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Bookmark this pageTo Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Director: William Friedkin
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Dafoe is an LA supercrook, forging dollar bills for a city whose sole form of social intercourse resides in the getting, counting, and spending of large sums of money. This is a city (photographed by Robby Müller with the same luminosity he brought to Paris, Texas) where everyone is on the take, and that includes the two FBI agents (Petersen and Pankow) who are out to break Dafoe by any means. It all goes horribly wrong when they decide to pull their own heist in order to secure the necessary funds to stay in hot pursuit. Friedkin plays it as brutal and cynical as he ever did with The French Connection; and this time the car chase takes place on a six-lane freeway at the height of the rush hour, going against the traffic. Today, the play-dirty antics of Popeye Doyle probably look rather dated; God knows what state we will have to get into before all this looks tame. CPea.Author: CPea
User reviews of this film
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- Malcolm Davey said...
- Posted on Apr 22 2012 13:05 after his late 70s trials n tribs this certainly qualifies as a return to form from Friedkin. Petersen and Defoe attack their roles with relish and hint at bigger things to come. But Wang Chung(!?) as soundtrack? Suppose 'Dance Hall Days' was OK ...
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- Ibby said...
- Posted on Jun 15 2009 15:40 excellent, underrated film, great performances, great car chase, Dafoe is esp good as tormented soul Masters.
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Cast & crew
Director: William Friedkin
Producer: Irving H Levin
Cast: William L Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell, Steve James, Robert Downey full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 116 mins
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