Review for To Live and Die in L.A.

To Live and Die in LA is a cult classic of the crime genre and certainly one of those films everyone should watch. It is a film oozing with style and oozing the 1980s. Directed by William Friedkin who won as Oscar for the classic crime thriller The French Connection and solidified his reputation with The Exorcist.

This film is about Secret Service Agent Chance whose partner is murdered days before he is about to retire. Both were on the hunt for a notorious counterfeiter Eric Masters and now Chance will stop at nothing to bring him to justice. His methods are shady at best and with his new partner not agreeing with his way of doing things, Chance may have to watch his back from all sides.

It cannot be explained how amazing this film is. Every aspect of the film is wonderful, from the atmospheric and appropriate score by Wang Chung, the amazing car chase that tries and succeeds to outdo Friedkin's work in The French Connection.

The acting across the board is superb. William Petersen as Chance is superb and you can see why Michael Mann cast him in Manhunter and how he went on to superstardom in CSI. His nemesis of Masters played by Willem Dafoe was as creepy as he always was. I was just astounded by how well the casting was in this film and it is so surprising that no one was nominated... and that goes for the
film itself.

Despite how loved by critics this film was it seemed to be overlooked when it came to any major awards. However, time has been kind to the film and if you want a perfect time capsule of the 1980s then this film is it and the thing I love about this film is that every crime movie cliché that has ever been created seems to have originated in this film. Even so far as to have a character groan 'I'm getting to old for this' which became synonomous with the Lethal Weapon series.

This set comes with a wealth of extras and if you are a fan of this film then you will love everythimg that is on here. Commentary by Director/Writer Friedkin is one of the few times when a solo commentary works and you can tell from listening that he has a lot to say about the film and there are no dull moments throughout.
Anyone considering doing a solo commentary should listen to this to hear how it is done.

Interviews with actors William Petersen, Dwier Brown and Debra Feuer are interesting to hear how they got into the film and they are all, especially Petersen, has some great stories about the making of the film. There is an interview with Wang Chung about their musical contribution to the film. I always think the most amazing thing is when you hear the music and the name, then see it is a bunch of guys from England it is unbelievable.

There are also two other featurettes one focusing on the stuntwork which is great and also an archive documentary about the making of the film which is good, though it is a shame they don't include all the features tha has been on the previous DVD releases.

A number of other features include a Deleted scene and Alternative Ending (which they explain in the introduction why it was filmed-Because the studio told them too and why it was deleted- Because it was awful), still gallery and trailers to round up a fantastic tribute to this film.

To Live and Die in LA is one of the best crime thrillers ever created. This is a film that really should have aged so badly, set so clearly in the 1980s, but the film works on every level. It is a masterpiece of filmmaking and over thirty years later it is still one of the best films ever created. If you enjoyed The French Connection, Manhunter or are just fans of stylish crime dramas, then this is the film for you.