To Live and Die in L.A. (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this one.
Review: After seeing "To Live and Die..." in the movie theaters back in the mid-eighties, I had to have the soundtrack and have enjoyed the cd by Wang Chung et al, for years. In my book, it's a delicious, cinematic salad of sex, money, cops, crime, lawyers and sleaze.

What's not to like? Great photography, an excellent cast, tightly directed, a haunting theme and visually seductive.

No good guys or bad guys here. Only what is, in the underbelly of our social order, institutions and streets, and yes, that means personal conflicts and dilemmas, at every turn. Enjoy.


Rating:
Summary: A breathtaking, seductive trip into the L.A. underworld.
Review: William Friedkin's reputation has faded somewhat since the glory days of "The French Connection." This is a shame, because "To Live and Die in L.A.," made some 15 years after "The French Connection," is at least its equal. With its nudity, profanity and horrifying violence, it's not for the Holy Name Society (and unfortunately it also helped open the floodgates for films that use those things for shock value only). But the film paints an unforgettable portrait of the Los Angeles underworld, depicting cops and Feds who are as out of control as the criminals they hunt. Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William L. Petersen) is reckless to the point of idiocy as he breaks every rule of law to chase down Eric Masters (Willem Dafoe), the consummately evil counterfeiter who murdered Chance's partner. John Vukovich (John Pankow), Chance's straight-arrow new partner, is extremely dubious about Chance's methods but feels he has no choice but to go along with him. The resulting action in this 1985 film is state-of-the-art even by the standards of twenty years later, including a car-chase scene that for my money is the most exciting ever put on film, bar none. The film's relative lack of success is demonstrated not only in Friedkin's fading fortunes, but also in the histories of the lead actors. It took Petersen, Dafoe and John Turturro (who plays one of Dafoe's flunkies) years to become household names; John Pankow's greatest fame came from playing second banana to Paul Reiser in "Mad About You;" and Debra Feuer and Darlanne Fluegel, playing Dafoe and Petersen's super-sexy molls, essentially were never heard of again. But in "To Live and Die in LA," their star quality comes across loud and clear. Robby Muller's cinematography is top-notch, as is the editing by Bud and John Smith. The songs by Wang Chung are wonderfully atmospheric and greatly enhance the film's seductive mood. The DVD contains a number of fascinating extras, including the ridiculous alternate ending the studio made Friedkin shoot (and which he wisely discarded as soon as he shot it).

Rating:
Summary: Dated, But Oddly Compelling
Review: From the Wang Chung soundtrack to the "I'll do anything to avenge my dead partner" plot mechanism to the inevitable Los Angeles River car chase, so much of this movie feels overworked, overwrought, dated, or just plain wrong... and yet, it's an oddly compelling picture. There's a nervous energy in the performances, and as the narrative goes forward, a growing ambiguity emerges in the motivations of the protagonists - and earns some real discomfort from the audience. Sprinkle in the great extra terrestrial actor Willem Defoe as a kinky counterfeiter, and you've got Friedkin's last interesting movie. That said, if you're expecting "The Exorcist," or the vastly underrated "Sorceror," I can't recommend it.

But as a bizarre and moderately entertaining artifact of the '80's, at once gritty and wildly cheesy, "To Live And Die In L.A." is worth checking out.