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

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

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

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:

Secret Service | Murder | Revenge | Binoculars | Sex

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

William Petersen	...	Richard Chance (as William L. Petersen)
Willem Dafoe	...	Eric 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
Jacqueline Giroux	...	Claudia Leith (as Jackely Giroux)
Michael Zand	...	Terrorist
Bobby Bass	...	FBI Agent
Dar Robinson	...	FBI Agent (as Dar Allen Robinson)
Anne Betancourt	...	Nurse
Katherine M. Louie	...	Ticket Agent
Edward Harrell	...	Airport Guard
Gilbert Espinoza	...	Bartender
John Petievich	...	Agent
Zarko Petievich	...	Agent
Rick Dalton	...	Agent
Richard L. Lane	...	Agent
Jack Cota	...	Agent
Shirley J. White	...	Airline Passenger
Gerald H. Brownlee	...	Visiting Room Guard
David M. DuFriend	...	Tower Guard
Rubén García	...	Inmate Ruben
Joe Duran	...	Prison Guard
Bufort McClerkins	...	Prison Inmate (as Buford McClerkins)
Gregg Dandridge	...	Prison Inmate
Donnie Williams	...	Rick's Friend
Earnest Hart Jr.	...	Rick's Friend
Thomas F. Duffy	...	Credit Card Counterfeiter
Gerald Petievich	...	Special Agent (as Gerry Petievich)
Mark Gash	...	Mark Gash
Pat McGroarty	...	Criminal
Brian Bradley	...	Tourist
Jane Leeves	...	Serena (as Jane Leaves)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alan Baltes	...	Driver (uncredited)
Gary Cole	...	Man Chased by Richard Chance (uncredited)
Stevie Mack	...	Basketball Player (uncredited)
Joey Sotello	...	Secret Service Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
William Friedkin

Writing credits
Gerald Petievich		(novel)
William Friedkin		(screenplay) &
Gerald Petievich		(screenplay)

Produced by
Irving H. Levin	....	producer
Samuel Schulman	....	executive producer
Bud S. Smith	....	co-producer (as Bud Smith)

Original Music by
Wang Chung

Cinematography by
Robby Müller		(director of photography) (as Robby Muller)

Film Editing by
M. Scott Smith		(as Scott Smith)

Casting by
Robert Weiner		(as Bob Weiner)

Production Design by
Lilly Kilvert

Art Direction by
Buddy Cone

Set Decoration by
Cricket Rowland

Costume Design by
Linda M. Bass		(as Linda Bass)

Makeup Department
Jeff Dawn	....	head makeup artist (as Jefferson Dawn)
Peter Tothpal	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John J. Smith	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Myers	....	first assistant director
Bob Roe	....	second assistant director
Bud S. Smith	....	second unit director (as Bud Smith)

Art Department
Raymond Camaioni	....	carpenter
Dins W.W. Danielsen	....	assistant art director (as Dins Danielson)
Rainer Fetting	....	painter: Masters' paintings
Amanda J. Flick	....	painter (as Amanda Flick)
Dennis Hoerter	....	carpenter
Richard K. Hummel	....	assistant set decorator (as Richard Hummel)
Jon Hutman	....	set dresser
Portia Iversen	....	assistant set decorator (as Portia Iverson)
William C. Jones	....	carpenter (as William Jones)
Gavin McCune	....	carpenter
John Stadelman	....	set dresser
Frank Viviano	....	construction coordinator
David E. Harshbarger	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gary Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Bushelman	....	sound effects editor
Mike Dobie	....	sound effects editor (as Michael Dobie)
Jean-Louis Ducarme	....	sound recordist (as Jean-Louis DuCarme)
Louis L. Edemann	....	sound effects editor
Jim Fitzpatrick	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
J. Paul Huntsman	....	dialogue editor
Chris Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Christopher Jenkins)
Rodger Pardee	....	sound recordist
Craig Clark	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound editor/design (uncredited)
Larry Kemp	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Jay Wilkinson	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Phil Cory	....	special effects (as Phil Corey)
Rocky Gehr	....	special effects technician

