Rating: 
Summary: "Why are you chasing me?"
Review: Director William Friedkin made quite a name for himself in the 1970's by directing two notable staples of the feature film medium, "The French Connection" (1971) and "The Exorcist" (1973). His star dimmed in the years to come but he made a mini comeback with "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985) - a glossy 1980's crime caper centered around a master counterfeiter and the Secret Service agents in pursuit of him.Counterfeiter Eric 'Rick' Masters (Willem Dafoe) has stayed one step ahead of the law for years. So comfortable with his success is Masters that at one point in the film, he openly boasts to undercover agents just how easy it is to hide in plain sight. Faced with the opportunity to finally take Masters down for good, Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William L. Petersen) arranges for a large purchase of bogus money. However, there's a problem - the down payment required for the buy is more money than the Secret Service can provide. To get around this hurdle, Chance masterminds a risky venture where he will steal the needed money from another crook in town. All goes well until Chance realizes that the crook he stole the money from wasn't exactly a crook. Much has been said about the film's dazzling car chase sequence and the unique Wang Chung soundtrack. Yet, the most notable element of "To Live and Die in L.A." is its strongly developed characters. Both Peterson and Dafoe are outstanding in their cat-and-mouse roles. While Dafoe would become more popular in the years to come, it's too bad Peterson did not carve out more of a film career for himself as he proved in this film and in "Manhunter," (1986) that he had the talent to carry a film as a lead. For those of you too young to have seen "To Live and Die in L.A." upon its initial release, track down this film and treat yourself to one of the overlooked gems of the 1980's.
Rating: 
Summary: police: border between the law, order and crime
Review: Huge, fantastic action police movie.
A must have DVD.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best crime movies ever, equals French Connection
Review: This movie makes my top ten list regardless of genre, let alone my top ten crime movie list. It is packed with action, complex characters, and a driving complimentary sound track by Wang Chung.
Petersen plays a cop with two sides, one the straight and narrow, the other a definitely darker side; Pankow is great as an eager but anxious new cop who matures during the movie; Dafoe is the highlight of the movie: evil encapsulated in a sophisticated style; Stockwell plays a high-class lawyer who knows who butters his bread; Turturro is an excellent middle-end hood.
The grit and heat of L.A. are captured magnificently, the realism (no black and white, but real everyday grey realism) permeates every scene, the chase scenes equal or surpass the French Connection and Bullit, and the music keeps beat with the fast paced action.
This movie is phenomenal. Thank goodness it finally arrives on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest action/law enforcement movies
Review: It's interesting that for the past several years I had been inquiring as to why To Live and Die In L.A. had not been released in the DVD format. It was one of the best action movies I had ever seen. I also noticed that information searches on the movie using Friedkin's name failed to yield any indication that he had actually made such a movie. I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a well produced, researched and directed movie. The casting, including Defoe and Peterson, was inspired (I frankly can't think of anyone that would have played their roles better). Although the movie was violent and intense, it was also very realistic. It grabs you by the collar and doesn't let you go until the end. Enjoy and tell your friends that it has finally been released in this format. I applaude the industry for making this release, it should have been done a long time ago. Incidently, Wang Chung's soundtrack is "the bomb". I have had the VHS, cassette and CD soundtrack for many years (having virtually worn out the VHS and cassette tapes, and replaced the soundtrack with a CD).
