IMDb > To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
To Live and Die in L.A.
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To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2 NEW)
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) -- Special Edition DVD
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   8,677 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
William Friedkin
Writers:
Gerald Petievich (novel)
William Friedkin (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for To Live and Die in L.A. on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 November 1985 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller more
Tagline:
The director of "The French Connection" is on the streets again! more
Plot:
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins more
NewsDesk:
Locarno 09: Review of Takeshi Koike's high octane anime Redline
 (From QuietEarth. 17 August 2009, 12:03 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Raw, brilliant crime thriller more (175 total)
US TV Schedule:
Mon. Nov. 163:50 AMMAX   

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
116 min | Germany:101 min (TV version)
Country:
USA
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
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) | Australia:R | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1987) | Norway:(Banned) (1986-2003) (cinema release)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The freeway car chase was filmed with the traffic flowing backwards. While Chance and Vukovich appear to be driving against traffic, they are in fact going in the proper direction for the U.S.; it is the rest of traffic that's moving on the wrong side of the road (Chance drives on the right side of the road, but the traffic is driving on the left). This was done to increase tension for the audience. more
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. more
Quotes:
Richard Chance: Where's the key?
Thomas Ling: I don't have it.
Richard Chance: He doesn't have it. What a guy!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Psych: High Top Fade Out (#4.7)" (2009) more
Soundtrack:
Cold Day in Hell more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
59 out of 63 people found the following comment useful.
Raw, brilliant crime thriller, 21 January 2004
Author: fertilecelluloid from Mountains of Madness

When Friedkin went "back on the streets" in 1985 to make TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., he made a classic that will endure and that perfectly captures its 80's milieu.

I don't understand these idiots who complain how a film is "dated" by its music. Of course a film is "dated" by its specific elements, but so what. This superb film, which has an amazingly kinetic Wang Cheung score, is about a time (the mid-eighties) and place (L.A.) that is now history, and it is a punishing document.

The film works on many levels. Yes, it is about counterfeiting and superficial (re: counterfeit) relationships. It is about greed, survival, justice and morality. It is also about human beings using and laying to waste other human beings.

These powerful ingredients weave their way through a police procedural/action thriller plot that never stops to catch its breath and is pure cinema.

Willem Dafoe is totally engrossing as the film's villain, while William Peterson delivers a highly focused, tough turn. Dean Stockwell is also a stand-out as a crook lawyer and real cop Jack Hoar is quietly spectacular as Dafoe's mule.

And the film boasts one unbelievable car chase that has not been equaled since.

But LIVE AND DIE is also a film that expertly marries the visual to the aural and depicts a part of Southern California that has not been so credibly depicted before.

Dynamite!

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
10 Star Film if not for the Plot Holes eternal_buzz
Willem Dafoe as a villain cellery
What's the deal with that girl Chance kept banging? FeistyIntruder
This movie gets better every time I see it... markspiegel
Wow. Chance sucks. malachiX2000
Was Hart dirty? BiffC
more

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