CineScope
William Friedkin picture

William Friedkin

Directing
Known For

87 Years Old

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.

Born

Chicago, Illinois, USA on 29th August 1935

Died

7th August 2023

All Credits

The Simpsons Image
The Simpsons
Dr. Kenneth Humphries (voice)
Through the Night with... Image
Through the Night with...
Self
Leçon de Cinéma Image
Leçon de Cinéma
Self
100 Years of Warner Bros. Image
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Self
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist Image
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
Self - Director
Without Limits Image
Without Limits
TV Director
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist Image
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
Self
The Devil and Father Amorth Image
The Devil and Father Amorth
Self
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist Image
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
Self
Friedkin Uncut Image
Friedkin Uncut
Self
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck Image
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
Self
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Image
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't Image
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
Self
I Am Alfred Hitchcock Image
I Am Alfred Hitchcock
Self
The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo Image
The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
Self
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of Image
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
Self
A Decade Under the Influence Image
A Decade Under the Influence
Self
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style Image
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
Self
Fellini of the Spirits Image
Fellini of the Spirits
Self
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy Image
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
Self
Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn Image
Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn
The History of 'Cruising' Image
The History of 'Cruising'
Self
The History of 'Cruising' Image
The History of 'Cruising'
Self
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick Image
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
Self
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot Image
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
Self
A Fuller Life Image
A Fuller Life
Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman Image
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman
Self
The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection' Image
The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'
Self
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy Image
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
Self
Miller's Tale Image
Miller's Tale
Self
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock Image
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
Self
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz Image
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Self
Fear in the Dark Image
Fear in the Dark
Self
Making the Boys Image
Making the Boys
Self
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy Image
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
North by Northwest: One for the Ages Image
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
Self
Exorcising 'Cruising' Image
Exorcising 'Cruising'
Self
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.' Image
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
Self
No Image
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
Self
No Image
Stanley Kubrick in Focus
Self
No Image
The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Self
Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001 Image
Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
Self
Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection Image
Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection
Self
The Exorcist Untold Image
The Exorcist Untold
Self (archive footage)
Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange' Image
Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'
Self
Godard Made in USA Image
Godard Made in USA
Self
Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic Image
Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic
Self
Henri Langlois vu par... Image
Henri Langlois vu par...
Self
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock Image
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
Self
Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album Image
Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining' Image
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
Self
Conversation with Fritz Lang Image
Conversation with Fritz Lang
Self
No Image
Filming “The Hunted”
Self
Algren Image
Algren
Self
Hollywood Halloween Image
Hollywood Halloween
Self
Shadows of Suspense Image
Shadows of Suspense
Self
The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now Image
The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
Self
No Image
The Cutting Edge
Self
No Image
A Little Solitaire
Self
Anatomy of a Chase Image
Anatomy of a Chase
Self
No Image
Howard Hawks: American Artist
Self
Peter Lorre : Derrière le masque du maudit Image
Peter Lorre : Derrière le masque du maudit
Self (archive footage)
No Image
Pursuing “The Hunted”
Self
No Image
Return to the Genre
No Image
Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen
Self
Narc: The Friedkin Connection Image
Narc: The Friedkin Connection
Self
Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist Image
Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist
Self