TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA distributed by MGM-UA (1985). This is my favorite film directed by William Freidkin because I grew up in the 1980's. I walked into a movie theater to watch this and was blown away. I even had a VHS-Tape for years. (Hahaha...).
Freidkin was always drawn to written novels that he can turn into a film. He was fascinated by "To Live and Die in LA" because of the secret service and counterfeit money. He received only $6 million for the whole production. It opened in the U.S. and grabbed $17.3 million. At the time. It was criticized because there were no major movie stars. Freidkin always done this with unknown actors and actresses.
The famous car chase on the LA streets was choreographed. But, parts of it was done on the fly. There were 40 stuntmen working on it and Freidkin went over budget. They wanted it to be better than the chase sequence in Freidkin's own, "The French Connection" (1971).
Freidkin is all about realism who doesn't like actor rehearsal. He always got big "emotions" on the first or second take. He also captured parts of Los Angeles that still looks that way in 2023. (East LA is an example).
What is fantastic is the movie soundtrack written by the pop group "Wang Chung." Freidkin wanted them to "not" write a theme song. He just wanted complete music. The group still wrote a theme and Freidkin liked it. He inserted it right at the beginning of the movie. The soundtrack album hit Billboard's hot 200 chart.
Note: VHS Home Video was huge in the 1980's. After a film opened in movie theaters. It had a second life on home video. "To Live and Die in LA" was a big rental and quickly became a cult classic.
What a great Tribute to William Freidkin who recently passed at 87.
(Below) The making of "To Live and Die in LA."
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