LYCOS RETRIEVER 
William Friedkin: Films
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Friedkin's first feature film, "Good Times" (1968) ... marked the
screen debut of Sonny and Cher. This was followed by "The Night They Raided
The Minsky's" (1968), "The Birthday Party" (1969), and "The
Boys In The Band" (1970).
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Friedkin went to some extraordinary lengths, reminiscent of D.W. Griffith's manipulation of the actors, to get the genuine reactions he wanted. Yanked violently around in harnesses, both Blair and Burstyn suffered back injuries and their painful screams went right into the film. Burstyn later reported that she had permanent back injury after landing on her coccyx when a stuntman jerked her via cable during the scene when Regan slaps her mother. After asking Reverend William O'Malley if he trusted him and being told yes, Friedkin slapped him hard across the face before a take to generate a deeply solemn reaction that was used in the film, as a very emotional Father Dyer read last rites to Father Karras; this offended the many Catholic crew members on the set. He ... fired a gun without warning on the set to elicit shock from Jason Miller for a take.
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Friedkin's follow-up films didn't help him re-establish himself. Few saw The Brink's Job (1978), a farcical heist romp with Peter Falk, but many took note of Cruising (1980) and Deal of the Century (1983). The former, starring Al Pacino as a cop who goes undercover into a sleazy underworld in order to catch a killer, is a ridiculous film that has been accused of portraying gays as scary, S&M-loving sickos. The latter, starring Chevy Chase as an arms dealer, is even worse, a comedy with a great opening that goes nowhere and fails as a farce or satire. Both were embarrassing flops.
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Friedkin: It's not a genre film, but marketing works in mysterious ways. They have to find a genre for it. "This is a comedy. This is a melodrama. This is a love story. This is a horror film. This is an adventure film."
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See the results of this labor of love on Friday, August 3, as Friedkin's documentary The Painter's Voice:The Restoration of Two Master Paintings (DVD, 27 min.) screens free at the Getty Center. The film screens at 3:45 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 5:45 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 7:15 p.m. No reservations are required—just drop by the Museum Lecture Hall.
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A definite problem it finds with Friedkin is that he likes his movies to be as ambiguous as possible. Unfortunately it never works out like David Lynch who ends up making mysterious films. Friedkin's films just end up being confusing when they should be intriguing. His grip on story telling is pretty weak because of this. Even a straight forward cop film like To Live and Die in LA is made confusing in places were it shouldn't be.
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