William Friedkin
Biography
William David Friedkin (August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in the early 1960s, he is best known for his crime thriller film The French Connection (1971), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and the horror film The Exorcist (1973), which earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
Friedkin's other films in the 1970s and 1980s include the drama The Boys in the Band (1970), considered a milestone of queer cinema; the originally deprecated, now lauded thriller Sorcerer (1977); the crime comedy drama The Brink's Job (1978); the controversial thriller Cruising (1980); and the neo-noir thriller To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). Although Friedkin's works suffered an overall commercial and critical decline in the late 1980s, his last three feature films, all based on plays, were positively received by critics: the psychological horror film Bug (2006), the crime film Killer Joe (2011), and the legal drama film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023), released two months after his death. He also worked extensively as an opera director from 1998 until his death, and directed various television films and series episodes for television.
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Acting (51 movies)
Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist
2010
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
2008
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
2008
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
2008
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
1998
Miller's Tale
2011
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
2024
Anatomy of a Chase
2009
Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'
2007
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
2013
The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
2010
Conversation with Fritz Lang
1975
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
2013
Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic
2012
Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection
2001
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
2007
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
2007
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
2014
Fear in the Dark
1991
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
2009
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
2009
A Fuller Life
2013
A Decade Under the Influence
2003
The History of 'Cruising'
2007
Exorcising 'Cruising'
2007
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
2008
Making the Boys
2011
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
1998
The Devil and Father Amorth
2018
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
2012
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
2003
Friedkin Uncut
2018
Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
1986
Algren
2021
Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
2007
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman
2009
Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn
2015
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
2023
Henri Langlois vu par...
2014
Godard Made in USA
2010
Fellini of the Spirits
2020
Hollywood Halloween
1997
The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
2007
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
2013
I Am Alfred Hitchcock
2021
The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'
2000
Shadows of Suspense
2006
Without Limits
1998
Narc: The Friedkin Connection
2003
The History of 'Cruising'
2007
Directing (34 movies)
The French Connection
1971
Rules of Engagement
2000
The Hunted
2003
Deal of the Century
1983
The Brink's Job
1978
Jade
1995
The Guardian
1990
Bug
2007
12 Angry Men
1997
To Live and Die in L.A.
1985
The Exorcist
1973
The Boys in the Band
1970
Cruising
1980
The Night They Raided Minsky's
1968
Sorcerer
1977
Killer Joe
2012
Blue Chips
1994
The People vs. Paul Crump
1962
Rampage
1987
The Birthday Party
1968
Good Times
1967
Jailbreakers
1994
C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf
1988
The Pickle Brothers
1967
C.A.T. Squad
1986
Conversation with Fritz Lang
1975
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
2023
Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
1965
The Bold Men
1965
The Painter's Voice
2007
The Devil and Father Amorth
2018
Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
1986
The Thin Blue Line
1966
Henri Langlois vu par...
2014
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The People vs. Paul Crump | 1962 | Producer |
| The Thin Blue Line | 1966 | Producer |
| Muggins | 1967 | Producer |
| Good Times | 1967 | Screenplay |
| The French Connection | 1971 | Screenplay |
| Paper Moon | 1973 | Executive Producer |
| Sorcerer | 1977 | Screenplay |
| Sorcerer | 1977 | Producer |
| Cruising | 1980 | Writer |
| To Live and Die in L.A. | 1985 | Screenplay |
| C.A.T. Squad | 1986 | Executive Producer |
| Rampage | 1987 | Writer |
| Rampage | 1987 | Producer |
| C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf | 1988 | Executive Producer |
| The Guardian | 1990 | Screenplay |
| The Devil and Father Amorth | 2018 | Writer |