MovieChat Forums > To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) Discussion > Similar films?

Similar films?

posted 12 years ago by asktheages
24 replies | jump to latest

I'm talking breathlessly paced, gritty, beautifully shot thrillers/neo-noir films. I know Michael Mann, I know Friedkin's others; I'm looking for something more obscure. For example, I recently chanced upon Cutter's Way and was blown away by that, although that doesn't quite fit into the category of films I'm looking for as it's more deliberately paced. What's striking to me about TLADILA is how artful and considered but also ridiculously entertaining/tautly paced it is, so I'm looking for more stuff up that alley.

[–] kidd-simon 8 years ago

Some similar themed movies would be 8 Million Ways To Die, Thief, Narc, The Red Circle, and The French Connection.

[–] Rocky15 (505) 3 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Cognoscente (2498) 6 months ago

A Better Tomorrow - a violent 1986 film about counterfeiters that is beautifully shot, fast-paced and downbeat.

[–] Rocky15 (505) 5 months ago

Manhunter
Year of the Dragon
52 Pick-Up
Thief
White Sands
Dark Blue

[–] mechajutaro (2788) 5 months ago

Did anyone mention "Colors" yet?

[–] ccr1633 (1469) 5 months ago

Wow, what an old thread. For anyone interested in this genre, look through the Don Siegel filmography, including the well-known "Dirty Harry" as well as many earlier films (also "Charley Varrick," Siegel's next film after "Dirty Harry." For example, "The Lineup" from 1958. There's lots of noir films of this type of course, with varying degrees of emphasis on the criminals vs. the cops. An interesting variant is "Kansas City Confidential" in which a wrongly accused civilians infiltrates a criminal network, effectively playing the cop role. A somewhat similar film in this regard is "Kiss of Death," Richard Widmark's memorable debut. Another favorite of mine with near equal focus on the cops and on the robbers is "The Big Heat" (1953) with Glenn Ford.