William Friedkin talks about his creative ambitions, formative influences and inspirations on this week's The Film That Lit My Fuse: bit.ly/30vgjvL Connect with Deadline online! / deadline / deadline / deadline
He’s being to modest. He has at least 4 classics under his belt. 2 which will be forever remembered and 2 more that should rank up there with them. Friedkin is a great director and I could listen to him talk all day.
He’s become humbler with the passage of time. Three failed marriages and a bit of a chip on his shoulder during the first half of his career changed him.
The way he is talking is almost exactly what happened to me when I was 13 years old and saw Friedkin's film, The French Connection. I watched it twice in one day in the theater in 1972, was blown away, thinking I must be watching a documentary, not a scripted film. Went back to see it two days later, sat through it twice again. And, to make it more interesting, it was on a double-bill, so I had to sit through the other boring film twice as well. Friedkin did it again with The Exorcist, but great as that film is, I was not compelled to pay to see it over and over. The French Connection, The Godfather and Raiders of the Lost Ark are the only films I paid to see more than twice. And to make it even more interesting. The last time I saw The French Connection in a movie theater was for its 40th anniversary at Lincoln Center. It was introduced by Friedkin. Sitting in front of me was the great director, Stanley Donen (Singin' In the Rain, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers). On the way out of the theater, I happened to be walking next to Donen and asked him what brought him to see this film. And he said, "The French Connection is my favorite movie. It's a movie-maker's film. I never miss it when its playing in a theater." I thought, Wow! I'm in good company.
I love the original The Wages Of Fear. That movie has better characters and feels more solid than Sorcerer, IMO. Thing is i actually loved Sorcerer when I first watched it, and I think I prefer the suspense of the bridge scene in Fredkin's version, but the rest of the movie feels plodding and empty the second time.
His estimation of his work, however genuinely humble and realistic, is not mine. He's the expert technically, but I'm his typical audience and I say he has made at least two masterpieces that will live on long beyond us both. Sometimes the customer really is right.
The thing I admired the most and always enjoy in Friedkin interviews is his honesty, the guy wasn't diplomatic, and now I see he was brutally honest even with himself is easy to see directors with two or tree shitty movies under their belt and already think they are big shit this dude made the exorcist and french connection and didn't think his movies should be in the pantheon of masterpieces of cinema, people like him are more and more hard to find, that humility make me admire him even more and value his opinions even more His death was a real lost to cinema.
Ask him one question and you get a 30 minute show...A wealth of information. Billy doesn’t look well though, which saddens me, once you go past a certain point in age, you can’t go back...I guess he’s been ill...Hope he’s ok, one of the last old school auteurs, like Da Palma...Thanks.
There is a story about the French Connection where Hackman had difficulty finding the character of Popeye Doyle. He even considered leaving the project. But, fortunately, Friedkin convinced him to keep working at it. The results speak for themselves: Hackman gave an extraordinary performance as the obsessed and belligerent cop.
Friedkin also gave Hackman a ton of *grief* when filming, which made Hackman’s grump personality appear more natural to the audience, because a lot of it was genuine irritation and anger. By *grief* think of J.K. Simmons giving Miles Teller *grief* in Whiplash, but Friedkin was not that extreme.
I kept thinking WHY do I know that name...WHY do I know that name.....Lol, I listened to the podcast about The Exorcist! I gotta re-listen to it, it's been a long time and it was really a great podcast!
Yes! The French Connection and The Exorcist are iconic for their respective genres, but Friedkin does not have ego issues. There are tons of modern directors who are nowhere near as successful as Friedkin, but they have *severe* ego problems. Cough* Nicholas Winding Refn. They should look at Friedkin. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
"Most films are stupid stories that plot along and then they end." Not the films I watch (with some exceptions). He should've said most commercial films have nothing to say, not most films in general.
His wife is right. The truth is that The Exorcist is in many ways even more impactful than Citizen Kane. It was certainly a greater global phenomenon and it will stand the test of time much longer. You can argue the technical juggernaut Kane was at the time and the artistry of it’s storytelling but you can make a similar argument for The Exorcist. At the end of the day The Exorcist is also the work of a master storyteller and it will always have more mass appeal and accessibility over Kane. Sorry Mr. Friedkin but I’m right. Accept it lol
Wtf are you taking about lol. The Exorcist is a great film, but most people are horrified and disgusted by it. Its not in most people's top 10s because its barely accessible unless you're personally fascinated by morbid horror and the concept of Faith. Kane has universal appeal in its characterisations and human story. You don't have to love Kane, "because its old" or whatever is your reason. But it's plot is objectively more universal compared to The Exorcist. And it changed cinema whether you like it or not.
Citizen Kane is obviously a landmark achievement in film, but its story isn't that strong and there were better directors. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is much better than Citizen Kane.
