William Friedkin, who passed away last year aged 87, was one of the visionary directors of the 1970s. He made two of the decade’s defining films, The French Connection and The Exorcist, creating crime and horror blueprints that have been endlessly imitated. In large part, his movies were so successful because they focused on emotion and rich characterization over genre thrills. For instance, speaking about The Exorcist, Friedkin has said, “I never had any concept of it as a horror film. We thought of it as a powerful, emotional, disturbing story.”
In this regard, Friedkin was shaped primarily by filmmakers like Costa-Gavras, Federico Fellini, and AkiraKurosawa, but his cinematic tastes were wide-ranging, including everything from bleak war movies to witty rom-coms. Indeed, Friedkin praised countless films of the years, many of which ought to appeal to fans of his work. These are some of William Friedkin’s most intriguing recommendations, which fans of his work and cinema lovers will surely appreciate.
10 ‘Belle de jour’ (1967)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
“Male egos require constant stroking.” Belle de jour (meaning “beauty of the day,” a play on the French term for a sex worker) is one of the more accessible movies by the master of the absurd, Luis Buñuel. It stars Catherine Deneuve as Séverine, a young housewife. Discontented with her bourgeois life and emotionally distant from her husband, she indulges in masochistic fantasies. Her curiosity leads her to a high-class brothel, where she begins working in the afternoons while her husband is at work.
Belle de Jour marries eroticism with layered psychological drama and a touch of the surreal. It’s a recipe Buñuel used many times, but here he gets it just right. “A thriller wrapped inside an enigma, this is my desert island disc, the one I’ve watched more than any other on this list,” Friedkin said of the movie. “Buñuel [has the] ability to fuse reality and illusion in his characters and for the viewer. He performs this magic in plain view, like the best magicians.”
9 ‘Last Year at Marienbad’ (1961)
Directed by Alain Resnais
“You were already losing your way forever in the still night, alone with me.” Last Year at Marienbad is a French New Wave movie that blurs the lines between reality and memory. Set in an eerily timeless European hotel, the story revolves around a nameless man (Giorgio Albertazzi) who tries to convince a woman (Delphine Seyrig) that they had a romantic encounter the previous year that she claims not to remember. The presence of a second man (Sacha Pitoëff), who may be her husband, complicates matters further.
Friedkin said Last Year at Marienband made a huge impression on his generation of filmmakers. For example, the sprawling, enigmatic hotel feels like a piece with Kubrick‘s Overlook Hotel in The Shining. “I’ve seen Marienbad at least twenty times over the past fifty years, and I don’t understand one scene of it, but what a fantastic experience,” Friedkin said. “Marienbad is that rare film that changes the possibilities of narrative in cinema.”
8 ‘Paths of Glory’ (1957)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
“I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you’re a degenerate, sadistic old man.” Speaking of Kubrick, Friedkin is also a great admirer of the director’s anti-war masterpiecePaths of Glory. When a suicidal attack on a heavily fortified German position fails, the military brass scapegoats three innocent soldiers, court-martialing them for cowardice to cover up the system’s incompetence. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), a lawyer in civilian life, must defend the men in a sham trial.
At just 88 minutes long, Paths of Glory is one of Kubrick’s leanest, meanest, and most intense movies. “You can see Kubrick’s early influences, Orson Welles and Max Ophüls, in his camerawork and editing style, but the film is totally original and powerful and even has a touch of sentimentality in the final sequence,” Friedkin said. “The famous tracking shots in the trenches accompanied by the constant drumbeat of bombs and artillery will remain in your memory long after you’ve experienced the film.”
Paths of Glory (1957)
- Release Date
- December 25, 1957
- Cast
- Kirk Douglas , Ralph Meeker , Adolphe Menjou , George Macready , Wayne Morris , Richard Anderson , Joe Turkel , Christiane Kubrick
- Runtime
- 88 Minutes
- Writers
- Stanley Kubrick , Calder Willingham , Jim Thompson , Humphrey Cobb
7 ‘Brute Force’ (1947)
Directed by Jules Dassin
“Force does make leaders. But you forget one thing: it also destroys them.” Brute Force is a gritty prison drama from director Jules Dassin, most famous for the seminal heist filmRififi. This one stars Burt Lancaster as Joe Collins, a hardened inmate at Westgate Penitentiary, where the prisoners are subjected to brutal treatment by Captain Munsey (Hume Cronyn). Tensions rise as Collins and his allies plot a daring escape, with the jail quickly becoming a powder keg.
The political dimension is a little too on-the-nose, but overall, Brute Force works.
Striking music and stark, bare-bones grayscale cinematography are at a premium here, emphasizing the film’s critique of the criminal justice system and the society that perpetuates it. Here, Dassin essentially melds a gangster movie with a social drama. At times, the political dimension is a little too on-the-nose, but overall, it works. Friedkin called it a “stunningly powerful film […] I hate to admit it, but I remember seeing this when it first came out [in 1947].”
6 ‘All That Money Can Buy’ (1941)
Directed by William Dieterle
“When a man gets his money in a bad way… then the devil’s in his heart.” All That Money Can Buy (aka The Devil and Daniel Webster) centers on Jabez Stone (James Craig), a struggling New Hampshire farmer who, in a moment of despair, makes a pact with the devil, known as Mr. Scratch (Walter Huston). In exchange for seven years of prosperity, Jabez signs away his soul. As the end of the pact approaches, Jabez seeks the help of lawyer Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) to save him from eternal damnation.
