10 Underappreciated 80s Thrillers You Must Watch
5. To Live And Die In L.A.
To Live and Die In L.A. is a remarkable crime thriller, directed by William Friedkin and starring William Petersen in a great performance equal to his wonderful turn in Manhunter a year later. He plays Richard Chance, a secret service agent on the trail of a master counterfeiter who also killed his partner. That is essentially the overarching plot but it is masterfully played out with a number of intense scenes, including one of the all-time great car chases.
Friedkin’s direction is excellent throughout and he keeps the narrative moving at pace. Some of the violence is pretty brutal for the time and there are some particularly shocking moments. Willem Dafoe, as counterfeiter Eric Masters, also puts in a magnificent turn here, he is a truly menacing presence at times, relying on his portrayal of a cool, calculated and vicious criminal over any physically intimidating attributes. You seem to learn an awful lot about counterfeiting money too in some extended scenes showing Masters at work.
To Live and Die In L.A. seems to have been unfairly left in the shadows over the last several years but it is absolutely worth the time to discover or revisit.