Stunts
Jeb Stuart Adams	....	stunt player (as Jeb Adams)
Carl L. Anderson	....	stunt player
Bobby Bass	....	stunt player
Billy Bates	....	stunt player
Kenny Bates	....	stunt player (as Ken Bates)
Jophery C. Brown	....	stunt player (as Jophery Brown)
Bobby Burns	....	stunt player (as Bobby Andrew Burns)
William H. Burton	....	stunt player (as Bill Burton)
David Carlton	....	stunt player
John Casino	....	stunt player
Phil Chong	....	stunt player
Carl Ciarfalio	....	stunt player
Ray Colbert	....	stunt player
Clarke Coleman	....	stunt player
Jim Connors	....	stunt player
Wally Crowder	....	stunt player
Tim Culbertson	....	stunt player
Jay C. Currin	....	stunt player
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	....	stunt player
Steve M. Davison	....	stunt player
Tim A. Davison	....	stunt player
Justin De Rosa	....	stunt player (as Justin DeRosa)
Eddy Donno	....	stunt player
Doc Duhame	....	stunt player
David R. Ellis	....	stunt player
Richard M. Ellis	....	stunt player
Kenny Endoso	....	stunt player
Tony Epper	....	stunt player
Erik Felix	....	stunt player
Glory Fioramonti	....	stunt player (as Gloria Fioramanti)
Pat Green	....	stunt player
James M. Halty	....	stunt player
Orwin C. Harvey	....	stunt player
Steve Holladay	....	stunt player
Larry Holt	....	stunt player (as Larry E. Holt)
Billy Hank Hooker	....	stunt player (as Bill [Hank] Hooker)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator: driving and chase sequences
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt player
Hugh Hooker	....	stunt player (as Hugh M. Hooker)
Richard Hooker	....	stunt player
Tommy J. Huff	....	stunt player (as Thomas J. Huff)
Gary Hymes	....	stunt player
Kevin L. Jackson	....	stunt player (as Lamont Jackson)
Loren Janes	....	stunt player
Pat E. Johnson	....	stunt coordinator: fight sequences
Matt Johnston	....	stunt player (as Matt Johnson)
Donna Keegan	....	stunt player (as Donna M. Keegan)
Henry Kingi	....	stunt player
Billy D. Lucas	....	stunt player
Pat McGroarty	....	stunt player
Gary McLarty	....	stunt player
Pat J. McNamara	....	stunt player
John Meier	....	stunt player (as John C. Meier)
Charly Morgan	....	stunt player (as Charly Marie Morgan)
Jimmy Nickerson	....	stunt player
Manny Perry	....	stunt player (as Manuel Perry)
Jon Conrad Pochron	....	stunt player (as Jon Pochran)
Chad Randall	....	stunt player
Cyndi Lee Rice	....	stunt player (as Cynthia Lee Rice)
Jean Riddel	....	stunt player
Vernon Rieta	....	stunt player
Dar Robinson	....	stunt player (as Dar Allen Robinson)
Danny Rogers	....	stunt player
Pat Romano	....	stunt player (as Patrick Romano)
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	....	stunt player (as Ronald Rondell)
R.A. Rondell	....	stunt player
Debby Lynn Ross	....	stunt player
Michael Runyard	....	stunt player (as Mike Runyard)
Ray Saniger	....	stunt player
Dennis Scott	....	stunt player (as Dennis R. Scott)
Keith Tellez	....	stunt player
David Welch	....	stunt player (as David H. Welch)
Scott Wilder	....	stunt player
Dick Ziker	....	stunt player
Alan Baltes	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Dan Koko	....	stunt safety (uncredited)
George A. Sack Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chris Sundlee	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert K. Feldmann	....	key grip (as Robert Feldman)
Bob Field	....	electrician (as Robert Field)
Kevin Galbraith	....	electrician
Greg Gardiner	....	chief lighting technician
Bill Guerre	....	grip
Scott Guthrie	....	best boy electric
Tim Moore	....	grip (as Timothy Moore)
Jane O'Neal	....	still photographer
Les Percy	....	best boy grip (as Lesley Percy)
Robert D. Yeoman	....	director of photography: second unit (as Robert Yeoman)
Henry Minski	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Randy Nolen	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Vance Piper	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jonathan Sharpe	....	first assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Newton TerMeer	....	gaffer: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Gregg Smith	....	dance casting
Gary M. Zuckerbrod	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Susie DeSanto	....	costume supervisor
Marina Spadafora	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Sonny Baskin	....	assistant film editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Aubrey Head	....	color timer
Jere Huggins	....	additional editor
Joe Mosca	....	assistant film editor (as Joseph Mosca)
Richard Ritchie	....	color timer (as Dick Ritchie)
Bud S. Smith	....	supervising film editor (as Bud Smith)
Jill Smith	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Wang Chung	....	music performer