All That Money Can Buy is one of the better riffs on the Faust legend, elevated by Joe August‘s brilliant cinematography and the magnificent score by Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann, whose work here won him an Oscar. Plus, the acting is top-notch, too, with Mr. Scratch emerging as a particularly memorable character. “One of Walter Huston’s greatest performances,” Friedkin said. The best scene features a jury made up of infamous villains from history and Webster’s powerhouse closing argument aimed at swaying them.
5 ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ (1971)
Directed by John Schlesinger
“All my life, I’ve been looking for somebody courageous, resourceful.” Set against the backdrop of 1970s London, Sunday Bloody Sunday follows the intersecting lives of a middle-aged Jewish doctor, Daniel Hirsh (Peter Finch), and a divorced career woman, Alex Greville (Glenda Jackson), who are both romantically involved with the same young bisexual artist, Bob Elkin (Murray Head). Daniel and Alex cling to Bob despite his lack of commitment, using him to fill voids in their lives.
William Friedkin named Sunday Bloody Sunday as a favorite during his visit to the Criterion Closet.
It makes for a layered exploration of relationships and an unusually progressive one for its era. The directing is fittingly sensitive, and the performances nuanced. It’s intriguing to see Finch in a restrained, realistic role, given that he’s perhaps most famous for his over-the-top turn in Sidney Lumet‘s Network. Friedkin named Sunday Bloody Sunday as a favorite during his visit to the Criterion Closet. “It came out the year of The French Connection and was nominated with The French Connection. [It brings] back wonderful memories,” he said.
4 ‘The Killing of a Chinese Bookie’ (1976)
Directed by John Cassavetes
“I’m only happy when I’m angry.” This character-driven drama delves into the seedy underworld of ’70s Los Angeles. Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, the charismatic owner of a struggling strip club who finds himself indebted to the mob. To erase his debt, Cosmo is coerced into carrying out a hit on a Chinese bookie. As he grapples with the moral and existential implications of his actions, the film morphs into a tense and introspective character study.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is Cassavetes‘s take on a gangster movie, but it’s characteristically complex and emotionally rich. Cassavete’s raw and improvisational style, combined with Gazzara’s compelling performance, creates a deeply human portrait of a man caught in a web of desperation and ambition. “I’m sure [Cassavetes] never thought [his movies] would have an afterlife,” Friedkin said. “He thought they’d play for a couple of weeks and be done […] but now here they are. They’re gonna live forever.”
3 ‘Vampyr’ (1932)
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
“Come quickly! Something terrible is happening!” Friedkin selected Vampyr, too, during his trip to Criterion. It’s an atmospheric horror from the godfather of Danish cinema, Carl Theodor Dreyer. It centers on Allan Gray (Nicolas de Gunzburg), a young man fascinated by the occult who arrives in a remote village plagued by supernatural occurrences. He discovers that the village is under the influence of a malevolent vampire. It’s like a more thoughtful and visually inventive take on Nosferatu.
Vampyr is notable for featuring a female vampire, in contrast to the male bloodsuckers that dominated the genre.
Dreyer’s innovative use of light and shadow, along with his existential preoccupations, make Vampyr an unsettling and eerie work. The pacing is slow, but the mood is immersive and unnerving: a sense of dread hangs over the whole affair. There’s an especially chilling scene where Gray sees himself as one of the undead, lying in a coffin equipped with a small window. The film is also notable for featuring a female vampire, in contrast to the male bloodsuckers that dominated the genre for most of the 20th century.
2 ‘Pickpocket’ (1959)
Directed by Robert Bresson
“Do you think we’ll be judged?” Pickpocket was another one of Friedkin’s Closet picks. This minimalist drama explores the mind of Michel (Martin LaSalle), a young man who turns to pickpocketing in Paris as a means of asserting his individuality and rebelling against social norms. His story is tangled up with those of a suspicious police inspector (Jean Pélégri) and a young woman named Jeanne (Marika Green), who is dating one of his friends.
Robert Bresson’s direction is austere and precise, using just the bare essentials of the medium to tell this tale.
Pickpocket has been compared to Dostoyevsky‘s Crime and Punishment; both works focus on a protagonist who believes he is above the law and must then deal with the consequences of living according to his twisted morality. Robert Bresson‘s direction is austere and precise, using just the bare essentials of the medium to tell this tale. The scenes exploring the mechanics of pickpocketing are especially well done. For these reasons and more, Pickpocket proved highly influential, inspiring everyone from Paul Schrader and Werner Herzog to Yorgos Lanthimos and Richard Linklater.
1 ‘Ordet’ (1955)
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
“Miracles don’t happen anymore.” Widely considered Dreyer’s masterpiece, Ordet is a drama about faith and doubt in early 20th-century Denmark. It revolves around the Borgen family, whose members grapple with religious and existential crises. The patriarch, Morten Borgen (Henrik Malberg), is a devout Christian, while his son Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye), who suffers from a mental breakdown, believes himself to be Jesus Christ. Another son, Anders (Cay Kristiansen), wishes to marry a young woman from a different sect, causing further familial tension.
Ordet is held in high regard for its complex characters, confident visual storytelling, and sophisticated examination of weighty ideas. “All [Dreyer’s] films are deeply spiritual in their examinations of the mystery of faith and purely cinematic,” Friedkin said. “There is a stunning scene of literal resurrection that inspired my own visual approach to The Exorcist and gave me the courage to stage a supernatural event as if it were actually happening, without scary lighting or weird angles.”
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