William Friedkin

You can get very shitfaced very quickly by watching the Cruising retrospective featurette and playing 'Hi Bob' w/the words "Leather Bar".

The Lightbox series started tonight. Was curious how To Live and Die in L.A. would hold up--well, I'd say. Two or three laughable lines (not that many for the genre) and a long car chase (typically well edited, typically unnecessary), but pretty absorbing most of the way. Brendan Ross talked a lot about William Petersen in his funny introduction to the film, but he didn't mention Dafoe--he's what I most remembered from 30 years ago, and he seemed just as sinister tonight. Tried to answer a question online and just got a link to someone asking the same question: was that John C. Reilly being chased down at one point (one of the film's funnier exchanges: "Why are you chasing me?!" "Why are you running?" "Because you're chasing me!")? Sarris had this third on his year-end list for '85.

when Dafoe opens the $uitcase and coos "You're beautiful"

First film I ever saw Dafoe in (not technically--he's in Heaven's Gate uncredited). With the possible exception of Affliction, I've never liked him better.

yeah that character is one of the best villains ever, & his performance is stunning

Really love the symmetry of Chance’s story ending in the completely exact same, uh, “unceremonious” manner as his partner’s.

Shouldn't fuss over logic with this kind of film, but I didn't understand why Dafoe went ahead with the sale to Petersen and his partner. He openly mocked the fact that they weren't who they said they were (one of his best moments). Was he just so confident in his infallibility that he'd walk away with the money anyway?

Car chases are never unnecessary.

fun fact: the car cahse wasn't in the script, friedkin just decided he needed one once he started shooting and it needed to be better than the one in the french connection

mission accomplished imo, the whole sequence is absurdly intense

lensed by Robby Muller, yes?

yeah, and in typically gorgeous muller style - there's a lot of amazing stuff in this but the one which sticks with me is a scene between william peterson and his girlfriend in her apartment, which has an awesome view over industrial l.a., and the hazy outdoor light is perfectly balanced with really subtle indoor lighting that makes the whole thing look like a painting. it's fucking amazing but it doesn't draw attention to itself

here's one of the shots from that scene:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WkKZJVG5wTk/SM3WAx_Gq_I/AAAAAAABh8U/cwkUnXpLxVk/s400/To_Live_and_Die_in_LA-185.jpg

actually we were talking a bit about this movie a couple of weeks ago on the Wang Chung's "To Live and Die In L.A." soundtrack - C/D Wang Chung's "To Live and Die In L.A." soundtrack - C/D thread

pls excuse messy bbcode there...

the line that sticks in my head from this film is the hilarious "you pulling my dick?"

was that John C. Reilly being chased down at one point

doesn't look like it, Reilly's film debut wasn't until over a decade later. He was 20 in 1985.

the slow shift from a boilerplate story of a law enforcement dude seeking revenge against a psychopathic villain after he killed his partner to the extremely smart narrative reveal that the psychopathic villain is the hero is kind of awe inspiring for this kind of genre film. The fact that it’s done without it ever being explicitly pointed out in any “do you see???” manner is even more impressive. The story is merely told.

otm

spoilers tho

lol I don't remember that at all, mostly I just remember the homoeroticism and hilarious dialogue which seemed to have been written by a 12yo that just learned how to swear. also it looks great.

i mainly remember bill petersen's butt in those jeans

I remember something else *not* in those jeans

yeah the boiling-a-frog atmosphere is great - by the time vuckovich realises his partner is a total psycho he’s in way too deep and has no option but to become him

the equal-opportunities approach to nudity in this feels very european

the car chase where Vukovich is in the back seat correctly freaking the fuck out vs Chance flashing back to bungee jumping is key (and hilarious!)

US film industry gen squeamee about peepee

Worst line in the film (or maybe so-bad-it's-great for some people): "You want bread, go fuck a baker."

I'll grant that this particular car chase did have some thematic importance in terms of Vukovich melting down. I don't think it would been that missed if it hadn't be there--that point had been made in other scenes, too--but clearly I'm just not big on car chases.

