To Live and Die in L.A.

Started by jasper_window, August 26, 2003, 08:46:02 AM

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jasper_window

August 26, 2003, 08:46:02 AM
http://www.davisdvd.com/News/daily_news.htm

Fucking great!  Underrated, practically unseen excellent movie.

Cecil

#1
August 26, 2003, 09:19:08 AM
cool. i like the score

jasper_window

#2
August 26, 2003, 12:24:07 PM
me too.  I love the car chase and how they drop the sound inside the car except for their breathing.

Ernie

#3
August 26, 2003, 09:15:05 PM
Yea, I've been wanting to see this one for awhile. I think since I read about it in "Scorsese on Scorsese"...anything mentioned by that man deserves a chance.

SoNowThen

#4
August 27, 2003, 10:01:07 AM
I love this movie, but anybody else find Dafoe's performance is way overrated? Supporters always talk about him, but I find it's the two cops that carry all of my interest...
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

jasper_window

#5
August 27, 2003, 12:02:11 PM
Yeah dafoe is good, but he's not exceptional by any means.  Willima Peterson and John Pankow carry it.  Peterson is great, man, I was really glad to see him make a comeback with CSI.

soixante

#6
August 27, 2003, 11:59:04 PM
I've been waiting for this one.  Can't believe it was 18 years ago when it came out.  It's not as good as French Connection, but what cop movie is?  I also recall the film was visually inspired by Miami Vice, along with the synthesized score.  Friedkin, at the time of the film's release, said that William Peterson was better than Newman and/or Redford, and said the car chase in L.A. improved upon the famous chase in French Connection.  Wrong on both counts, still, this is a film I am eager to revisit, as I haven't seen it since the Reagan Era.  It came out a month or so after Michael Cimino's cop movie, Year of the Dragon, which should be put on DVD as well.  Another macho cop/detective movie from the same era, 8 Million Ways to Die, needs to be put on DVD as well.
Music is your best entertainment value.

modage

#7
January 24, 2004, 10:22:17 PM
i just watched this movie, it was TERRIBLE?!?! like, i want to put it on again, now that i know how terrible it is, so i can laugh all the way through it.  the writing, the direction and goddamn THE ACTING was all just lame as all hell.  so unbelievable, it was like they were 'play acting'.  and the damn wang chung was so dated it made me puke!  what the hell happened to every good 70's director in the 80's? here is your answer.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

SoNowThen

#8
January 25, 2004, 12:32:05 AM
Yes, but the chase scene and the crazy ending (and all of Turturro's scenes) make it worthwhile.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

soixante

#9
January 25, 2004, 01:09:31 PM
I thought the coolest thing in the movie was showing how Dafoe made counterfeit bills -- in the days before Photoshop and color copy machines.  Since Dafoe was an artist, he mixed paint on his palette, getting just the shade of green he wanted.
Music is your best entertainment value.

nix

#10
January 26, 2004, 10:41:07 AM
It's got it's cheesy 80s moments, but I think this is a truly great film. A cool, gritty cop drama. They don't make 'em like this anymore.
"Sex relieves stress, love causes it."
-Woddy Allen

Vivian Darkbloom

#11
January 28, 2004, 04:04:23 AM
Bought it last month. Saw it last week... at last. I've been hearing about this movie for so long and I liked it a lot. But I think there is a major issue with this movie, something that seems to plague almost all movies of that decade : THE GODDAMN SCORE ! Now I know there was somebody out there worse than tangerine dream and Giorgio Moroder combined and Friedkin had to pick them (or did he ? I read in an interview that he had to make a lot of compromises with the producers, I kinda hoped this was one of them...)
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