a5c7b9f00b Two cops in Los Angeles try to track down the vicious criminal Eric Masters (<a href=">Willem Dafoe). Then, one of them is killed by Masters and the other one swears revenge no matter what the cost. After that, the hunt becomes an ob- session and the law he once swore to uphold becomes meaningless to him. Working largely in cases of counterfeiting, LA based Secret Service agent Richie Chance exhibits reckless behavior which according to his longtime and now former partner Jimmy Hart will probably land him in the morgue before he&#39;s ready to retire. That need for the thrill manifests itself in his personal life by his love of base jumping. Professionally, it is demonstrated by the fact that he is sextorting a parolee named Ruth Lanier, who feeds him information in return for him not sending her back to prison for some trumped up parole violation. With his new partner John Vukovich, Chance is more determined than ever, based on recent circumstances, to nab known longtime counterfeiter Ric Masters, who is more than willing to use violence against and kill anyone who crosses him. Masters is well aware that the Secret Service is after him. Masters&#39; operation is somewhat outwardly in disarray, with Chance being able to nab his mule, Carl Cody, in the course of moving some of the fake money, and one of his associates, a lawyer named Max Waxman, probably stealing money from him. Partly with information from Ruth, Chance is trying to find and exploit the weaknesses in Masters&#39; operation. To accomplish his goal, Chance takes more and more unethical and illegal measures, which may be problematic for Vukovich, who comes from a family of police officers who are sworn to uphold the law. I can&#39;t believe that this film is not in print anymore,is the novel it was based on. (The soundtrack was easy to find, ironically; I got it exactly a week before I saw the movie).<br/><br/>The story is pretty simple: Cop tries to avenge partners death, yada, yada, yada. But Richard Chance (William Petersen) is no ordinary cop, and his nemisis Rick Masters (Willem DeFoe) is no common crook.<br/><br/>With &quot;French Connection&quot; director William Friedkin at the helm, LA has never looked better on film, and the car chase is (almost) equal to the NYC El Train sequence in that movie. The acting is above par, with Petersen showing more depth in one movie then most &quot;action heroes&quot; show in five. And wrap it all up in Bud Smith&#39;s editing and Wang Chungs music, and you&#39;ve got yourself one of the best action films ever made. While many of the cast and director are famed for their involvement in other films/tv series (French Connection, Manhunter, CSI, Mad About You), there is no question that this engrossing yet often repulsive thriller is deserving of a special place in their respective resumes.<br/><br/>Based on the novel by former secret service agent G Petievich, the story concerns 3 treasury agents and their quest to capture an elusive counterfeiter (Masters, played expertly with cool menace by Willem Dafoe). The fact that one of the agents is killed by Dafoe and his henchman 15 minutes into the film provides the motivation for hotheaded agent Chance (a youthful William Petersen) and his bureaucratic yet loyal partner Vukovich (an impressive John Pankow)to capture Masters.<br/><br/>The film has its flaws. However, a professional cast, a thrilling car chase, clever direction and a haunting score by Wang Chung help render to live and die… a superior thriller.<br/><br/>Interestingly, there are many differences between the film and the novel on which it was based:<br/><br/>1 - in the novel, Chance&#39;s partner Jim Hart doesn&#39;t get killed - in fact, it is he who actually captures the counterfeiter. 2 - there is no car chase in the novel. 3 - Chance is killed by Ruth (his snitch) while Vukovich is arrested for his part in the robbery of the FBI agent and given a short prison sentence. 4 - Masters gets 10 years.<br/><br/>On the R1 DVD, there is an alternate ending feature which sees Chance and Vukovich sent to Alaska on some menial assignment after arresting Masters.<br/><br/>For those of you who haven&#39;t seen the film, I won&#39;t give away the ending. Needless to say, however, that like the rest of the film, the ending is unique. A near-masterpiece. The fashions and music and attitudes on display might have been interpreted at the timeopportunistic 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.
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