---
name: "William Friedkin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-friedkin"
fi1m_id: "william-friedkin"
imdb_id: "nm0001243"
tmdb_id: 15175
wikidata_id: "Q51582"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "29 August 1935"
died: "7 August 2023"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 87
average_as: "director"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-03T08:00:54.705064+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Friedkin

## Identity

William Friedkin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-friedkin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-friedkin
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001243
- **TMDB ID:** 15175
- **Wikidata ID:** Q51582
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Friedkin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51582, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001243/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15175

Director. Born 29 August 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Died 7 August 2023.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 29 August 1935, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 7 August 2023
- **Active:** 1971–1977
- **Also known as:** 윌리엄 프리드킨, 윌리암 프리드킨, William David Friedkin
- **Frequently works with:** [Roy Scheider](https://film.one/person/roy-scheider.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 87, as director, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 87 to 80 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Thriller 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Crime 1, Horror 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $481m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Friedkin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51582, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001243/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15175

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The French Connection*](https://film.one/film/the-french-connection.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on William Friedkin

> William Friedkin makes fear convincing by giving it recognisable places and people we believe in. We rate him highly, especially when he trusts the actors; his determination to shock can sometimes distract from their suffering.

In *The Exorcist* (1973), a mother cannot help her daughter, and the house around them remains an ordinary home. William Friedkin allows the actors to make us afraid for the family, rather than relying on the grotesque imagery to do everything. We found Ellen Burstyn’s distress hard to bear because she makes a mother’s inability to protect her child painfully credible. This is the Friedkin we rate most highly: a director who gives people in a horror film the attention they would receive in a family drama.

The documentary habits matter. Friedkin favoured hand-held photography, real locations and sound recorded on the spot, all of which helped events feel immediate. *The French Connection* (1971) established his reputation for gritty police thrillers and forceful action. The chase offers an obvious way into his work, but we would begin with the slower accumulation of fear in *The Exorcist*.

Owen Roizman’s cinematography keeps its domestic surroundings plain, and Bill Malley’s production design makes the house seem habitable. Neither gives us permission to dismiss it as a place built solely for horrors to happen in. William Peter Blatty’s adaptation of his own novel supplies the possibility of religious help when a mother has exhausted the ordinary kind. Friedkin keeps our attention on the performances, so that the question of what might help remains urgent.

He does sometimes push too hard. In *The Exorcist*, effects can become so elaborate that we start noticing how they were achieved, briefly losing sight of the distress. The reviews of his subsequent films were less consistent, with *Sorcerer* (1977) later finding more sympathetic attention. *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985) gave him another car chase through which to exercise his skill at building tension.

The late turn to Tracy Letts’s plays brought *Bug* (2006) and *Killer Joe* (2011). Their claustrophobic settings and strong ensembles suited his appetite for psychological distress. Try those after *The Exorcist*, on a night when being made uncomfortable is part of the attraction.

## Biography

William Friedkin was an American film, television and opera director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Chicago, he began his career directing documentaries and live television in the early 1960s before moving to feature films.

He is best known for the crime thriller *The French Connection* (1971), which won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and the horror film *The Exorcist* (1973), for which he received a further Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Other notable works include *Sorcerer* (1977), *Cruising* (1980), *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985), *Bug* (2006) and *Killer Joe* (2011). His final feature, *The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial* (2023), was released after his death.

Friedkin directed operas from 1998 onwards and episodes of television series including *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, washingtonpost.com, apnews.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Sorcerer* (1977), Fi1m 88, Screenplay, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/sorcerer.md)
- *The Exorcist* (1973), Fi1m 89, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-exorcist.md)
- *The French Connection* (1971), Fi1m 85, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-french-connection.md)

