7. To Live and Die In L.A. (1985)
Aside from being an underrated gem, William Friedkin's
To Live and Die In L.A. has one of the best car chases to have ever graced the big screen. It took six weeks to film just that part of the movie, so on that basis alone, it's worth checking out. The story here concerns two secret service agents and their quest to bring in a notorious counterfeiter. It's a little over the top in places, bordering on the
Miami Vice, but it does nothing to derail a movie that so brilliant depicts the famed location of its title: this
is Los Angeles.
The Influence? It's thought that Rockstar used a lot of aesethic weight from
To Live and Die when designing the maps in both
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and in
GTA IV. When you watch the movie, you can certainly tell that they've drawn from its mood and locations. A more obvious reference, though, would be the mission "Just Business" in
San Andreas, which is a direct homage to the famous car chase in Friedkin's movie. They're near identical.