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Director WIlliam Friedkin (recording from 2011)
Photo: Joel Ryan / dpa
Moviegoers fainted, others threw up: so gruesome were the scenes in which two priests try to drive the devil out of the body of little Regan, played by Linda Blair. The horror film »The Exorcist« shocked moviegoers worldwide in 1973. Critics gave it the title "scariest film of all time".
William Friedkin was the talented director behind the occult shocker. Now the film world mourns the loss of the award-winning director, screenwriter and producer. The American died at the age of 87, as his wife Sherry Lansing confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter, among others. Family friend Stephen Galloway told the AFP news agency that Friedkin had suffered from health problems in recent years. He had been working until recently, but then his health deteriorated.
Born in Chicago in 1935, Friedkin worked his way up from messenger to director of live TV shows at a television station after school. His first documentary about a man sentenced to death won a festival prize in 1962. In 1965, Friedkin made his Hollywood debut with the musical film »Good Times« about the pop duo Sonny and Cher.
Part of the »New Hollywood« elite
After that, Friedkin quickly rose to the ranks of the »New Hollywood« elite, which delivered groundbreaking films in the seventies – together with directors such as Peter Bogdanovich (»The Last Performance«), Roman Polański (»Rosemary's Baby«), Francis Ford Coppola (»The Godfather«) and Martin Scorsese (»Taxi Driver«).
In 1972 he won the Oscar for directing the gripping drug thriller »French Connection«. In 1973, Friedkin's best-known film »The Exorcist«, about a twelve-year-old girl possessed by a demon, was released in cinemas – and became a classic. He was nominated for ten Oscars and eventually won two of the prestigious film awards, including Best Screenplay. "The Exorcist" was also a huge success with the public, grossing $440 million. There were also a number of follow-up films.
»I didn't plan to make a horror movie«
"I thought it was a film about the mystery of faith," Friedkin later said. "I didn't plan to make a horror movie. But I've come to accept that it's him."
The success of »The Exorcist« was followed by a crash. Friedkin's film »Breathless with Fear« was a flop, and later works were also disappointing. His latest film »The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial« with Kiefer Sutherland is scheduled to premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival.
»One of the Gods of Cinema«
The news of Friedkin's death caused dismayed reactions on Monday. Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro paid tribute to Friedkin as "one of the gods of cinema." Cinema has lost a true scholar, and I have lost a dear, faithful and true friend."
Horror book author Stephen King declared that Friedkin was an "extremely talented filmmaker". King also paid tribute to the film »Sorcerer«, which failed at the box office: »'The Exorcist' is great, but for me 'Breathless of Fear' was the real classic."
In the seventies, the director and father of two was married to the French actress Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017) for two years. After marriages to TV star Lesley-Anne Down (now 69) and presenter Kelly Lange (85), he married producer Sherry Lansing (1991) in 79.
ktz/AFP/dpa