To Live and Die in L.A.

Find Movie Theaters & Showtimes

for
near
in

Videos & Photos

  • Trailer 1

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

William Friedkin

Producer:

Irving H. Levin

Writer:

Gerald Petievich

Release Date:

Oct 31, 1985

Runtime:

1hr 56m

Synopsis

A Secret Service agent becomes obsessed with catching a ruthless counterfeiter.

Cast

  • Jane Leeves
  • Willem Dafoe
  • Michael Higgins
  • Chris Latanzi
  • Shaun Earl
  • William Petersen
  • John Pankow
  • Debra Feuer
  • John Turturro

Letterboxd User Reviews

4.0
159.1K
54.3K
56.8K
RATINGS 1.5K FANS
4.0
  • Sep 24, 2019

    This is the kind of movie where when someone gets shot, their head explodes, the blood is super bright red, and Wang Chung is playing. Masterpiece.

    3.8K Likes
    Patrick Willems
    Patrick Willems
    Mar 26, 2023

    i basically snorted this movie off my television. Robby Müller forever.

    2.5K Likes
    davidehrlich
    davidehrlich
    Nov 2, 2016

    William Friedkin’s thematic extension/reversal of The French Connection with gritty 70s semi documentary given to 80s synthetic artifice (all warm colors, decadent behavior, modernist architecture). This would be a gem for Robby Mueller great cinematography alone. It is…

    1.8K Likes
    Filipe Furtado
    Filipe Furtado
  •
    Mar 29, 2016

    Well that's one way to end a film.

    1.1K Likes
    Eli Hayes
    Eli Hayes
    Aug 25, 2024

    Love that Friedkin frames bastardry as something cops pass down from partner to partner like an infection

    1.1K Likes
    Srirachachau
    Srirachachau
    Apr 4, 2023

    cautionary tale for swaggy guys everywhere

    1.1K Likes
    fran hoepfner
    fran hoepfner
  •
    May 8, 2017

    Purely quintessential 80's cinema- a blood laced, coke-induced thrill ride set to the timeless backdrop of a neon sunset and the eternally melodic bars of Wang Chung. Possibly William Friedkin's masterpiece.

    1.0K Likes
    Wesley R. Ball
    Wesley R. Ball
    Jun 11, 2014

    Friedkin car chases > other car chases, because in a Friedkin film everyone's already careening wildly toward death; cars let them do it even faster.

    903 Likes
    Alex Engquist
    Alex Engquist
    Mar 19, 2025

    The spiritual LA sequel to The French Connection in which Friedkin finds in Bill Peterson's Richard Chance a cop somehow more loathsome and terrible at his job than 'Popeye' Doyle, and a criminal, in Dafoe's master counterfeiter Rick Masters, even smoother and cooler than…

    839 Likes
    Will Menaker
    Will Menaker
See All Reviews on Letterboxd.com

Queue Community Reviews

92%
Community 2,091
❤️ LOVE
23%
👍 LIKE
69%
😐 MEH
5%
👎 DISLIKE
2%
Top Reviews
  • mason williams
    mason williams loved
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    One of my very favorite movies! I see this as being about raw determination and the unpredictability of life. I have seen this more times than I can count and it still gets better with nearly every viewing.

    🔥 1 2Y
    Platypus Lord
    Platypus Lord liked
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    I have a feeling Willem is not Dafriend in this one. Sordid crime thriller pulsating w/ a cool, utterly 80s Wang Chung soundtrack. A disturbing showcase of the corrosive power of obsession & compromises to integrity. Always love to see Dafoe. And that was one excellent car chase.

    1Y
    Da channel Fire
    Da channel Fire liked
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    I feel like this movie was shot really well and was visually interesting. super 80s vibe and I liked the epic theme. some of the dialogue felt super weird and lots of scenes are extremely horny. the "main" character is extremely unlikable, on purpose though. The end was Buddhist!

    1Y
  • Nick Dubberly
    Nick Dubberly loved
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    I haven’t seen a lot of films with William Petersen, but he’s a badass in this, from the half unbuttoned shirts with a leather jacket, to his full frontal scene. It definitely has that William Friedkin feel to it, it’s The French Connection of the 80s, I think I liked it more.

    1Y
    grace
    grace loved
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    william peterson AND willem dafoe are so insanely hot in this, seeing w peterson be so intense was life-altering 😩 it has some really great action, some brutal death scenes and nudity- BE PREPARED. one of the few movies i’ve seen where everyone involved is morally corrupt.

    2Y
    V
    V liked
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    I saw this 4ever ago and all I remember was the backdrop & Wang Chung. Lots of actors that weren’t really anyone at the time. Grissom:CSI VEGAS/Daphne Frasier/Ira Mad About you and even the boos on office space!! Oh full frontal -shocking for 1985.

    2Y
  • Jimmy Cricket
    Jimmy Cricket liked
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    A gritty 70s story done in the 80s. This starred a lot of big actors before they were so well known. The car chase here is easily one of the best, matching Friedkin’s earlier one in The French Connection.

    2Y
    Jacob Hall
    Jacob Hall loved
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    Really colorful and stylistic action film. Dafoe plays a great antagonist. One of the better car chase scenes I've watched. Friedkin just cemented himself in my top 10 favorite directors

    1Y
    Edward Kronkvist
    Edward Kronkvist liked
    To Live and Die in L.A.

    Fun and gritty crime thriller that Isn’t as any other film in the genre. The ending literally blew me away.

    14D
View More Popular To Live and Die in L.A. Reviews on Queue

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

81
metacritic
Based on 16 Critics
7.7

USER SCORE (20)

Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Reviews
100

In the hierarchy of great movie chase sequences, the recent landmarks include the chases under the Brooklyn elevated tracks in The French Connection down the hills of San Francisco in Bullitt and through the Paris Metro in Diva. Those chases were not only thrilling in their own right, but they also reflected the essence of the cities where they took place. Now comes William Friedkin, director of The French Connection, with a new movie that contains another chase that belongs on that short list.

View full review
Metacritic review by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
90

To Live and Die in L.A. is Mr. Friedkin at his glossiest, a great-looking, riveting movie without an iota of warmth or soul. On its own terms, it's a considerable success, though it's a film that sacrifices everything in the interests of style.

View full review
Metacritic review by Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
The New York Times
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Is To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as R, meaning that Under 17 requires an adult accompaniment.
How long is To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)?
The movie is 1hr 56min long.
What's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) about?
A Secret Service agent becomes obsessed with catching a ruthless counterfeiter.
Who's the cast of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)?
  • Jane Leeves as Dancer, Serena
  • Willem Dafoe as Eric Masters
  • Michael Higgins as Dancer
  • Chris Latanzi as Dancer
  • Shaun Earl as Dancer
  • William Petersen as Richard Chance
  • John Pankow as John Vukovich
  • Debra Feuer as Bianca Torres
  • John Turturro as Carl Cody
Who's the director behind To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)?
William Friedkin directed To Live and Die in L.A. (1985).
Who produced To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)?
Irving H. Levin produced To Live and Die in L.A. (1985).
Back to Showtimes