There’s no shortage of action-packed car chases within the last 70 years of film. Among the most-famous is found within the frames of 1968’s Bullitt, where star Steve McQueen rips through the streets of San Francisco in a green Ford Mustang in pursuit of a black Dodge Charger. Then, at the turn of the 1980s, actors Harry Hamlin and Dennis Hopper wow’d the audience with sequences of high-speed canyon road action above Los Angeles in King of the Mountain.
One legendary crime thriller with solid automotive action debuted several years later in 1985. Between its scrappy filming strategy, brilliant direction, and sharp camera work, this picture truly made a significant mark in car-chase history: To Live And Die in L.A. Towards the end of its run time, star William Petersen takes the helm of an ‘80s B-Body Chevrolet sedan and wheels it through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. It’s an incredible sequence.
Recently, To Live and Die in L.A. was shown at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater during American Cinematheque’s yearly Beyond Fest. After a beautifully restored 4K showing, Petersen took to the stage for a question and answer session with the moderator and fans, and had some truly fascinating memories to share about the film’s breathtaking automotive content.
“So much of the credit has to go to Buddy Joe Hooker and Dick Ziker … they mapped this thing out,” Petersen said of the scene when it moves to a Los Angeles freeway. “When you see a lot of that stuff on the freeway, it was all staged. Those cars were color-coded and numbered, and needed to know when they were going, which way they were going… it was choreographed brilliantly. It was also total chaos.” This caused some chuckles from the crowd—it really is a thrilling moment, seeing cars dive in either direction within feet of Petersen’s bumper at high speed.
“One of the interesting things, and I’m not sure how many people noticed it, but we were on the wrong side of the freeway the whole time. It was like we were in England,” Petersen continued. “When I finally get out of there and go over the median and go the other way, I’m on the wrong side of the freeway.” It really is a bizarre thing to pick up one, if you haven’t seen the film before. “And I asked Billy [director William Friedkin] about that when we were doing it, I was like ‘Billy, what the hell, we’re on the wrong side of the freeway to begin with.’ and he said ‘it just messes with the audience, that’s all we’re doing.’” This brought on a round of applause from the audience. Friedkin passed away at the age of 87 in 2023.
When asked about doing his own stunts in the film, and whether he was ever injured, Petersen replied that he only ever injured himself during one particular scene while he was chasing another character on foot—he got splinters in his leg. Otherwise, every bit of driving he did in the film’s legendary chase scene went off without a hitch.
The car-chase in To Live and Die in L.A. is one pulse-pounding piece of cinema, and among the best ever filmed. There are more fascinating aspects to it—such as this sequence taking several weeks to shoot due to its complexity—but hearing Petersen himself share his side of the story was truly fascinating. If you haven’t seen this film, I highly recommend checking it out wherever possible. Its blend of ‘80s aesthetic, criminal realism, gritty action, beautiful photography, top-notch (and often improvised) acting, and solid storyline make it one of the best action-packed crime thrillers, ever.