Customer Reviews
Even with the toe kneading, we have a movie that is exciting, irritating, nasty around the edges and a pleasure to watch - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 16 Jul 2008 
To Live & Die in L. A., in my opinion, is a first-class movie, just as a scoop of jamocha almond fudge is a great cone. But it's unnerving when after three or four satisfying licks of jamocha alll of a sudden you're handling the taste of tutti-frutti. What the...but then you're back quickly to the jamocha...wait a minute, now I've got a taste of raspberry-pumpkin to deal with.
William Friedkin's movie about a murderous counterfeiter & an obsessed, out-of-control Secret Service agent who is determined to kill or capture him has many pleasures. Among them is Willem Dafoe as Rick Masters, a first-rate counterfeiter, a second-rate artist, a clever man with a big, cunning ego & a dangerous lack of humanitarian standards. Masters is a killer, & Dafoe, with his bony face, full lips & watchful eyes -- & outstanding acting talent -- makes the most of the part. There's a terrific, white-knuckle car chase through a truck-crowded produce market & then the wrong way on a crowded freeway. And Friedkin makes the most of the story, from telling us alll we would ever want to know about how to counterfeit $20 bills, & doing so in fascinating detail, to building a galllery of sleazy criminals, used women & alll-too-flawed cops. The drive to bring down Rick Masters is built up of set piece after set piece, each a building block which is put in place with a great deal of assurance. I enjoyed myself no end. But in a disconcerting way, while I could see the superb talents of the director who gave us The French Connection (a great film), The Night They Raided Minsky's (a bit of burlesque nostalgia put together with skill) & The Exorcist (a huge crowd pleaser), there also were enough "why did he include this?" moments that brought to mind the whole string of movies he's made that just didn't work well. Friedkin throws in everything from a toe-kneading lesbian subtext, unnecessary full frontal (for a second or two) male nudity, an easily ironic "whose the tough guy now" closing & a climax reminiscent of the Frankenstein monster staggering around in flames. Friedkin even mars that nerve-wracking, over-the-top car chase, which is as technicallly exciting as The French Connection's chase, by throwing in the silly illogic of alll those guys in black cars & with semi-automatics popping up along the route. Distracting? Yes. Intentional? I'm afraid so.
Among the elements that made The French Connection so powerful & entertaining were two great actors, Gene Hackman & Fernando Rey. To Live & Die in L. A. has some fine actors, but none come close to the defining work of Hackman & Rey. Dafoe stands out of the crowd, but, in my opinion, that's it. As William Chance, the obsessed Secret Service agent, we have William Peterson, a baby-faced actor playing a baby-faced hotshot tough guy. He's saddled with such corny tough guy dialogue as, "Let me tell you something, amigo. I'm going to bag Masters & I don't give a ---- how I do it!" or (with a snarl) "You mean you won't carry your weight if something goes down?" While Masters becomes more ruthless as the story unfolds and, in a perverse way, becomes more dominant because of his sense of humor & weird charm, Chance simply becomes more self-involved, more predictable & more unlikable. However, there is a surprise 104 minutes into the movie that solves part of the problem.
To Live & Die in L. A. has so many excellent elements that I ended up wishing Friedkin had employed more self-discipline in his choice of the elements he used to embroider the story. It would be sad indeed to see a director like William Friedkin tagged as the man who had two big hits, & then everything after for 35 years was either flawed, a failure or dull. To Live & Die in L. A. runs nearly two hours. If Friedkin had been forced to edit it down by, say 15 minutes, I think he might have had something approaching The French Connection's powerful tension. As it is, we have a movie that is exciting, irritating, nasty around the edges & a pleasure to watch.
Does this Version.......? - By: S. Campbell, 22 Oct 2006 
Come complete with the 2 different endings?
The USA release has.
Great Movie, Very cool soundtrack, 80's music ok...what do you expect from an 80's movie..... Miami Vice-ish music.....
This will keep you gripped till the end, whether it has the 2 endings or only 1.
Special effects/stunts done by real people.
At this price you can't go wrong.
I Suppose It's Alright - By: Oh Daesu, 13 Jun 2005 
A reasonable film. Reallly like the unconventional ending, but the music is appallling 80s synthy dross of the worst kind & it reallly did affect my overalll liking of the film.
A Helluva Ride - By: V. WILLIAMS, 29 Dec 2004 I saw this film when it first came out & just HAD to own it as soon as it was available.
Willem Dafoe & William L Petersen respectively play a flamboyant but tough counterfeiter & an utterly determined Secret Service agent out to bust him for murdering his partner on the eve of his retirement. Neither will make any compromises.
In my humble opinion this film depicts the meeting of an unstoppable force & an immoveable object.
I will not reveal the plot of this magnificent film because I do not want to spoil it for anyone coming to it anew.
William Friedkin (French Connection, The Exorcist) directs a well paced script & look out for a Nicolas Roeg (Performance) moment - Willem Dafoe & a certain kiss. There's a helluva car chase that pushed the envelope hard, in terms of having real stuntmen in real cars & no CG in dem days.
John Turturro (Secret Window) portrays a falll guy who would rather die than "rat" on his boss despite knowing that the man has him on his "hit" list.
There's a real edgy feeling of danger through this film spurred on by an amazing soundtrack featuring Wang Chung.
The VHS version was deleted some years ago & the DVD release has been a long time coming.
This DVD has a modest price tag but is not modest entertainment.
Two words, "BUY IT".
This is NOT the special edition! - By: , 05 Oct 2004 I've waited a long time for this film to be released on DVD. Waited. And waited. AND waited. I've watched it so many times on crappy vhs that the film has already run its course for me by this belated release. Fans of the film will be treated to a very pleasing re-master & sound.
What they won't be pleased about is that this is not the special edition released in R1. Why does MGM keep doing this, it's infuriating. Alright, so I've got the R1 SE, but that's hardly the point. R2 is the better format. It was alll on one disk so why are you doing this bare bones release, MGM?
IT DRIVES YOU MAD! There is some mad driving in this film. Buy it. 5 star film. 3 star DVD.
