To Live an Die in LA
 

I am totally baffled by this film after numerous viewings. I like it, its exciting, but figuring out Friedkins's intentions with the film is a task I find more than daunting. There are times when watching the film that it seems to be a 100 percent sincere, ridiculouly over the top, pure 80s hollywood cheese action film. I like that fine and good, as those types of film are good on a very mind numbin level. But then you have to consider the scope of Friedkins's filmography, the guy is a serious independent film director, directed "the French Connection", and has many times delved into experimenalism with pretty negative results. This leads me to conclude that "to Live and Die in LA" is actually a pretty good artistic independent film that is a parody of the dominant style of action films in the 80s. The totally overblown violence, the ridiculously over the top and unbeleviable charachters (Willem Dafoe's charachter as usual makes no sense), the incredible chase scene, the total post modernist pop cheese soundtrack, etc... All these elements were popular in the "Miam Vice" era, and Friedkin used them all to the max to create a ridiculously entertaining film, though wholly pointless. I think the pointlessness is the point. I mean, the kingpin is this film is a wierd artist counterfeiter who also is a psychopathic murderer, hes not a drug dealer, hes not a mobster. I can't help but be thinking he entire film, "what the fuck is the point of counterfeit, and why would secret service agents be wasting thier time with this, must be he pre 9/11 era." The ending I think is phenomenal, and was basically Friedkin explining that in this ridiculous genre, anything is possible, the hero doesn't have to live, maybe his sidekick will. I actually think this is on some level a briliiant post modernst parody film, as much as it is a stupid ass pointless no plot thriller. I've read that Friedkin actually wanted he film to look very immediate, and often used first takes to compenate for this look, which explains the horrible acting, ut the horrible acting in the movie actually seems more how people are, or something. Friedkin in this film succeded in doing what Michael Mann failed doing with his "Miami Vice" film, which is using the format of violent 80s cheese action to make a film that reveals itself to be a far more interesting affair with further viewings.


I also must add that the photography in the film is top fucking notch. That scene when Petersen pays a visit to John Turturro at his girlfriend's house, and the frame shows both sides of te wall, Petersen with a gun to the girlfriend's head on one, and Turturro trying to sneak up on the other. It loos phenomenal.

Great film. Like the jefferson airplane thread I just responded to, I just saw this for the first time extremely recently.

Fantastic film and great analysis batreleaser. It certainly does have a "Miami Vice" (show, not horribly awful movie) feel to it. While the acting is spotty at times I think Dafoe is pretty solid and Petersen does a good job playing the anti-hero. I might have to break that DVD out this weekend.

Re-watched this with a friend a few days ago who'd never seen this. This is such an underrated classic... to think this was made with only $6 million (which would equal a lot more by today's standards -- but it was still pretty low when you factor in all the shit in this movie... especially that chase scene!).

That fucking chase scene! Fuck!

As Kuwa Slayne said, great analysis batreleaser. It's weird because for the longest time I'd managed to convince myself that TLaDiLA was actually made by Michael Mann. I'd love to see it in a double bill with Heat. Either way, I dread to imagine just how much coke was taken during the making of that film. I watch it and I can't help imagining the entire cast and crew taking one enormous line immediately prior to filming each scene. The only other film I can think of that feels as narcotically fueled as TLaDiLA is maybe Abel Ferrara's The Blackout - which from what I understand may as well have been bankrolled in Bolivia.

There is definitely a lot more to this one than meets the eye. I like how Dafoe's character, Rick MASTERS, is a counterfeiter and a painter, who takes his work seriously, so much so that he constantly burns beautiful paintings that others like if he isn't happy with it, and he burns money after it's been handled by the black gang -- which is probably a play on racism, though it may also be the fact that the product probably wasn't as good, since he probably rushed it to get the hit done.

This film is extremely unpredictable, and very absurd at times, like the dude's partner going, "why don't you just go up and shoot him in the head?" I mean, they know exactly where Masters is, all the time, so it's not some big deal finding the dude. The whole subplot with getting the money, the chase scene, all that, kind of insane and ridiculous, but makes the film all the more interesting.

There are parts of me that think the film is some sort of absurd, over-the-top commentary on the action/thriller genre and the 80's in general. Notice the car chase scene where, despite all the bullets fired, only one hits the car, and it's a hole in the windshield. From trained (what we learn to be) FBI agents, that seems a bit unlikely, and odd. Many scenes could be imagined, also, notice the bungee jumping scene that is occasionally flashed back to for a frame or two. Perhaps the main detective's life wasn't that exciting so he created this world in his mind where he was not only above the law, he was above life and death.


GReat film, surely one of the best of all time, and definitely amongst the most underrated.

Wow, I totally forgot writing this.

To be fair to Michael Mann, he did direct Heat and Collateral. Two brilliant movies.

Well, Heat's brilliant...

I've seen To Live and Die in LA and thought it was mediocre at best. Excusing it's mediocrity as parody doesn't wash with me.

Well, everyone on this board excuses your mediocre posts, because we think they're parodies.

ca-poned.

Had a feeling you're a Friedkin fanboy. Why else would you try and make lame excuses for one of his worst movies.

no. its nothing to do with the movie. he was talking about you. its you. and your travesty of a personality.