Weekly Movie Challenge

William Friedkin

Biography

William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935) is 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including the adaptation of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band and most notably The Birthday Party, based on an unpublished screenplay by Harold Pinter, which he adapted from his own play.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.

Actor

Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

2009

as Self

Filming “The Hunted”

2003

as Self

Pursuing “The Hunted”

2003

as Self

The Cutting Edge

2003

as Self

Documentaries

Peter Lorre : Derrière le masque du maudit

2024

as Himself (archive)

Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist

2024

as Himself

The Exorcist Untold

2023

as Self (archive footage)

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

2023

as Self

Algren

2021

as Self

I Am Alfred Hitchcock

2021

as Self

Fellini of the Spirits

2020

as Self

Friedkin Uncut

2018

as Self

The Devil and Father Amorth

2018

as Himself

Return to the Genre

2016

Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn

2015

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles

2014

as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

Henri Langlois vu par...

2014

as Self

The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2013

as Self

A Fuller Life

2013

as Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")

Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck

2013

as Self

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot

2013

as Self

Stanley Kubrick in Focus

2012

as Self

Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic

2012

as Self

Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

2012

as Self

Making the Boys

2011

as Himself

Miller's Tale

2011

as Self

Godard Made in USA

2010

as Self

The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now

2010

as Self

Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist

2010

as Self

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

2009

as Self

North by Northwest: One for the Ages

2009

as Self

Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman

2009

as Himself

Anatomy of a Chase

2009

as Self

Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock

2008

as Self

Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

2008

as Self

In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

2008

as Self

The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't

2008

as Self

Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'

2007

as Self

View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'

2007

as Self

The Visions of Stanley Kubrick

2007

as Self

Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001

2007

as Self

The History of 'Cruising'

2007

as Self

Exorcising 'Cruising'

2007

as Self

Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen

2007

as Self

The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo

2007

as Self

Shadows of Suspense

2006

as Self

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

2005

A Little Solitaire

2004

as Himself

Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'

2003

as Himself

A Decade Under the Influence

2003

as Self

Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection

2001

as Self

The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'

2000

as Self

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist

1998

as Self - Director

Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy

1998

as Self

Howard Hawks: American Artist

1997

as Self

Hollywood Halloween

1997

as Himself

Fear in the Dark

1991

as Self

Putting it Together: The Making of the Broadway Album

1986

Conversation with Fritz Lang

1975

as Self

Directing

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

2023

Director

The Devil and Father Amorth

2018

Director

Verdi Aida

2015

Stage Director

Henri Langlois vu par...

2014

Director

Killer Joe

2012

Director

The Painter's Voice

2007

Director

Bug

2007

Director

The Hunted

2003

Director

Rules of Engagement

2000

Director

12 Angry Men

1997

Director

Jade

1995

Director

Jailbreakers

1994

Director

Blue Chips

1994

Director

The Guardian

1990

Director

C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf

1988

Director

Rampage

1987

Director

C.A.T. Squad

1986

Director

Putting it Together: The Making of the Broadway Album

1986

Director

To Live and Die in L.A.

1985

Director

Self Control

1984

Director

Deal of the Century

1983

Director

Cruising

1980

Director

The Brink's Job

1978

Director

Sorcerer

1977

Director

Conversation with Fritz Lang

1975

Director

The Exorcist

1973

Director

The French Connection

1971

Director

The Boys in the Band

1970

Director

The Night They Raided Minsky's

1968

Director

The Birthday Party

1968

Director

Good Times

1967

Director

The Pickle Brothers

1967

Director

The Thin Blue Line

1966

Director

Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon

1965

Director

The Bold Men

1965

Director

The People vs. Paul Crump

1962

Director

Writing

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

2023

Teleplay

The Devil and Father Amorth

2018

Writer

The Guardian

1990

Screenplay

C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf

1988

Story

Rampage

1987

Writer

To Live and Die in L.A.

1985

Screenplay

Cruising

1980

Writer

Sorcerer

1977

Screenplay

The French Connection

1971

Screenplay

Good Times

1967

Screenplay

The Thin Blue Line

1966

Story

William Friedkin

Actor

Videos

Documentaries

Directing

Production

Writing

Crew