William Friedkin

William Friedkin

Directing
Born Aug 29, 1935
From Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died Aug 07, 2023

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Friedkin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Filmography — Acting

A Decade Under the Influence
7.9
2003

A Decade Under the Influence

Self

Without Limits
6.6
1998

Without Limits

TV Director

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
7.4
2019

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

Self

A Fuller Life
6.6
2013

A Fuller Life

Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
6.5
2014

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles

Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

I Am Alfred Hitchcock
7.3
2021

I Am Alfred Hitchcock

Self (archive footage)

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
7.3
1998

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist

Self - Director

Henri Langlois vu par...
4.0
2014

Henri Langlois vu par...

Self

Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
2008

Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

Self

Miller's Tale
7.1
2011

Miller's Tale

Self

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
5.7
2013

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot

Self

Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'
6.1
2007

Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'

Self

The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
6.0
2007

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

Self

The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
7.2
2008

The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't

Self

Friedkin Uncut
7.1
2018

Friedkin Uncut

Self

Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
6.1
2013

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

Self

6.0
2012

Stanley Kubrick in Focus

Self

Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
10.0
1986

Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album

Self

Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
8.0
2003

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

Self

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
9.5
2005

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
10.0
2013

The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Self

Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
6.7
2012

Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

Self

Godard Made in USA
2010

Godard Made in USA

Self

Exorcising 'Cruising'
6.5
2007

Exorcising 'Cruising'

Self

Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection
7.0
2001

Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection

Self

North by Northwest: One for the Ages
6.8
2009

North by Northwest: One for the Ages

Self

2003

Pursuing “The Hunted”

Self

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
6.8
2009

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

Self

Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic
6.5
2012

Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic

Self

The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
6.9
2007

The Visions of Stanley Kubrick

Self

Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
6.0
1998

Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy

Self

In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
6.8
2008

In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

Self

Fear in the Dark
10.0
1991

Fear in the Dark

Self

The Devil and Father Amorth
5.1
2018

The Devil and Father Amorth

Self

1974

Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist

Self

The History of 'Cruising'
7.7
2007

The History of 'Cruising'

Self

View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
7.4
2007

View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'

Self

Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist
6.0
2010

Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist

Self

Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
6.0
2007

Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001

Self

5.8
1997

Howard Hawks: American Artist

Self

Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman
7.5
2009

Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman

Self

2003

Filming “The Hunted”

Self

Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
2024

Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist

Self

2003

The Cutting Edge

Self

Algren
6.0
2021

Algren

Self

2009

Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

Self

Making the Boys
4.7
2011

Making the Boys

Self

Shadows of Suspense
2006

Shadows of Suspense

Self

The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
2010

The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now

Self

Fellini of the Spirits
6.6
2020

Fellini of the Spirits

Self

The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'
8.3
2000

The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'

Self

2007

Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen

Self

Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn
4.5
2015

Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn

Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
2008

Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock

Self

Narc: The Friedkin Connection
2003

Narc: The Friedkin Connection

Self

Conversation with Fritz Lang
7.0
1975

Conversation with Fritz Lang

Self

Anatomy of a Chase
4.0
2009

Anatomy of a Chase

Self

Hollywood Halloween
6.0
1997

Hollywood Halloween

Self

2022

The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons

Self

2016

Return to the Genre

2004

A Little Solitaire

Self

Filmography — Crew