Friedkin Uncut

William Friedkin, actors and film makers who have worked with him and admire him, and Zubin Mehta talk about Friedkin.

The writer Gene Wolfe once said that you never learn how to write a novel; you just learn how to write the novel you're writing. Friedkin's philosophy of directing a movie seems to consist of doing as much research as possible, casting right, seeking spontaneity, and taking chances. I'm not sure there's much more insight to his creative process than tat on view, but there is a lot of admiration on offer, not only for Friedkin, but for other film makers by Friedkin, including Fritz Lang and Buster Keaton.

I also learned that Friedkin directed operas, which is how Mehta comes into this mix.

Documentary exploring the work and views of William Friedkin.

Interesting insight into a man who is clearly very highly regarded by his peers and others who have worked with / for him. This is made all the more interesting because of his relatively small output and limited financial and critical success apart from The French Connection and The Exorcist. He is though clearly worshipped despite a very strong, outspoken and confident persona that is certainly appealing.

Three points of note: 1) His house looks extravagant but does not looked lived in. 2) Little or no mention is made of The Boys in the Band 3) He seems to have trouble finding trousers that fit.

I don't want to say that I was disappointed in "Friedkin Uncut" but I kind of was. William Friedkin is a Hall of Famer and he deserves a proper documentary. Unfortunately, "Friedkin Uncut" is not it. There are some good stories in this movie but mostly it's a lot pats on the back. This movie would have been better if they didn't interview William Freidkin at all. That way the filmmakers would have been the ones "Uncut". "Freidkin Uncut" plays more like a tribute movie than an actual documentary. I wish it was better.

Iconic Hollywood director William Friedkin recently died. This documentary does have the late director talking about his works and presumably a lot of help from him. To be sure, this is a fawning film for the famed filmmaker. It has his friends and colleagues singing his praises. There are plenty of big names. The man is big time Hollywood and everybody has something good to say about him. First, it's weird that this starts with Friedkin talking about Hitler. It's a good entry point into good and evil, and thereby introduces The Exorcist (1973). This is really only an entry level course into the man, but the names are so big. This is DVD extras for people who love the movies but know little BTS.

If they had just cut down on some of the shots of him standing and posing in front of signs, or maybe some of the film festival stuff, they could have, I dunno COVERED MORE OF HIS CAREER than just 5 movies? Like I get it, French Connection, Exorcist, Sorcerer, To Live and Die in LA, and Killer Joe were his best but it would have still been nice to hear about the rest, at least a bit.

I did appreciate his wearing his pants like a grandpa (high up on the gut) though. And he's totally unfiltered, but this was way too slight to be a career overview. More like a conversation.