William Friedkin

William Friedkin (b. August 29th, 1935)

Exorcising cinematic demons with The Version You've Never Seen
In 1973, William Friedkin permanently changed cinematic horror with The Exorcist. Based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, and directed by Friedkin on the heels of his Best Director Oscar for The French Connection, The Exorcist caused a sensation with its ultra-creepy effects of diabolical possession. With a cast featuring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, and Linda Blair in a pea-soup spitting debut, the film haunted moviegoers with its startling imagery. Having easily carved its spot in film history, this frightening film was re-released in late 2000 under the title The Exorcist -- The Version You've Never Seen with restored footage, digital enhancements, and a chilling remastering of the film's Oscar-winning sound. Friedkin recently told Barnes & Noble.com what possessed him to restore a classic.

Barnes & Noble.com: In replacing the scenes that you did for this new version of The Exorcist, did you worry about tampering with perfection?

William Friedkin: For years, I did. But then I became conscious of a story about a post-impressionist painter whose works hung in the Louvre while he was alive and living in France. When he was in his 60s or 70s, he went into the Louvre one day with a small palette and some brushes and started to paint over one of his canvasses. Most of the filmmakers that I know have the same impulse. I would redo all of my films if I had the chance, because to some extent I've changed my attitude about a lot of the way I used to make films. Now, at the same time, I was against changing The Exorcist because of the enormous success it had. But then there's this whole fan base that keeps asking, "Where is the stuff you cut?" And then there's William Peter Blatty saying, "You cut the spiritual element out." A couple of years ago, Bill [Blatty] and I were talking about the idea that maybe we could re-release this picture, and he asked if I'd look at the footage that was cut. So we looked at it in an editing room, and I turned to him and said, "You know, Bill, I think you're right. I think I was wrong."

B&N.com: Can you give an example?

WF: Blatty, as a writer, felt that more needed to be stated. Specifically, one scene I replaced is between Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow). Originally I took it out of the movie because you have Father Merrin stating a message. Father Karras asks why the demon chose the little girl, and Merrin states that the demon wants to show us that we're a lowly form of humanity and that it has the power to turn any of us into garbage. It's a test of faith. Blatty always felt that the possession of Regan was directed at Karras more than anyone else -- he's a priest who is on the cusp of losing his faith.

B&N.com: There are a lot of stories surrounding the making of the film. Do you address them in this new DVD?

WF: No, because they're all lies. Ellen Burstyn is the one who put out most of those stories, because she fantasizes. She lives basically in a fantasy world, which many great actors do. No one died during the filming. I mean, yes, there were people who died who were connected with the movie, and millions of others who weren't connected with the movie, too. But nobody was killed dramatically as a result of having been associated with The Exorcist. The one story that is true is that the set burnt down. The interior of the house was a large three-story set in an old building. One morning, after only a few days into shooting, I got a call at three in the morning from the production manager saying, "Don't bother coming to work this morning. The set burned to the ground about an hour ago." But there was no one in the building.

B&N.com: So this film didn't cause any sleepless nights for you?

WF: Well, yes, but only because I started to receive death threats, mainly when the film was nominated for Academy Awards. I had to have bodyguards. People would call my office or send me letters. One guy sent a letter, and actually left his return address on it, threatening to kill me, and then he called my secretary to tell her how they were going to kill me. And there were guys who actually threatened to kill me at the Academy Awards. You take those things pretty seriously.

B&N.com: Because The Exorcist has been hailed as the scariest movie of all time, what do you think when you see other filmmakers copying scenes or suspense tactics from it?

WF: Great. They steal from another one of my films, The French Connection, all the time. You can see the techniques of The French Connection being lifted on television almost any night. You can see it on any Steven Bochco show. I also borrow favorite scenes all the time. There's a moment from a film that Montgomery Clift did called The Young Lions which haunts me to this day. There's a shot where Clift is with his fiancée and he's about to go to Germany to fight. The camera holds on his fiancée as she stands on the flight of steps of this building, and he walks down the street, the camera on his back. He takes a long walk down the street and doesn't look back. And just before the shot ends, he waves without looking at her. That little gesture with his hand is so compelling. It's what movies are about. One day you're going to see that in one of my pictures.

B&N.com: When people ask you for advice on filmmaking, what do you tell them?

WF: I've often said that you don't need to study film. Just look at Citizen Kane a few times and you will understand the process at its best -- it's the film I learned from. To me it is the greatest movie ever made, hands down. It's like listening to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: When you listen to that, you understand the power of music and even have some ideas about how it's produced. I feel the same is true for watching Citizen Kane.

B&N.com: And if someone looked at your films, what would they learn?

WF: That none of my films have been similar to The Exorcist either before or since. Whatever else you want to say about them, you have to say that they are an eclectic mix. You can't deny me that. I mean, I did The Night They Raided Minsky's, The Boys in the Band, Cruising, To Live and Die in L. A., Rules of Engagement, and The French Connection. Those films are definitely not The Exorcist.

December 14, 2000

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