"would have been"

Turturro’s “you want a pigeon, go to the park” line was better and less try-hardboiled.

that car chase is fucking insane, and yeah it's earned / not superfluous bc of Vukovich's meltdown in the backseat

is the DVD out of print? bcz the NY library does not have it.

there’s a pretty sweet dvd/blu-ray in print via arrow video in the uk

Shout Factory Blu-ray stateside

yeah the Blu Ray I have is fantastic

well i'll wait for the next rep screening cuz i hardly ever buy discs

the car chase is kinda key in the realisation that we are watching an entire genre being lampooned as well as everything else

this movie somehow is perhaps the origin story for the action cliche, "i'm too old for this shit"

if anything, the fact that the two protagonists are oh-so-excited TREASURY AGENTS kind of signals that up-front. I mean we all know how exciting the Department of the Treasury is, why they're right up there with the FBI and the DEA and ATF when it comes to hottt thrills

oh-so-exciting

I meant to say

this movie somehow is perhaps the origin story for the action cliche, "i'm too old for this shit"

― omar little, Friday, July 13, 2018 2:55 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I noticed that line when I watched it a few weeks ago! and was going to ask itt (or the other one) if that line had appeared elsewhere before. I know Lethal Weapon came out after TLADILA, but I assumed it was a gag. That's pretty amazing if it is the origin.

I would be surprised if there isn't something earlier from some 70s hardboiled cop movie

i mainly remember bill petersen's butt in those jeans

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand),

I can still feel it in my dreams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCuYg9I5NTg

might be predated by Steve McQueen in the Hunter, it looks like?

it’s nuts that friedkin gave the leads in this movie to basically total unknowns but it for sure pays off

I asked this about TLADILA in another thread, to no avail, but it's still bugging me:

What was the point of the whole subplot with John Turturro's character, Carl Cody? Chance gets him out of jail so Cody will help him get to Rick Masters; Cody tricks Chance and escapes; Chance eventually gets him back... and that's it? Quite a bit of the movie is dedicated to all this, but it doesn't seem to lead anywhere. The person who actually connects Chance and Vukovich with Masters is Masters's crooked lawyer. What am I missing?

cant recall for sure but doesnt taking him out of custody and letting him escape establish both the risktaking nature of chance vs partner and also puts a tension/dependence into play btwn the two, once partner doesnt shop that the fuckup has happened hes on the slide into being 'that cop' himself

i think it also largely ties in with some of Masters' other moves, like when he hires that gang to kill Cody and they blow it. i think his response there is to show his ruthlessness. i think the scenes with Cody and Chance exist to show the latter's recklessness in trying to get Masters. I forget what occurs after he gets Cody, maybe nothing.

the subplot there is that iirc Vukovich is the one who actually is most instrumental in connecting them w/Masters, via meeting with the lawyer? Maybe showing his lack of recklessness paying off. I gotta watch it again ASAP.

xp

from iMdB trivia re casting:

The chain of events that led to William Petersen and John Pankow's casting in the film began when director William Friedkin decided to not bother trying to cast established film stars due to the project's relatively low budget ($6 million). Friedkin was born and began his career in Chicago and was familiar with fellow Chicagoan Petersen's work, and with him in mind for the lead role of Chance, he called Petersen in for a reading of the script and immediately offered him the part. When Petersen came in to accept the role, he brought Pankow because the two men were longtime friends and had acted in many Chicago-area projects, and told Friedkin he thought Pankow would be perfect for the role of Vukovich. The director ran a scene with Pankow and then cast him on the spot.

Remember that Friedkin had laid four box-office eggs following The Exorcist. This was his low-budget sleeper.

yeah, there’s a v engaging interview with peterson on the blu-ray where he talks about the unlikely chain of events which led to his cinematic debut

and also about how blown away he was by friedkin’s absolute confidence in his own filmmaking, eg shooting wide master shots and then not bothering with any other coverage cuz he was sure he knew he’d gotten what he needed