To Live and Die In L.A. (1985).  Director: William Friedkin.  Starring: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, John Turturro.

Quick confession time: I'm a huge fan of director William Friedkin's two "biggest" films, The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist (1973).  Though they weren't his first features, there are few directors who delivered such a crushingly good one-two punch of films.

What Friedkin did since then, however, has been somewhat...less.

After The Exorcist, Mr. Friedkin directed Sorcerer (1977), a remake of the classic The Wages of Fear (1952).  While the film Friedkin made was stunningly beautiful to look at, unfortunately it had nowhere near the tension of the original film.  From then on, the films and TV shows he's made have varied in quality, but suffice to say none have achieved the dizzying quality of the two he's most famous for.

Which brings us to the film To Live and Die In L.A.

Released in 1985, one could say the film was at least inspired by the then popular TV show Miami Vice.  It seemed to want to carry the Vice vibe, albeit in an "R" rated film format.  We have the two main characters, Secret Service agents on the hunt for a big time counterfeiter.  William Peterson plays Richard Chance, a man obsessed with capturing elusive counterfeiter Erik Masters (Willem Dafoe).  Early in the film we find that Masters was responsible for killing Chance's partner (the movie's biggest cliche is that, of course, Chance's partner was "just about to retire" when he was murdered).

So Chance takes on a new partner and we have plenty of tough guy talk and action, including one incredible car chase, while the duo hunt Masters.

We also have a rather stunning development near the end of the film.

For those who haven't seen the movie and want to see it unspoiled, please leave now.

 

SPOILERS FOLLOW!

 

Still there?

Ok.

What happens is that Richard Chance, the man the viewers assumed was the lead in the film, takes a shotgun blast to the face when a sting operation he and his partner are involved in goes bad.  His partner, played by John Pankow, goes on to finish what Chance started.

The film, as presented on the DVD, is the theatrical cut and includes no new scenes.

However, the reason I've included it among the Alternate Takes is because in the bonus section of the DVD we are offered an "alternative ending" of the film.  In this ending (more of a coda), we find John Pankow's character has been reassigned to some godforsaken outpost in Alaska (presumably they're moving him as far away from civilization and the media as possible, to bury all the very bad things he and Peterson did during the course of the film).

However, Pankow's character is not alone.  We find that, surprise surprise, Peterson's Richard Chance is there, too, and, obviously, he's still alive!

No mention is made as to how Chance survived the shotgun blast to the face, but clearly this "happy" ending was rejected by Mr. Friedkin in favor of the movie as presented.

Please note that there's also one additional "cut" scene, involving Pankow and his soon to be ex-wife.  Mr. Friedkin notes he would have liked to re-integrate the scene into the film, and it isn't bad.  But I don't know if it was essential, either.

Is the film a return to form for the director of The French Connection?  I'd have to say no.  The film isn't a disaster, mind you.  The problem is that there isn't a single person to root for and the whole experience, when all is said and done, leaves you with a sleazy feeling.

Still, for a fan of Alternate Takes, I recommend at least renting this film and checking out that alternate ending.  Its a great example of the thinking that goes into movie making.