Known for Directing
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
August 29, 1935
Died
August 7, 2023 (age 87)
Birthplace
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Filmography
117 films, 9 shows


The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
2023 · 1h 49m
country: United States
Barney Greenwald, a skeptical lawyer, reluctantly defends an officer of the navy who took control of the Caine from its captain, Lt. Philip Francis Queeg, while caught in a violent sea storm. As the court-martial proceeds, however, Greenwald increasingly questions if it was truly a mutiny or rather the courageous acts of a group of sailors who could not trust their unstable leader.


The Devil and Father Amorth
2018 · 1h 8m
country: United States
William Friedkin attends an exorcism with Father Gabriele Amorth, as he treats an Italian woman named Cristina for the ninth time. Prior to filming, Cristina had purportedly been experiencing behavioural changes and “fits” that could not be explained by psychiatry, and which became worse during Christian holidays.


Henri Langlois vu par...
2014 · 31m
country: France
Thirteen filmmakers share personal reflections on Henri Langlois—the visionary founder of the Cinémathèque Française—recounting his influence on their lives, his role in preserving film history, and his enduring impact on world cinema.


Killer Joe
2012 · 1h 42m
country: United States
A cop who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister.


The Painter's Voice
2007 · 29m
country: United States
Paintings conservators at the Getty Center reveal details of their craft as they restore two large paintings by French master Jean-Baptiste Oudry.


Bug
2007 · 1h 38m
country: Germany
In Oklahoma, Agnes, a lonely waitress living in an isolated and dilapidated roadside motel, meets Peter, a quiet and mysterious man with whom she establishes a peculiar relationship.


The Hunted
2003 · 1h 34m
country: United States
In the wilderness of British Columbia, two hunters are tracked and viciously murdered by Aaron Hallam. A former Special Operations instructor is approached and asked to apprehend Hallam—his former student—who has 'gone rogue' after suffering severe battle stress from his time in Kosovo.


Rules of Engagement
2000 · 2h 7m
country: United States
A Marine Colonel is brought to court-martial after ordering his men to fire on demonstrators surrounding the American embassy in Yemen.


12 Angry Men
1997 · 1h 57m
country: United States
During the trial of a man accused of his father's murder, a lone juror takes a stand against the guilty verdict handed down by the others as a result of their preconceptions and prejudices.


Jade
1995 · 1h 35m
country: United States
When a prominent art dealer is found murdered, the man's death leads to an intriguing investigation steeped in sex, corruption and crime. District Attorney David Corelli gets assigned to the case and discovers that a key suspect is his ex-lover Katrina Gavin, a beautiful psychologist who has settled down with his old friend and peer. As Corelli gets deeper into the case, he uncovers dark secrets with far-reaching implications.


Jailbreakers
1994 · 1h 16m
country: United States
15-year-old high school cheerleader Angel falls in love with Tony, a leather-clad, dope-smoking biker. When Tony robs two jewelry stores, Angel’s local reputation is soiled, and her parents move the family to Bakersfield for a new beginning. But Tony soon makes a desperate escape from jail and goes hunting for his girlfriend.


Blue Chips
1994 · 1h 48m
country: United States
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.


The Guardian
1990 · 1h 32m
country: United States
Phil and Kate select the winsome young Camilla as a live-in nanny for their newborn child, but the seemingly lovely Camilla is not what she appears to be...


C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf
1988 · 1h 33m
country: Unknown
The Counter Assault Tactical (C.A.T.) Squad investigates a spy who is supplying plutonium to the Sjambok, a racist South African paramilitary group that is working on a nuclear bomb. The American government, too, is investigating Sjambok, using the top-secret spy plane Python Wolf. When one of the members of the C.A.T. Squad is shot down over South Africa during another mission, his squad leader undertakes a rescue operation to bring his friend back home.


Rampage
1987 · 1h 31m
country: United States
Liberal district attorney decides to seek the death penalty for a man who slaughtered a family at Christmastime, then drank their blood. He escapes, though, and starts killing again.


C.A.T. Squad
1986 · 1h 37m
country: United States
When terrorists start killing scientists who are working on NATO's laser defense program, an elite team, the Counter Assault Tactical (C.A.T.) Squad, is brought in to stop the killers.


Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album
1986 · 40m
country: United States
In 1985, Barbra Streisand released "The Broadway Album," which remains one of her most popular records. Barbra's first television special on HBO debuted in 1986. The special—which combined an interview with director William Friedkin with documentary footage of Barbra in the recording studio making 'The Broadway Album' - was only 40 minutes long. The best of Broadway comes to life in the tour, as Streisand rehearses "Putting it Together," "Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine" and "If I Loved You."


To Live and Die in L.A.
1985 · 1h 56m
country: United States
When his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.


Deal of the Century
1983 · 1h 39m
country: United States
Arms dealers from several companies vie to sell the most expensive and highest tech weapons to a South American dictator. There are complications; understanding the exact nature of how 'gifts' are used to grease the wheels of a sale, a religious conversion from one of the salesman and a romance that begins to grow between two competitors.


Cruising
1980 · 1h 42m
country: United States
When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, rookie cop Steve Burns infiltrates the S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.


The Brink's Job
1978 · 1h 44m
country: United States
In 1950, a group of unlikely criminal masterminds commits the robbery of the century. Led by Tony Pino, a petty thief fresh out of prison, and Joe McGinnis, who specializes in planning lucrative capers, the gang robs Brink's main office in Boston of more than $2 million. However, things begin to go awry when the FBI gets involved, the cops start cracking down on the gang and McGinnis refuses to hand over the loot...


Sorcerer
1977 · 2h 2m
country: United States
Four men from different parts of the globe, all hiding from their pasts in the same remote South American town, agree to risk their lives transporting several cases of dynamite (which is so old that it is dripping unstable nitroglycerin) across dangerous jungle terrain.


Conversation with Fritz Lang
1975 · 2h 20m
country: United States
American director William Friedkin interviewed Austrian director Fritz Lang on February 21st and 24th, 1975. Lang died August 2nd, 1976.


The Exorcist
1973 · 2h 2m
country: United States
When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.


The French Connection
1971 · 1h 44m
country: United States
Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.


The Boys in the Band
1970 · 2h
country: United States
Harold is celebrating a birthday, and his friend Michael has drafted some other friends to help commemorate the event. As the evening progresses, an unexpected guest shows up, the alcohol flows, the knives come out, and dormant and unspoken emotions are unleashed.


The Night They Raided Minsky's
1968 · 1h 39m
country: United States
Rachel arrives in New York from her Amish community intent on becoming a dancer. Unfortunately Billy Minsky's Burlesque is hardly the place for her Dances From The Bible. But the show's comedian Raymond sees a way of wrong-footing the local do-gooders by announcing the new Paris sensation "Mme Fifi" and putting on Rachel's performance as the place is raided. All too complicated, the more so since her father is scouring the town for her and both Raymond and his straight-man Chick are falling for Rachel.


The Birthday Party
1968 · 2h 3m
country: United Kingdom
Based on Harold Pinter's enigmatic play about a boarder in a British seaside dwelling who is visited by two strangers. They torment him verbally, ask him idiotic unanswerable questions, force him to sit down and stand up, and give him a "party". Then, eventually, they take him away, a tongue-tied idiot. The trivial becomes the terrible, and with it a certain wonder, a certain pity.


Good Times
1967 · 1h 31m
country: United States
Given the opportunity to headline their own feature film by studio executive Mr. Mordicus, Sonny and Cher have three days to come up with an idea for a hit movie or they'll have to use the studio's hackneyed script.
The Pickle Brothers
The Pickle Brothers
1967 · 23m
country: United States
The Pickle Brothers were a three-man comedy act which enjoyed considerable success during the late 1960s.


The Thin Blue Line
1966 · 52m
country: United States
The work of the US police force and the problem of fighting rising crime across the country.


Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
1965 · 1h
country: Unknown
Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon was the last of three documentaries William Friedkin made for producer David Wolper. It concerned the world of pro football.


The Bold Men
1965 · 1h
country: United States
A documentary about men who are courageous enough to risk their lives undertaking challenges, sports-related and not, that are at the limit of human capabilities.


The People vs. Paul Crump
1962 · 1h
country: United States
An impassioned plea for the release of a young man sentenced to die in an Illinois prison.