Farewell to William Friedkin (1935 - 2023), U.S. director and screenwriter known for directing The Exorcist (1973), a supernatural horror film based on William Peter Blatty's novel of the same name that has become a milestone in genre cinema.
Expected at the Venice Film Festival in September with the out-of-competition film The Caine mutiny court-martial (based on the play by Herman Wouk) starring Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Clarke, William Friedkin passed away earlier today in Los Angeles at the age of 87.
Nicknamed the “director of Evil” because he is considered an innovator of crime and horror, William Friedkin was awarded Oscars (best director, best film, best editing, best original screenplay and best actor) for the crime thriller The violent arm of the law (1971) while in 2013 he received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
Of the famous cult director we remember, in addition to his great successes The violent arm of the law and The Exorcist, also Cruising (1980), the crime thriller about the homosexual world and starring Al Pacino. In contrast, 1990 saw the demonic horror film The tree of evil, followed in 2006 by the psychological horror film Bug - Fear is contagious with Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon.
In 2011, on the other hand, William Fridkin signed the direction of. Killer Joe, a remarkable black comedy with a surprising Matthew McConaughey.
