TLADILA is Friedkin’s masterpiece.
I think the film is the definition of the 80’s and barring Blade Runner and some other favorites think it is the best film of the decade.
The soundtrack is one of the finest ever made and completely thematic. I still listen to it reularly and it became the band’s finest work. The LP is hugely dynamic and murders the film mix.
https://thehificelluloidmonster.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/to-live-and-die-in-l-a-1985/
My more recent musings on the film can be found here: https://thehificelluloidmonster.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/soul-erosion-in-a-counterfeit-world/

Please give the second a read. You seriously cannot tell how much I respect this picture can you? 😉

As for the ending I completely disagree. I think it is perfectly handled as you can’t quite read Vukovich when he comes to the door. He seems exhausted, burned out, bruised, bartered and beyond lucky to be alive. You realize he no longer cares. And then the final line cements his shift that began the moment he partnered with Chance. Chance himself teeters on the edge throughout the film so his eventual fall fits thematically. What is astounding is how the seemingly cheesy ending mandated by nervous executives actually matches the same bleak tone so it would work almost as well. And also as nasty as he was I too never want to see Chance go down though it makes for the better and fitting ending.