William Friedkin
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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Photos
Movies (96)
Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders
2026 · Self (archive footage)
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
2024 · Self
El Juicio Del Motín Del Caine
2023 · Teleplay, Director
The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
2022 · Self
Algren
2021 · Self
Yo soy Alfred Hitchcock
2021 · Self (archive footage)
Fellini of the Spirits
2020 · Self
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
2019 · Self
Friedkin Uncut
2018 · Self
Stringman: The Jack Nitzsche Story
2018 · Self
The Devil and Father Amorth
2018 · Self, Director, Writer
Return to the Genre
2016
Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn
2015
Verdi Aida
2015 · Stage Director
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
2014 · Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Henri Langlois vu par...
2014 · Self, Director
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
2013 · Self
A Fuller Life
2013 · Self - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
2013 · Self
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
2013 · Self
Stanley Kubrick in Focus
2012 · Self
Killer Joe
2012 · Director
Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic
2012 · Self
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
2012 · Self
Making the Boys
2011 · Self
Miller's Tale
2011 · Self
Godard Made in USA
2010 · Self
The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
2010 · Self
Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist
2010 · Self
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
2009 · Self
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
2009 · Self
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
2009 · Self
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman
2009 · Self
Anatomy of a Chase
2009 · Self
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
2008 · Self
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
2008 · Self
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
2008 · Self
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
2008 · Self
Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'
2007 · Self
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
2007 · Self
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
2007 · Self
Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
2007 · Self
Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001
2007 · Self
The History of 'Cruising'
2007 · Self
Exorcising 'Cruising'
2007 · Self
Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machen
2007 · Self
The Painter's Voice
2007 · Director
In-sectos
2007 · Director
The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
2007 · Self
Shadows of Suspense
2006 · Self
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005
A Little Solitaire
2004 · Self
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
2003 · Self
Filming “The Hunted”
2003 · Self
Pursuing “The Hunted”
2003 · Self
The Cutting Edge
2003 · Self
Narc: The Friedkin Connection
2003 · Self
A Decade Under the Influence
2003 · Self
La cacería
2003 · Director
Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection
2001 · Self
Reglas de compromiso
2000 · Director
The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'
2000 · Self
Without Limits
1998 · TV Director
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
1998 · Self - Director, Thanks
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
1998 · Self
12 Angry Men
1997 · Director
Howard Hawks: American Artist
1997 · Self
Hollywood Halloween
1997 · Self
Jade
1995 · Director
Jailbreakers
1994 · Director
Blue Chips
1994 · Director
Fear in the Dark
1991 · Self
The Guardian
1990 · Director, Screenplay
C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf
1988 · Director, Story, Executive Producer
Rampage
1987 · Director, Writer, Producer
C.A.T. Squad
1986 · Director, Executive Producer
Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
1986 · Self, Director
To Live and Die in L.A.
1985 · Director, Screenplay
Deal of the Century
1983 · Director
Cruising
1980 · Director, Writer
The Brink's Job
1978 · Director
Sorcerer
1977 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
Conversation with Fritz Lang
1975 · Self, Director
Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist
1974 · Self
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, Screenplay
The Pickle Brothers
1967 · Director
Muggins
1967 · Producer
The Thin Blue Line
1966 · Director, Producer, Story
Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
1965 · Director
The Bold Men
1965 · Director
The People vs. Paul Crump
1962 · Director, Producer
TV shows (10)
100 Años de Warner Bros.
2023 · Self
Leçon de Cinéma
2004 · Self
100 Greatest Scary Moments
2003
Through the Night with...
2002 · Self
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000 · Director
Rebel Highway
1994 · Director
Los Simpson
1989 · Dr. Kenneth Humphries (voice)
Tales from the Crypt
1989 · Director
The Twilight Zone
1985 · Director
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962 · Director