LOADING
Director
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.
Born August 29, 1935† August 7, 2023 Chicago, Illinois, USA1 movie on MoviHero
Explore movies WHERE TO START
Where to start
A selection of released films from our catalog, with the credited role to help you choose.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE ROLES
About 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 …
Continue reading biographyClose full biography
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.
GALLERY
Photos
Portraits of William Friedkin.
MOVIHERO CREDITS
Movies and roles
Explore 1 movie guide, credited roles and upcoming releases.
Movies on MoviHero 1
Showing 1 of 1 credit
More film credits 95 additional titles
These credits do not currently have a MoviHero movie guide. Use the filters to separate released and upcoming work.
Showing 8 of 95 credits
- 2026Mineshaft: The Cruising MurdersSelf (archive footage)
- 2024Fear and Love: The Story of The ExorcistSelf
- 2023The Caine Mutiny Court-MartialDirector
- 2022The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent AmbersonsSelf
- 2021AlgrenSelf
- 2021I Am Alfred HitchcockSelf (archive footage)
- 2020Fellini of the SpiritsSelf
- 2019Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The ExorcistSelf
- 2018Friedkin UncutSelf
- 2018Stringman: The Jack Nitzsche StorySelf
- 2018The Devil and Father AmorthDirector · Writer · Self
- 2016Return to the GenreActor
- 2015Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding RefnActor
- 2015Verdi AidaDirector
- 2014Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson WellesSelf - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- 2014Henri Langlois vu par...Director · Self
- 2013The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of OzSelf
- 2013A Fuller LifeSelf - Reader (segment "My Ballsy Yarns")
- 2013Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. ZanuckSelf
- 2013Tales from the Warner Bros. LotSelf
- 2012Stanley Kubrick in FocusSelf
- 2012Killer JoeDirector
- 2012Casablanca: An Unlikely ClassicSelf
- 2012Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard OfSelf
- 2011Making the BoysSelf
- 2011Miller's TaleSelf
- 2010Godard Made in USASelf
- 2010The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and NowSelf
- 2010Raising Hell: Filming the ExorcistSelf
- 2009Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred HitchcockSelf
- 2009North by Northwest: One for the AgesSelf
- 2009The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature StyleSelf
- 2009Victor Fleming: Master CraftsmanSelf
- 2009Anatomy of a ChaseSelf
- 2008Breaking Barriers: The Sound of HitchcockSelf
- 2008In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's LegacySelf
- 2008Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of HitchcockSelf
- 2008The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn'tSelf
- 2007Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making 'A Clockwork Orange'Self
- 2007Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001Self
- 2007The Visions of Stanley KubrickSelf
- 2007View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'Self
- 2007Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001Self
- 2007Exorcising 'Cruising'Self
- 2007The History of 'Cruising'Self
- 2007Tatort Oper - Wie Filmemacher Oper machenSelf
- 2007The Painter's VoiceDirector
- 2007BugDirector
- 2007The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. AlonzoSelf
- 2006Shadows of SuspenseSelf
- 2005Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton LegacyActor
- 2004A Little SolitaireSelf
- 2003Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'Self
- 2003Filming “The Hunted”Self
- 2003Pursuing “The Hunted”Self
- 2003The Cutting EdgeSelf
- 2003Narc: The Friedkin ConnectionSelf
- 2003A Decade Under the InfluenceSelf
- 2003The HuntedDirector
- 2001Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French ConnectionSelf
- 2000Rules of EngagementDirector
- 2000The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection'Self
- 1998Without LimitsTV Director
- 1998The Fear of God: 25 Years of The ExorcistSelf - Director
- 1998Billy Wilder: The Human ComedySelf
- 199712 Angry MenDirector
- 1997Hollywood HalloweenSelf
- 1997Howard Hawks: American ArtistSelf
- 1995JadeDirector
- 1994JailbreakersDirector
- 1994Blue ChipsDirector
- 1991Fear in the DarkSelf
- 1990The GuardianDirector · Writer
- 1988C.A.T. Squad: Python WolfDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1987RampageDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1986C.A.T. SquadDirector · Producer
- 1986Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway AlbumDirector · Self
- 1985To Live and Die in L.A.Director · Writer
- 1983Deal of the CenturyDirector
- 1980CruisingWriter · Director
- 1978The Brink's JobDirector
- 1977SorcererDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1975Conversation with Fritz LangDirector · Self
- 1974Oscars, Actors and The ExorcistSelf
- 1971The French ConnectionDirector
- 1970The Boys in the BandDirector
- 1968The Night They Raided Minsky'sDirector
- 1968The Birthday PartyDirector
- 1967Good TimesDirector · Writer
- 1967MugginsProducer
- 1967The Pickle BrothersDirector
- 1966The Thin Blue LineProducer · Director · Writer
- 1965Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday AfternoonDirector
- 1965The Bold MenDirector
- 1962The People vs. Paul CrumpDirector · Producer
CONNECTED THROUGH MOVIES
Shared credits
Discover the people who share these films.
Actor
Barton Heyman
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor
Ellen Burstyn
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor
Gina Petrushka
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor