William Friedkin
William Friedkin (August 29, 1935 - August 7, 2023) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing "The French Connection" (1971) and "The Exorcist" (1973); for the former, he won the Academy Award for Best Director. Some of his other notable films include "The Boys in the Band" (1970), "Sorcerer" (1977), "Cruising" (1980), "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985), "Blue Chips" (1994), "Jade" (1995), "Rules of Engagement" (2000), "The Hunted" (2003), "Bug" (2006), and "Killer Joe" (2011). In 1965, Friedkin moved to Hollywood and two years later released his first feature film, "Good Times," starring Sonny and Cher. Several other "art" films followed, including the adaptation of Mart Crowley's "The Boys in the Band" and most notably "The Birthday Party," based on an unpublished screenplay by Harold Pinter, which he adapted from his own play. Friedkin, however, did not want to be known as an art house director, but rather for action and serious drama through stories about an America upended by crime, hypocrisy, the occult, and amorality. All of which he mounted up into his films to reflect what was going on in an America that was changing in the wake of Vietnam, the Sexual Revolution, and Watergate. In 1971, his "The French Connection" was released to wide critical acclaim. Shot in a gritty style more suited for documentaries than Hollywood features, the film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Friedkin followed up with 1973's "The Exorcist," based on William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel, which revolutionized the horror genre and is considered by some critics to be one of the greatest horror movies of all time. "The Exorcist" was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won the Best Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing. Following these two pictures, Friedkin, along with Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich, was deemed one of the premier directors of New Hollywood. In 1973, the trio announced the formation of an independent production company at Paramount, The Directors Company. Whereas Coppola directed "The Conversation" and Bogdanovich the Henry James adaptation, "Daisy Miller," Friedkin abruptly left the company, which was soon closed by Paramount. Friedkin's later movies did not achieve the same success. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Friedkin's films received mostly lackluster reviews and moderate ticket sales. However, his action/crime movie "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985), starring William Petersen and Willem Dafoe, was a critical favorite and drew comparisons to Friedkin's own "The French Connection" (particularly for its car-chase sequence). In 2011, Friedkin directed "Killer Joe," a black comedy written by Tracy Letts, and starring Matthew McConaughey. Killer Joe premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival, prior to its North American debut at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. In April 2013, Friedkin published a memoir, "The Friedkin Connection." He was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 70th Venice International Film Festival in September.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Peter Lorre : Derrière le masque du maudit as Himself (archive)
- 2024 · Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist as Himself
- 2023 · The Exorcist Untold as Self (archive footage)
- 2023 · Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist as Self
- 2023 · 100 Years of Warner Bros. as Self
- 2021 · Algren as Self
- 2021 · I Am Alfred Hitchcock as Self
- 2020 · Fellini of the Spirits as Self
- 2018 · Friedkin Uncut as Self
- 2018 · The Devil and Father Amorth as Himself
- 2016 · Return to the Genre as
- 2015 · Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn as
- 2014 · Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- 2014 · Henri Langlois vu par... as Self
- 2013 · The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Self
- 2013 · A Fuller Life as Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")
- 2013 · Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck as Self
- 2013 · Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot as Self
- 2012 · Stanley Kubrick in Focus as Self
- 2012 · Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic as Self
- 2012 · Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of as Self
- 2011 · Making the Boys as Himself
- 2011 · Miller's Tale as Self
- 2010 · Godard Made in USA as Self
- 2010 · The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now as Self
- 2010 · Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist as Himself
- 2009 · Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock as Self
- 2009 · The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style as Self
- 2009 · North by Northwest: One for the Ages as Self
- 2009 · Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman as Himself
- 2009 · Anatomy of a Chase as Self
- 2008 · Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock as Self
- 2008 · Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock as Self
- 2008 · In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy as Self
- 2008 · The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't as Self
- 2007 · View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining' as Self
- 2007 · The Visions of Stanley Kubrick as Self
- 2007 · Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange' as Self
- 2007 · Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001 as Self
- 2007 · The History of 'Cruising' as Self
- 2007 · Exorcising 'Cruising' as Self
- 2007 · Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen as Self
- 2007 · The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo as Self
- 2006 · Shadows of Suspense as Self
- 2005 · Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy as
- 2004 · A Little Solitaire as Himself
- 2004 · Leçon de Cinéma as Self
- 2003 · Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.' as Himself
- 2003 · The Cutting Edge as Self
- 2003 · Filming “The Hunted” as Self
- 2003 · Pursuing “The Hunted” as Self
- 2003 · A Decade Under the Influence as Self
- 2002 · Through the Night with... as Self
- 2001 · Making the Connection: Untold Stories of 'The French Connection' as Self
- 2000 · The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection' as Self
- 1998 · AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies as Self
- 1998 · The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist as Self - Director
- 1998 · Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy as Self
- 1997 · Hollywood Halloween as Himself
- 1997 · Howard Hawks: American Artist as Self
- 1991 · Fear in the Dark as Self
- 1989 · The Simpsons as
- 1985 · Putting it Together: The Making of the Broadway Album as
- 1975 · Conversation with Fritz Lang as Self
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Self
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self (archive footage)