## Complete filmography (47)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial* (2023), Teleplay, Director
- *The Devil and Father Amorth* (2018), Director, Writer
- *Return to the Genre* (2016), Actor
- *Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn* (2015), Actor
- *Verdi Aida* (2015), Stage Director
- *Henri Langlois vu par...* (2014), Director
- *Killer Joe* (2012), Director
- *The Painter's Voice* (2007), Director
- *Bug* (2007), Director
- *Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy* (2005), Actor
- *The Hunted* (2003), Director
- *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000), series, Director
- *Rules of Engagement* (2000), Director
- *Without Limits* (1998), as TV Director
- *The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist* (1998), Thanks
- *12 Angry Men* (1997), Director
- *Jade* (1995), Director
- *Jailbreakers* (1994), Director
- *Rebel Highway* (1994), series, Director
- *Blue Chips* (1994), Director
- *The Guardian* (1990), Director, Screenplay
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Dr. Kenneth Humphries (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, Director
- *C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf* (1988), Director, Story, Executive Producer
- *Rampage* (1987), Director, Writer, Producer
- *C.A.T. Squad* (1986), Director, Executive Producer
- *Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album* (1986), Director
- *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985), Director, Screenplay
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, Director
- *Deal of the Century* (1983), Director
- *Cruising* (1980), Writer, Director
- *The Brink's Job* (1978), Director
- *Sorcerer* (1977), Director, Screenplay, Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/sorcerer.md)
- *Conversation with Fritz Lang* (1975), Director
- *The Exorcist* (1973), Director — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-exorcist.md)
- *The French Connection* (1971), Director — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-french-connection.md)
- *The Boys in the Band* (1970), Director
- *The Night They Raided Minsky's* (1968), Director
- *The Birthday Party* (1968), Director
- *Good Times* (1967), Director, Screenplay
- *Muggins* (1967), Producer
- *The Pickle Brothers* (1967), Director
- *The Thin Blue Line* (1966), Producer, Director, Story
- *Pro Football: Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon* (1965), Director
- *The Bold Men* (1965), Director
- *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* (1962), series, Director
- *The People vs. Paul Crump* (1962), Director, Producer

## Gallery

- ![Filmmaker William Friedkin, photographed during the 2017 Sitges Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-861ea471f8c3.jpg) Filmmaker William Friedkin, photographed during the 2017 Sitges Film Festival — GuillemMedina, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/William_Friedkin%2C_Festival_de_Sitges_2017.jpg/1280px-William_Friedkin%2C_Festival_de_Sitges_2017.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-c0320165697e.jpg) William Friedkin — GuillemMedina, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/William_Friedkin%2C_Festival_de_Sitges_2017_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-William_Friedkin%2C_Festival_de_Sitges_2017_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Director William Friedkin (left), cinematographer Owen Roizman and producer William Peter Blatty preparing to shoot a scene from The Exorcist (based on Blatty's (1973)](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-b8e6b1b294b1.jpg) Director William Friedkin (left), cinematographer Owen Roizman and producer William Peter Blatty preparing to shoot a scene from The Exorcist (based on Blatty's (1973) — Warner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/William_Friedkin%2C_Owen_Roizman_and_William_Peter_Blatty_making_The_Exorcist_in_the_streets_of_Georgetown.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William Friedkin at Festival Deauville 2012](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-ae7683b74786.jpg) William Friedkin at Festival Deauville 2012 — Elen Nivrae from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/William_Friedkin.jpg/1280px-William_Friedkin.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-f364da17572e.jpg) William Friedkin — Image via TMDB
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-ea76ddd43a99.jpg) William Friedkin — Image via TMDB
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-3bed69677178.jpg) William Friedkin — Image via TMDB
- ![Director of The French Connection, The Exorcist, Blue Chips, and (TV) 12 Angry Men. (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-76ed6bfc4460.jpg) Director of The French Connection, The Exorcist, Blue Chips, and (TV) 12 Angry Men. (2018) — Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/William_Friedkin_%2840970320685%29.jpg/1280px-William_Friedkin_%2840970320685%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-b1ec4b2c1df5.jpg) William Friedkin — Image via TMDB
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-b4c2c673cd19.jpg) William Friedkin — Image via TMDB
- ![William Friedkin](https://film.one/media/person/104383/gallery-532a022b9abd.jpg) William Friedkin — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1974: Best Director (nominated), for *The Exorcist*
- 1972: Best Director (won), for *The French Connection*

### Golden Globes — 2 won

- 1973: Best Director (won), for *The Exorcist*
- 1971: Best Director (won), for *The French Connection*

### Other awards — 4 won, 2 nominated

- Sitges Grand Honorary Award 2017: Sitges Grand Honorary Award (won)
- Robert Honorary Award 2014: Robert Honorary Award (won)
- Time Machine Award 2007: Time Machine Award (won)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director (nominated), for *Cruising*
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 1981: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (nominated), for *Cruising*
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film 1971: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film (won), for *The French Connection*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-friedkin