To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Gerald Petievich (novel)
William Friedkin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 November 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The director of "The French Connection" is on the streets again!

Plot:

A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.

Plot Keywords:

City Name In Title | Anti Hero | Female Nudity | Vulgarity | Shot In The Stomach

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

William Petersen	...	Richard Chance (as William L. Petersen)
Willem Dafoe	...	Eric 'Rick' Masters
John Pankow	...	John Vukovich
Debra Feuer	...	Bianca Torres
John Turturro	...	Carl Cody
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Ruth Lanier
Dean Stockwell	...	Bob Grimes
Steve James	...	Jeff Rice
Robert Downey Sr.	...	Thomas Bateman (as Robert Downey)
Michael Greene	...	Jim Hart
Christopher Allport	...	Max Waxman
Jack Hoar	...	Jack
Valentin de Vargas	...	Judge Filo Cedillo (as Val DeVargas)
Dwier Brown	...	Doctor
Michael Chong	...	Thomas Ling

Runtime:

116 min | Germany:101 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Argentina:18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1987) | Norway:(Banned) (1986-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

6th Street Bridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Century Productions

Trivia:

William Friedkin specifically asked Wang Chung to NOT do a song titled "To Live and Die in LA," since he thought it would be too cheesy. Wang Chung went ahead and did the title track and played it for Friedkin, who changed his mind and loved the song.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: According to the title cards, the film begins in mid December and ends in late January. However, there is no mention whatsoever of Christmas or New Year's Day, and none of the sets has decorations of any kind for either holiday.

Quotes:

Ruth Lanier: What would happen if I stopped giving you information on Masters?
Richard Chance: Why?
Ruth Lanier: I'm just curious.
[pause]
Richard Chance: I'd have your parole revoked.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "L.A. Law: To Live and Diet in L.A. (#3.7)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Wait

Dynamite film-making, high on style and content. L.A. has never looked this cool.

Never heard about this film until recently, but after reading some rave reviews, I decided to give it a go, and boy, was it worth it! William L. Petersen plays Chance, a secret service agent who is on the trail of L.A. super-crook and highly talented counterfeiter Masters (brilliantly portrayed by Willem Dafoe), with the strangest connections in every stratum of the L.A. underworld.

The saying goes, a film is as good as its villain. This one is even better.

Too often, William Friedkin is cited as some kind of workman's like director while he practically invented the high-octane action movie with THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and THE EXCORCIST (1973). With this riveting, tough as nails, ultra-cool, and very eighties (accompanied by a typically eighties synthesizer soundtrack by Wang Chun), cop-on-the-lam action film, he practically re-invented this kind of film-making. I'd prefer this film any day above Michael Mann's efforts, considered by many to be on top of the game, but this film is far superior to any of Mann's efforts. He even sued Friedkin for plagiarism, claiming TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. stole the concept from his TV series "Miami Vice."

This is not your toned-down PG-13 action flick. Incredibly violent for a Hollywood outing, this film is not for the squeamish, with almost every character having a penchant for shooting each other in the face, with predictably messy results. The music, the haircuts, the fashions, they might be a little dodgy, but L.A. never looked this cool, and William Friedkin adds another riveting freeway car chase to his resume.

An outstanding film.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10