William Friedkin

A motion picture is a group effort with contributions from scores of individuals, from the screenwriter to actors, the sound crew to the producers. However, the director sets the tone for how a movie gets filmed. The best directors possess a keen understanding of how to bring the dialogue and action in the screenplay to life on the big screen, captivating the audience. William Friedkin was a larger-than-life director who could both captivate and repel his audiences. Friedkin’s career lasted over six decades, garnering critical acclaim along with condemnation over violence in his films. His rise as a cinematic auteur was cemented in the 1970s with his direction of The French Connection (1971), The Exorcist (1973), and Sorcerer (1977).

William Friedkin’s first film was about a condemned man (The People Versus Paul Crump), and while it didn’t receive a wide audience, the film resonated with the select few who watched it. Friedkin’s depiction of a tragic miscarriage of justice would lead to directing a few more documentaries where Friedkin showcased both the gritty and the dangerous(“The Thin Blue Line”). Friedkin’s first cinematic entry was a Sonny & Cher vehicle named Good Times, which proved frustrating due to script issues and landed with a dull thud at the box office. Yet, Friedkin’s promise was evident, and he would be hired on two more productions (The Birthday Party, The Night They Raided Minsky’s) to round out the 1960s.

William Friedkin was fresh off a well-received adaptation of The Boys in the Band (1970) when he began work on the classic crime drama, The French Connection. The fictionalized version of the headline-grabbing bust of a heroin trafficking ring is often remembered for the adrenaline-packed car chase scene featuring Gene Hackman pursuing a murderous hitman, yet Friedkin’s achievement lies in adapting a true crime book and turning it into a commentary on the amoralistic battle that became The War on Drugs, where law enforcement often became a reflection of their prey. Friedkin’s ability to adapt another’s work and render it a cinematic masterpiece would be furthered with the horror classic The Exorcist. Friedkin’s career hit its apex during this time, and his later pictures (Cruising, To Live and Die in LA, Blue Chips) never quite measured up, yet the director remained a Hollywood force until he died in 2023.

Author Thomas D. Clagett has written an overarching and penetrating review of the filmography of William Friedkin (1935-2023). With each chapter, Clagett provides a wealth of information about each TV & film project Friedkin directed from 1962 onwards. Clagett’s coverage of Friedkin’s work is fair and balanced, as he equally doles out praise and criticism for the director’s choices. As Clagett deftly illustrates, William Friedkin was a risk-taker among a new wave of directors who found a footing in Hollywood in the 1970s (i.e., Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola). While Friedkin’s star began to dim in the 1980s, his bold vision continued to polarize audiences regardless of the film genre (drama, horror, or comedy). Thomas D. Clagett delivers an inspiring and distinct reference book about a legendary director. William Friedkin: Films of Aberration, Obsession and Reality is must-read literature.