Synopsis
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
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Cast
- William PetersenRichard Chance
- Willem DafoeEric Masters
- John PankowJohn Vukovich
- Debra FeuerBianca Torres
- John TurturroCarl Cody
- Dean StockwellBob Grimes
- Darlanne FluegelRuth Lanier
- Michael GreeneJim Hart
- Steve JamesJeff Rice
- Robert Downey Sr.Thomas Bateman
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
In the hierarchy of great movie chase sequences, the recent landmarks include the chases under the Brooklyn elevated tracks in "The French Connection" down the hills of San Francisco in "Bullitt" and through the Paris Metro in "Diva." Those chases were not only thrilling in their own right, but they also reflected the essence of the cities where they took place. Now comes William Friedkin, director of "The French Connection," with a new movie that contains another chase that belongs on that short list. - 100
Slant Magazine
To Live and Die in L.A. exhibits a remarkable degree of kineticism, evident in several memorable chase sequences, the film’s headlong momentum abetted by Wang Chung’s dynamic score. - 100
Village Voice
A near-masterpiece. The fashions and music and attitudes on display might have been interpreted at the time as opportunistic stabs at au courant stylization, but the film is nevertheless overpowering and otherworldly rather than quaint or kitschy. It feels like a transmission from a different planet. To Live and Die in L.A. is so of its time that you can only be captivated by it. - 100
San Francisco Examiner
To Live and Die in L.A. is as urgent and exhilaratingly paced as anything William Friedkin's done. - 90
The New York Times
To Live and Die in L.A. is Mr. Friedkin at his glossiest, a great-looking, riveting movie without an iota of warmth or soul. On its own terms, it's a considerable success, though it's a film that sacrifices everything in the interests of style. - 90
Time Out
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. - 90
Variety
To Live and Die in L.A. looks like a rich man's Miami Vice. William Friedkin's evident attempt to fashion a West Coast equivalent of his [1971] The French Connection is engrossing and diverting enough on a moment-to-moment basis but is overtooled. - 88
TV Guide Magazine
An astonishing, brilliantly edited car chase--with pursuer and pursued speeding the wrong way along the LA Freeway--is one of many pleasures in this darkly stylish crime film, director William Friedkin's best effort since "The Exorcist."
