*** With two of the great milestones of the 70’s cinema, The Exorcist and The French Cartel, William Friedkin left his mark and earned his fame in world cinema.
“The Exorcist” director William Friedkin has died at the age of 87, according to reports, in the luxurious Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
This was announced by his wife Shirley Lansing. The former director of Hollywood’s Paramount Pictures also announced the cause of death, including heart failure and pneumonia.
After careful work on low-key productions, he teamed up with producer Philip D’Antoni in the early 1970s to develop French Connection, an adaptation of the book by Robin Moore ( Robin Moore’s book about a New York police duo stopping heroin trafficking rings in 1961.
The film has captured the attention of critics, audiences and the industry for being bold, realistic, visceral and exciting. He shined at the 1971 Academy Awards, with Gene Hackman winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Best Actor, and Friedkin winning Best Picture and Oscar for Best Director. This made him a target.
So, a year later, without much pause, he began his second work. Based on William Peter Blatty’s great horror novel, the film follows a 12-year-old girl who is possessed by a demon.
‘The Exorcist’ and How William Friedkin Innovated Horror Movies
Based on the best-selling horror novel by William Peter Blatty, “The Exorcist” tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who is possessed by a demon. Filmed primarily near Georgetown, Washington.
The project brought together an array of elements that made it an instant phenomenon and amplified its reach to make it a classic: the handling of suspense, applied visuals that represented a breakthrough unprecedented at the time, iconic performances by young Composed by Linda Blair of , with a score by Mike Oldfield.
Its premiere represents a novel shift in the way horror has hitherto been viewed as a secondary genre compared to drama. It became the first horror film to be nominated in a major category for an Oscar, and although it lost out to George Roy Hill’s Deceived, it sparked particular interest in the exorcism subgenre, which has already Developed for centuries. The copy was successful.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film’s premiere, a new film is being planned from director David Gordon Green. Proposed as a direct sequel to the 1973 film, the film stars Linda Blair herself, Ellen Burstyn, Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd and Nedim Jashik.
His later credits included 1977’s The Witcher and 1980’s ill-fated Cruise, in which Al Pacino played a New York City detective who goes undercover at the city’s gay S&M bars. murder. Gay activists at the time objected to the film because of the way it was handled.
In addition to failures, there were 1983’s “Deal of the Century,” 1985’s “Emerald” and “Life and Death in Los Angeles.” This poor performance caused him to stay away from the movie set for more than 15 years.
In 2000, he returned with “Rules of Engagement” with Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson, which was followed by a smaller project: 2006’s Bug and Killer Joe in 2011. In 2013, William Friedkin won the Lion Gold Award at the Venice Film Festival.
His last project was The Devil and Father Amos, in which he returned to his great themes. This is a documentary chronicling the exorcisms performed by the Vatican’s chief exorcist in an Italian village.
He was married four times; the first three marriages of actresses Jeanne Moreau and Lesley-Anne Down to TV news anchor Kelly Lange Both ended in divorce. In 1991, he married Sherry Lansing. Sherry Lansing directed from 1992 to 2005 for Paramount Pictures. He is survived by two sons, Jackson and Cedric. WHO/Honduras