To Live and Die in L.A. (4K restoration) Arrow

[Oscar Rothman]

http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/shop/ind...product_id=865

Synopsis:

A FEDERAL AGENT IS DEAD. A KILLER IS LOOSE. AND THE CITY OF ANGELS IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE.

In the seventies William Friedkin made The French Connection, The Exorcist and Sorcerer. In the eighties he equalled them with To Live and Die in L.A., one of the most stylish thrillers the decade had to offer.

When his partner is murdered just days before retirement, Secret Service Agent Richard Chance (William Petersen, Manhunter) begins an obsessive hunt for his killer – counterfeiter and all-round psychopath Eric Masters, played by Willem Dafoe at his villainous prime.

Beautifully shot by Robby Muller (Repo Man, Paris, Texas) and with a driving score with British new wave act Wang Chung, To Live and Die in L.A. looks and sounds exceptional in this brand-new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative.



SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative supervised and approved by director William Friedkin
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original Uncompressed Mono PCM audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by director and co-writer William Friedkin
Counterfeit World: The Making of To Live and Die in L.A. archive featurette containing interviews with Friedkin, actors William Petersen and Willem Dafoe, and others
Alternative ending
Deleted scene
Stills gallery
Trailers
MORE SPECIAL FEATURES TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil


FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anne Billson

[CrockettandTubbs]

Originally Posted by Oscar Rothman

http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/shop/ind...product_id=865

Hopefully there'll be new extras: those present have been ported over from the US special edition DVD, if my memory's correct

[indisposed]

Originally Posted by CrockettandTubbs

Hopefully there'll be new extras: those present have been ported over from the US special edition DVD, if my memory's correct

Yes. But it will be the first time they've been included on Blu-ray; the extras on the old Blu-ray/DVD release, only featured on the DVD. The solo Blu-ray was barebones.

[indisposed]

Love this film, BTW. Almost certainly buying it!

Petersen plays one of the most unremitting bad-asses in screen history!

[rjf78]

i have the US dvd with the extras and the one disc blu ray, but i'll definitely be buying this. an all time favourite.

[Ray_Rogers]

YES!

I'm a sucker for this movie, used to own the USA Special Edition DVD, kept putting off buying the MGM release (can be bought for cheap at certain places), and most assuredly I'll be buying the ARROW release before the SHOUT! due to pricing. Why is a DVD included?
Honestly, I love this film enough to want to own both releases. That comissioned cover is simply marvelous!

(I've quite a lot of points through ARROW Sales. Heavily tempted to use them for pre-ordering this. I could get this for ONLY $2.60 USD if I use all of my Reward Points!)

EDIT: Absolutely agreed regarding William L. Petersen's character being a bad-ass. Main reason why I watched Manhunter and CSI: Las Vegas. The latter only seen around up to Season 6 or so then intermittently afterwards. Hell, Willem Dafoe is great too and all the cast is excellent through-out the film.

[Ben_C]

Somehow never got around to seeing this, but will definitely put that right with this release.
Whether to wait for Amazon or hmv pre order prices or go straight with Arrow and use points, decisions decisions...

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by Ben_C

Somehow never got around to seeing this, but will definitely put that right with this release.
Whether to wait for Amazon or hmv pre order prices or go straight with Arrow and use points, decisions decisions...

I'm biased to say use ARROW Reward Points since I outright love this movie but I'm also holding out for some reason.
Unless if ARROW will be having another sale soon? I'm not sure if they have them around Halloween-time or not. I know it's always been Summer and the Winter seasons of the year.

It's one of my all-time favorite 1980's films. If you've not seen this film yet, seek out a friend who owns a copy and see if you could borrow it to watch through them. Very highly recommended, in my opinion.

[David M]

Why is a DVD included?

This gets asked a lot. It's usually cheaper and more efficient to do a dual format SKU than it is to do two separate releases, and some people find the DVD useful.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by David M

This gets asked a lot. It's usually cheaper and more efficient to do a dual format SKU than it is to do two separate releases, and some people find the DVD useful.

Forgot about this.

[StingingVelvet]

Will definitely get this release first over the Shout because of the limited booklet. Do we even know if the Shout is the new 4k master yet?

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Will definitely get this release first over the Shout because of the limited booklet. Do we even know if the Shout is the new 4k master yet?

No idea and all they have is the front cover to go on based on their announcements at SDCC.
If you have Reward Points through Arrow's site, I'd highly suggest using them for this release. Myself I'm only going to wait a couple more weeks just so I can see the complete announcements for bonus features on both. Because ARROW has already listed the legacy features from the MGM Special Edition DVD and are obviously making new ones. Agreed on the Booklet too.

Or I might just say hell with it and pre-order already.

[StingingVelvet]

I pre-ordered on Amazon but might switch to Arrow later. I just hate the nuisance of making new accounts.

[topdollar]

While I agree that Arrow should always include the original soundtrack I don't think they do themselves any favours by not including surround tracks that have been available previously.
The excellent music of Wang Chung and the all the action make this movie one that almost demands to be in surround so I shall stick with the US Blu if Arrow goes for mono only.
Hell, even the UK VHS from the mid 80's was in stereo and I ensured that when I purchased the film after it came out to buy that it retained the stereo track - one of the first movies where my early stereo tv was a real benefit

[Ray_Rogers]

Well, I just pre-ordered To Live and Die in L.A. for only £5.51 ($7.32 USD) directly through ARROW Video! Used 1398 Reward Points and it's never felt so awesome.
I don't think ARROW has fully finalised the disc contents yet. Could have both original cinematic track and the 5.1 audio from the MGM Blu release too. SHOUT! could most likely have a different choice for audio too and entirely different new bonus features. Obviously ARROW won because of the Reward Points I had for use directly for them and the price for pre-order. I'll buy the SHOUT! Select later because of price, obviously.

[topdollar]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

Well, I just pre-ordered To Live and Die in L.A. for only £5.51 ($7.32 USD) directly through ARROW Video! Used 1398 Reward Points and it's never felt so awesome.
I don't think ARROW has fully finalised the disc contents yet. Could have both original cinematic track and the 5.1 audio from the MGM Blu release too.

I would expect them to add the 5.1 track at some point. The film has never had a mono only release before

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by topdollar

I would expect them to add the 5.1 track at some point. The film has never had a mono only release before

What was the original audio track used in cinemas? Stereo?
Even the MGM Special Edition DVD and bare-bones Blu-ray uses a 5.1 track. I don't know if it's a full remix with added foley or just 5.1 with the audio track being spread out.

[topdollar]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

What was the original audio track used in cinemas? Stereo?
Even the MGM Special Edition DVD and bare-bones Blu-ray uses a 5.1 track. I don't know if it's a full remix with added foley or just 5.1 with the audio track being spread out.

I had always assumed the movie was stereo because the VHS release was. Certainly in 1986 there was not enough interest in anything beyond mono to warrant remixes for VHS and the majority of tapes were still mono.
IMDB just states Dolby. I'll check out the US Blu to see if there's any info on the end titles.

Edit - sure enough the Dolby Stereo logo appears big and bright on the end titles. Skimming to the end reminds me that this was an early appearance for Frasiers Daphne Moon aka Jane Leeves who makes a couple of very brief but incredibly sexy appearances in the film. I wonder if listing her name as Jane Leaves on the end credits was intentional?

[indisposed]

Pretty sure it was Doldy Stereo like most high profile films of the time.

[topdollar]

Originally Posted by indisposed

Pretty sure it was Doldy Stereo like most high profile films of the time.

It was so Arrow should be modifying those specs sometime soon