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Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man

Play trailer Poster for Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man 1976 1h 40m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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Fred (Marc Porel) and Tony (Ray Lovelock) work as undercover cops in Rome with a special license to kill.

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Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ...a remarkably breezy affair, with jaunty pop on the soundtrack and some amazing threads for the main characters amongst the screeching tyres.. Rated: 4/5 Jan 29, 2024 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid [An] amazing, almost unbelievable movie. Aug 19, 2011 Full Review Ed Whitfield What Culture It's an ugly movie, mired in bad technique, but fun for all you post-modernists... if you're in the mood. Rated: 2/5 Jul 6, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Sexist and just all around terrible. They should have been spies the way they kill people willy nilly. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/12/18 Full Review Audience Member Live Like a Cop Die Like a Man is a lot of fun. Famous as a Tarantino touchstone, it's a buddy cop movie with 70's Italian flare and humor. Disregarding miranda rights and foreplay, Alfredo (Marc Porel) and Antonio (Ray Lovelock) serving as members of an elite police task force, shoot and screw their way through the criminal underworld of Rome. Ethnic stereotypes and flowing hair abound in a film offering campy delights to both male and female movie lovers. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I'm late to the game on this one, but I'd just like to say that Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man is an amazing film. It reminded me so much of The French Connection at times that it was ridiculous. Not that that makes the film any better, but I just had to mention it. I'd only heard it referenced by Quentin Tarantino in a couple of places and decided to pick up a copy for myself (how can you not with a fantastic title like that). I was completely blown away by it and how drawn in I was to it, especially since the lead characters are pretty much sadists. Fantastic score, performances, set pieces - the whole nine yards. It's a classic, and I'd love to see it get a revival in some of the double bills of recent years. It's definitely deserving of iconic status. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Blood n Guts Ultra Violence justice is served by our awesome cop duo (mostly while riding a motorcycle) to the criminal swine who dare upset the law. Hell these guys shoot people before they even commit a crime. This Poliziotteschi is from the director who gave "Cannibal Holocaust" to the world. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member From the opening sequence of 'To Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man' it is clear that this is a movie a extreme violence which embellishes in it's own excess. The opening sequence involves our two hero cops witnessing the brutal beating of a woman as they try and steal her purse. This woman is punched and dragged across the street by her purse until she lets go, leading to a 10 minute car chase sequence. To Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man is an extreme version of the buddy cop drama that takes everything to another level. The two main characters are complete chauvinist in every sense of the word, who clearly view woman only in a sexual way. Once example of this is how they constantly flirt and harass the secretary at their office. Who am I kidding, saying that they flirt is an understatement, they practically are raping her with their words. These guys are incredible suave and presented only in ways that reveal how completely badass they are. I do love the subtle homosexual subtext as well, intentional or not. While it is a low budget endeavor that has some stunts and action set pieces which were be deemed cheesy by traditional standards, the camera work and shot selections are very expressive in bringing the frantic nature of the action to the viewer in a visual way. The film does conform to most of the standard genre conventions (wild demeanor, captain who is always up their ass, dirty cops, etc) but it's all about taking things to the next level. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever seen a film where the innocent pedestrians and by-standards are treated in such a brutal way. There are various car chases and hostage situations where we witness the brutality and raw nature of the situation through the brutality exhibited on these bystanders. Yes, it's Euro Trash, in all the right amazing ways.. I don't know how someone could find this film anything but entertaining. The only real complaint is that I had to watch the terrible English dubbing.. but whatever, this movie is awesome. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Ruggero Deodato will always be a name synonymous with the controversial classic "Cannibal Holocaust" and the urban exploitation shocker "House on the Edge of the Park." Few seem to remember that he has directed films beyond those two monstrous efforts and a few commendable films at that. One of his good films prior to his gruesome twosome is the Poliziotteschi action police thriller "Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man." What we have here is two young police officers that that seem just deranged as the criminals they are chasing. They live and breathe their job, sharing an apartment, ridding bitch to work on a motorcycle and even screwing the same women. What makes them just as deranged is that they brutally kill and maim criminals, breaking their necks after wrecks and even killing the scoundrels before they even commit a crime! Their boss doesn't agree with their methods but likes the results and must come to their rescue as they take on the biggest crime lord in town. The action is fast and furious as we open with an absolute astonishing motorcycle chase in the busy streets of Rome with no permits. Typical in Deodato fashion the violence is also upped compared to the typical entry into the Poliziotteschi genre, which is hard to believe as it is a monumentally violent genre to begin with. We get goons riding over blind men's seeing eye dogs and even eyes gouged out. However these villains are so nasty they deserve to die horrible deaths. Our two queer cops are captivating anti-heroes. Mixing their amoral attitude towards human life with their homosexual undertones of their partner relationship makes them really engaging and perfectly played by young Italian hotshots Marc Porel ("Don't Torture a Duckling") and Ray Lovelock ("Murder-Rock: Dancing Death"). Ex-Bond villain Adolfo Celi ("Thunderball") is surprisingly underplayed as their boss and I do wish his character was a little more fleshed out. Famous Italian filmmaker Fernado Di Leo, popular for his Poliziotteschi "Milieu" Trilogy ("Caliber 9", "The Italian Connection", "The Boss"), pens the script. His "Milieu" Trilogy is the "Man With No Name" trilogy of the Poliziotteschi film genre but I always felt his directing style was subdued. In comes Ruggero Deodato who spices up his script with oodles of style, marvelous camera angles and utmost violence. Ruggero never makes a moment of "Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man" boring to look at. Mixing the impressive talents of screenwriter Fernando Di Leo and director Ruggero Deatato makes for a visually stunning, thrilling and violent Poliziotteschi cop film. A few flaws get my goat, like their rather lifeless boss and awful freeze-frame ending, but overall one of the must see films of the genre and easily one of Deodato's best films of his career. I waited patiently years for this classic to reach stateside and patience finally paid when Raro, an Italian DVD company, decided to give the film an American release, despite the release date getting pushed back three separate times! It was well worth the wait. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Fred (Marc Porel) and Tony (Ray Lovelock) work as undercover cops in Rome with a special license to kill.
Director
Ruggero Deodato
Producer
Alberto Marras, Vincenzo Salviani
Screenwriter
Fernando Di Leo, Vincenzo Salviani, Alberto Marras
Production Co
Centro Produzioni Cinematografiche Città di Milano
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 40m
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