This is the kind of movie where when someone gets shot, their head explodes, the blood is super bright red, and Wang Chung is playing. Masterpiece.

Purely quintessential 80's cinema- a blood laced, coke-induced thrill ride set to the timeless backdrop of a neon sunset and the eternally melodic bars of Wang Chung.

Possibly William Friedkin's masterpiece.

Well that's one way to end a film.

ACAB canon. one of the only totally rotten, cynical, mean-spirited movies i adore, so beautiful and so disgusting. knowing william petersen is a chill gentleman in real life makes his full body son of a bitch performance even more breathtaking. i've decided it's feminist because the women are cool and smart and the men are nude psychopaths

Treated myself with the Arrow Blu-Ray from this and it didn’t disappoint. Great photography, brutal shoot violence at times and fast pacing. It’s similar to a Michael Mann film although it never knows to top his style. I also can also see Refn watching this before he made Drive. Willem Dafoe is great in this as this scum criminal but also William Peterson was doing his thing quite well. The car chase and that unexpected ending were also crazy. 

The soundtrack also bangs hard, especially that money making scene with City of Angels - Wang Chung is almost pure ASMR. Fantastic cult flick, best Friedkin film I’ve seen from him yet.

The 2000th film I’ve seen!

A super fun crime triller presented through vibrant colors, stylish fonts, and an energetic soundtrack. The performances weren’t anything special but Willem Dafoe gave it his all as the antagonist. The plot, while very simple, had some very satisfying payoffs (especially toward the end). There were a few clichés here and there and some noticeably bad ADR but I had a great time watching this movie and I think anyone could enjoy it. 

This film was recommended by CReviews03
You can recommend me something here.

Friedkin car chases > other car chases, because in a Friedkin film everyone's already careening wildly toward death; cars let them do it even faster.

The Shout Select Blu-ray release.

Scan looks awesome. Great extra on making of the chase scene with interview with Buddy Lee Hooker.

Friedkin goes big here, turning this story of loyalty and counterfeit cash into a sort of crime neo-opera.

The music is big and thick with synth, the LA. background full of sun-kissed texture, and the archetypal heroes and villains, almost like soap opera characters, burst out of this thing. It has such an interesting energy to it; completely idiosyncratic and unique.

Maybe my new favorite Friedkin.

Is it silly to comment on how perfectly 80s this looks? I've seen a lot of 80s films and I feel like very few of them approach this purity of aesthetic, between the colors and the backgrounds and the costumes and the general vibe

The first half of this had me skeptical but once it starts going it GOES. friedkin’s cinema is always one of kinetic energy, ricochets and cascading. Incredible cast, incredible script, AMAZING cinematography, bless u Robby Muller. Young Willem Dafoe is beautiful beyond words

When I was in high school I was talking about The Exorcist with a classmate and this coach substitute teacher with a W. Bush vibe said “who directed that? Friedkin? Well he made a Friedkin good movie!!” and I think about that every time I watch a Friedkin and it whips ass

Friedkin + Müller + Wang Chung. It's an absurd combination, and there's almost no chemistry between the three, and it's awesome. The contributions of the latter two make this distinctively 80s, which adds such a strange layer to distinctly dark story. It's The French Connection on the West coast. Shinier, and more attractive, but equally nihilistic and indifferent toward the feelings and aspirations of its own characters. In one brief exchange, Peterson visits his nervous informant after a partially botched, morally iffy heist. She's concerned about the violence and the impending fallout; he won't shut up about a rising NBA star. If you look away for even a second you could be fooled into thinking you're watching another one of Shane Black's loose cannon cops. For Friedkin it's a literal madman. Wrapping the director's pitch black soul in a pretty package is a nice trick.

William Friedkin: okay I need you guys to just fuck it up on this one. It's about an adrenaline junkie cop chasing an aggressively bisexual painter and counterfeiter played by Willem Dafoe. It's sexy as hell. Can you do this for me 

Wang Chung (collectively): We can do that

always best to end your movie with flashbacks to all the characters fucking

Malheureusement, je n'ai guère adhéré à ce polar de William Friedkin que j'aurais voulu apprécier. L'ensemble m'a semblé très conventionnel, sans éclat sauf la présence de Willem Dafoe et la fameuse poursuite automobile. Les personnages m'ont paru fades, tout comme leurs interprètes. Quant à cette histoire de faux monnayeurs, elle peinait à soutenir une durée de presque 120 minutes. Dans le registre, la comparaison avec la série MIAMI VICE m'a semblé inévitable, à l'avantage de cette dernière.

wang chung kinda goes....

When William Friedkin said that he wanted to make The Artiest Action Film Possible, he wasn’t joking.

King shit right here. Doesn’t need to exist like this, but my god I’m glad it does.

Was going to give this a three, but towards the end it takes one of the strangest turns I’ve ever seen in a film hahahahaha.
Brilliant.

You can see William’s Peterson in this movie 

Friedkin do car chase 

Semi spoiler maybe?

There’s a scene where Willem Dafoe is throwing all off his counterfeit money in the fireplace. The money is in paper shopping bag and he’s reaching in and tossing handfuls at a time into the fire. Why not just put the whole bag in there?