A federal agent is dead. A killer is loose. And the City of Angels is about to explode.
In one of the slickest thrillers ever to hit the streets of Los Angeles, a Secret Service agent (C.S.I.‘s William Petersen) vows to do whatever it takes in search of the counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe) who killed his partner. To Live and Die in L.A. is razor sharp and exquisitely stylized, William Friedkin’s West Coast mic drop on mid-80s Miami Vice mania, featuring a pulsing score by Wang Chung and sizzling cinematography by Robby Muller. Every scene feels authentic and dangerously alive; the film was scripted by an actual Secret Service agent and ex-cons were consulted to make sure the counterfeiting was done right. Plus, it’s got one of the all-time great car chases and an incendiary finale that will leave you breathless!
“William Friedkin was making sleek, sensational, ice-cold thrillers long before rock videos and Miami Vice were fashionable. And he couldn’t be more in his element now that they are. To Live and Die in L.A. is Mr. Friedkin at his glossiest, a great-looking, riveting movie” – Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“In the hierarchy of great movie chase sequences, the recent landmarks include the chases under the Brooklyn elevated tracks in The French Connection and down the hills of San Francisco in Bullitt… [To Live and Die In L.A.] contains another chase that belongs on that short list. 4 Stars!” – Roger Ebert