Transportation Department
Richard M. Brasic	....	transportation captain (as Richard Brasic)
Jeff F. Renfro	....	transportation coordinator (as Jeffrey Renfro)
Olivia Varnado	....	transportation captain
Jack Carpenter	....	driver: camera car (uncredited)
Ralph D. Carpenter	....	driver: camera car (uncredited)
Hugh Kelly	....	driver (uncredited)
Frank Khoury	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Cherise Bates	....	dancer (as Cherise Bate)
Barry Bedig	....	consultant
Cynthia Chvatal	....	assistant: William Friedkin (as Cindy Chvatal)
Kevin Deon	....	production assistant
Shaun Earl	....	dancer
Pablo Ferro	....	consultant
Lesli Linka Glatter	....	choreographer
Diana Gold	....	post-production auditor
Michael Healy	....	location manager
Michael Helfand	....	assistant location manager
Michael Higgins	....	dancer (as Michael W. Higgins)
Robert Jellen	....	insurance provider: Albert G. Ruben & Company, Inc. (as Bob Jellen)
Adele Joseph	....	assistant: William Friedkin
Chris Latanzi	....	dancer (as Chris Lattanzi)
Jane Leeves	....	dancer (as Jane Leaves)
Betsy Oliver Luhrsen	....	production secretary
Dianne Mapp-Cheek	....	production coordinator (as Dianne Lisa Cheek)
Gil Miller	....	institutional coordinator: prison
Larry Rovetti	....	lab consultant
Jackie Saunders	....	script supervisor
Michelle Troxell	....	assistant to producers (as Michele Troxell)
Woody Wilcoxan	....	technical advisor: prison
Bill Bennett	....	terra-flite operator (uncredited)
Terry Edinger	....	post-production accountant (uncredited)
Gerald Petievich	....	police technical advisor (uncredited)
Theresa Shepherd	....	caterer (uncredited)
Mike Sudrow	....	weapons specialist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• SLM Production Group
• New Century Productions
• United Artists

Distributors

• MGM/UA Distribution Company (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1986) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Vestron Video International (1986) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Vestron Video International (1986) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Movie Magic (optical effects)

Other Companies

• Albert G. Ruben and Company  insurance provider (as Albert G. Ruben & Company, Inc.)
• Atmosphere Agency  extra casting
• California Film Office, The  the producers wish to give their special thanks to (as The State of California Film Office)
• Chrysler Corporation  the producers wish to give their special thanks to (as Chrysler Motor Co.)
• Film Finances  completion guarantor (as Film Finances, Inc.)
• Ford Motor Company  the producers wish to give their special thanks to (as Ford Motor Co.)
• Geffen Records  soundtrack available on (as Geffen Records and Cassettes)
• Inmates of the California Men's Colony, The  the producers wish to give their special thanks to (as The Inmates of the California Men's Colony, San Luis Obispo)
• Mack Trucks  the producers wish to give their special thanks to
• Rick Pallack  furnisher: menswear (as Rick Pallack, Sherman Oaks, CA)
• Slash Records  with special thanks to
• TPI/PPI  payroll services
• The Sound Shop  dialogue re-recording
• Todd-AO Studios  rerecording (as Todd-AO)
• Wamsutta  bed linens: Christian Dior
• Warner Special Products  with special thanks to

Also Known As:

Runtime:

116 min | Germany:101 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Singapore:M18 | USA:R (certificate #27848) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:R | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1987) | Norway:(Banned) (1986-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

444 S. Flower Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

SLM Production Group

Trivia:

Like Dennis Hopper's Colors (1988), the film was shot in gang territory: Temple Street and 18th Street, the Nickerson Gardens Project in Watts, MacArthur Park, Slauson Avenue in South Central and the Boyle Heights Section of East Los Angeles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Chance is shot with the shotgun in the locker room, the blood - supposedly from his wound - is thrown on him from off-screen.

Quotes:

[last lines]
John Vukovich:[to Ruth] You're working for me now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in To Live & Shave in LA (1986)

Soundtrack:

Uphill Climb to the Bottom

Shamefully misunderstood by the critics

One of the very best films of the 1980s this was shamefully neglected and misunderstood by the critics. The problem is: on the surface it's just like an ordinary action crime thriller (and thus won't appeal to the arthouse crowd), except that it makes it difficult to identify yourself with any of the characters. In other words: it violates its genre rules. But this very fact makes it so unpredictable and thrilling, and a proper movie as opposed to a mere genre clone.

The good guys are flawed. This isn't really new, since the mid 1960s there were plenty of flawed heroes in Westerns or police thrillers. The difference is that not only their characters are flawed, they are vulnerable, destructible, they make mistakes. And they pay for their mistakes. Similarly the villains: yes, they are formidable and glamorous, but they are not in the league of the Blofelds or Sentenzas of moviedom. They make mistakes too. And they pay too.

A surprising asset is the film music by Wang Chung, a one-hit-wonder pop obscurity of the era. Their sound perfectly melts with the cinematography, especially in the stylish opening sequence.