Synopsis

On a sweltering Los Angeles morning, unemployed defense engineer William Foster abandons his car in a traffic jam and sets out on foot to reach his daughter for her birthday. As everyday frustrations escalate into increasingly violent confrontations, retiring detective Martin Prendergast follows the trail, trying to understand Foster's motives and stop his destructive journey before it reaches its end.

Factoids & Trivia

• Screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith wrote the screenplay in approximately ten weeks, drawing inspiration from a news report about a truck driver who angrily rammed other vehicles on a highway.

• The script was reportedly rejected by every major Hollywood studio. Producer Arnold Kopelson was considering adapting it as a cable television movie before Michael Douglas read it and helped champion the project.

• Filming began in March 1992 and was disrupted by the Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King verdict. Production was temporarily halted, and additional material was shot on studio sets while locations were unavailable.

• The production filmed across Los Angeles to give Foster's journey a deliberately broad geographic progression through contrasting neighborhoods and social environments.

• Production designer Barbara Ling incorporated political posters by Los Angeles artist Michael McNielly into several backgrounds, adding contemporary local imagery to the film's visual world.

• The filmmakers received special permission to shoot the final scenes on Venice Pier, which had been closed to the public since 1988 because of its deteriorated condition.

• The film's portrayal of racism, violence, and economic resentment prompted protests from several groups when it was released in February 1993.

• Falling Down won the 1994 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.

• Michael Douglas has identified the performance as his favorite among his film roles.