer coded willem dafoe who was always just the greatest performer, one of those rare antagonists who is genuinely unpredictable, not necessarily in what he does but in how he executes them, and his posturing and wide eyed grin leaves you feeling rot underneath your skin. the whole movie is essentially…
People talk about the neon '80s, or recent movies that attempt to evoke that aesthetic, but I feel like this is a gross oversimplification of what defines the look and feel of a film like To Live and Die in L.A. or ostensibly similar stuff like Manhunter, Scarface, Repo Man (which was also shot by Robby Müller, along with this one and Paris, Texas), or even RoboCop. It's also defined by stark whites and eye-catching compositions, and grit (in the setting and the film grain) that really gives the 'neon' colors a textured glow I have yet to see replicated in any genre throwbacks to this particular era. Vibrant hues bleed into the sleaze and absurdity, literally coloring our perception…
ACAB canon. one of the only totally rotten, cynical, mean-spirited movies i adore, so beautiful and so disgusting. knowing william petersen is a chill gentleman in real life makes his full body son of a bitch performance even more breathtaking. i've decided it's feminist because the women are cool and smart and the men are nude psychopaths
A super fun crime triller presented through vibrant colors, stylish fonts, and an energetic soundtrack. The performances weren’t anything special but Willem Dafoe gave it his all as the antagonist. The plot, while very simple, had some very satisfying payoffs (especially toward the end). There were a few clichés here and there and some noticeably bad ADR but I had a great time watching this movie and I think anyone could enjoy it.
This film was recommended by CReviews03
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Friedkin car chases > other car chases, because in a Friedkin film everyone's already careening wildly toward death; cars let them do it even faster.
The Shout Select Blu-ray release.
Scan looks awesome. Great extra on making of the chase scene with interview with Buddy Lee Hooker.
i’m a sucker for a gritty crime story set against the backdrop of a sun-bleached LA cityscape (i’m only human) and this film delivers in spades. so good.
I love William Friedkin. His movies are so captivating and linger with you for days. This movie wasn’t available anywhere to rent so I said screw it and bought the blu ray. Great choice.
William Peterson steals the show which is impressive next to Willem Dafoe who is electric. I never heard of him before and now Im on his IMBD page like a vulture. It’s like Ray liotta is mimicking him in Goodfellas.
The highlight of the film is the famous chase scene. The thing about the chase scene is what is happening inside the car is just as interesting than what is happening outside. Don’t let that downplay what’s happening on the road. This chase scene ha shouldn’t…
Robby Müller is one of the best to ever do it. Also has the best car chase scene ever put to screen.
So jacked-up that I'm pretty sure "cocaine" was a line item on the budget next to craft services and cigarettes. Intentionally stylized and indulgent. The ultimate Reagan-era crime thriller.
Fuck yeah.
The script and most of the acting are pretty bad but when you have action scenes, a “villain” and a soundtrack this good, you really can’t fail.
Willem Dafoe has never looked better. In clothes. Not in clothes. Features illuminated by his cute pyromania. Brow furrowed in concentration making all those perfect counterfeit dollars.
Best car chase I’ve ever seen. A real beauty.
That Wang Chung soundtrack is an event in itself.
I’d watch it again next week tbh.
🔥🇺🇸 💵 🚗 and half a 🖼/5
There’s some interesting things going on here but some of it ages terribly, but that also makes it a good time capsule. Willem Dafoe is amazing as usual, production design was pretty sweet, I loved the score, There’s some fantastic cinematography and of course Friedkin is the king of car chases. Took me back to GTA San Andreas. Unfortunately the writing and pacing was really lacking. Overall a pretty meh movie for me.
There’s no heroes and no hope. A final line so bleak and disgusting it left me in need of a shower.
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