Rating:
Summary: Locker 38
Review: Yes, there are those squeamish souls who don't like "To Live and Die in LA". There are those who object to Sex and Violence in film, the same sex and violence that have been the shaping forces of every species on Earth. In To Live and Die in LA, sex and violence are a metaphor for male goaling -- but they are just a small part of an indelible cinematic package that appeals equally to the intellectual and the primal in all of us -- and no other actors in cinema have brought male conflict and male goaling to a sharper razor's edge than William Petersen and William Dafoe in their unforgettable portrayals as Chance and Masters. They both burn
brighter here than in any role since. Mr. Friedkin's work has always been brilliant. But here he outdoes himself and brings the crime-genre film into new territory with Live and Die's fascinating exploration of the life of secret service agent Richard Chance and counterfeiter Rick Masters. In the apparently cold, pornographic, and oil-refinery-infested LA landscape, the two antagonists break all the rules and stop at nothing in this deadly game of cat and mouse. This film is dirtier, meaner, and leaner than even the French Connection. How did Friedkin even get permission to show all this counterfeiting stuff? Even showing US currency in films used to be illegal. Ex-secret service agent Gerald Petievich is Friedkin's inside connection, for he wrote the novel on which the film is based and co-wrote the screenplay for the film. But this celluloid is still so hot you'll be half expecting the Feds to confiscate it right out of your VCR at any moment. Extremely high kudos to Bud Smith and M. Scott Smith for their superb editing, Wang Chung for their rich, rich electronic-rock score, with it's crystalline, coke-snorting piano samples and thick and punchy percussion. The opening titles and the entire film are a delight of pacing and unsurpassed graphic style. Robert Weiner's/Friedkin's casting is a brilliant and explosive recipe that will probably never be surpassed in the crime-genre. We can only hope that a widescreen version will be released on DVD. To think this classic film is not even available on VHS is
unconscionable. In the meantime, some person with rubber gloves is out there, right now, exacto knife in hand, getting ready to make counterfeit copies of ...
Rating:
Summary: Highly Under-Rated
Review: To Live and Die in LA is a movie that I MUST watch at least 2-3 times a year. It is one of my all time favorites. How this movie slipped under the radar of moviegoers and critics alike..I have no clue. It is awesome that the movie finally gets its due with a release on DVD. The filming is beautiful. The acting of Petersen as a hell-bent on revenge secret service agent, and Dafoe as a twisted genius criminal is top notch. Dafoe's character of Rick Masters is one of the all time great villains. The action is quick, and suspense builds throughout the movie. The ending is shocking.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth looking for.
Review: I read quite a bit about this action movie especially the car chase. It was said that this car chase was one of the greatest in movie history (including Bullitt). It was unavailable anywhere and I found a used copy at a flea market. This flick is terrible! The car chase is terrible too. How can you have an exciting car chase with boxy 80's cars? I love action movies but this one is weird. I guess that is why they call it To Live And Die In L.A. That explains it all.
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Summary: DVD Format at Last!
Review: As the proud owner of the (poor technical quality) VHS version of this classic exploration of the shifting moral boundaries between law enforcement and criminality, as well as the CD, cassette tape and LP versions of the unsurpassed movie soundtrack by Wang Chung, I am relieved to find that some of the great minds behind the entertainment industry have finally seen fit to release it in modern DVD format. This long-awaited release has been particularly vexing in the context of the mounds of digital format garbage that is today universally marketed. One can only hope that this tentative release does not suffer the same ill fate as the abortive DVD offering of "The Final Countdown".
Rating:
Summary: One of 10 best action movies ever!
Review: I have wanted this movie on dvd ever since dvd came out. It was the first movie I bought for my laser disk player when those first came out. This is one of my all time favorites. Yes!Yes So, I cannot understand why, when you have all these great reviews, people cheering for this movie, it has not yet been put on dvd. There is so much garbage coming out, you would think they could make room for this great one. The car chase sene alone would probably sell a great many. It is one of the greatest including the one in Bullitt. Whoever is responsible for this movie I hope will take notice of what many people are saying and let's get this movie on dvd. PLEASE!!
Rating:
Summary: Release the damn DVD already. Thanks.
Review: Not once but twice in this film do guys get shot in the face with shotguns at close range. This film features probably one of the coolest car chases in modern cinema. All of the characters are scumbags out for themselves or driven by rage. One of the best "never saw it coming" plot twists at the end of the movie; when I first saw it, it was so perplexing that I thought it was a dream sequence. Okay, a little dated, but none the less a gritty, grown up, realistic action flick that delivered the goods and did not fair too poorly at the box office. This is one good film. SO WHY THE HECK IS IT NOT OUT ON DVD YET?! This is one movie that would make a great addition to any DVD collection, so whoever owns the rights, please, release it already. THANK YOU, MGM!
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