His Criterion mentions: - Sunday Bloody Sunday (Schlesinger, 1971) - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes, 1976) - Vampyr (Dreyer, 1932) - Pickpocket (Bresson, 1959) - Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952) - The Devil and Daniel Webster (Dieterle, 1941) - M (Lang, 1931) - Brute Force (Dassin, 1947) - Rififi (Dassin, 1955) - 81/2 (Fellini, 1963)
I would love to know your favorite films, and your favorite filmmakers... if willing to share. Also thank you for listing the director/year next to each film.
The moment I heard the news I immediately thought of this video. Rest in peace Mr. Friedkin. Thank you for all the emotions you gave us and for your incredible love for cinema, which is on full display here.
I miss him so much but I never knew him. I loved him since his commentary on the redone exorcist dvd that came out in like 2000 or something, when I was a little kid. I was poor and I watched the exorcist probably 50 times as a kid and half the time with his commentary. I will never forget his voice
This guys must be on some amazing diet and have a stress free life. He looks fucking amazing for 80 years old. I thought he was around early 60's. Fucking full head of hair too.
+myautomobilefunk really ?! i have yet to read Hurricane Billy.. i mean i know he could be very direct and he would do things to get the most out of people's acting etc. I know he was i guess bold but heartless ? idk. do you have a source of him stating that ?
Can't rememeber where but i read information about people who keep intensive intellectual work in old age, like composers, professional mathematics, chessmasters, they look younger.
RIP Mr. Friedkin, always inspiring generations of cinephiles and filmmakers, always a pleasure to see his films, his masterclasses, just to see him talking about cinema is already a great school - Rest In Power
@@helvete_ingres4717 what a horrible, needlessly argumentative thing to say- something only an argument-seeking, triggered, horrible person would say. What is wrong with just accepting a nice sentiment on its face, exactly?
This is one of the best DVD Picks videos. Only wish it was longer, because I can listen to Friedkin for hours. He and Scorsese always talks so passionate about films.
Friedkin is one of the great American filmmakers. To me, he's right up there with Scorsese, Coppola, etc. He had some serious balls to do what he did. His films went places that few other directors in the world would have the courage to go to. Very happy to see him in this series.
That’s one of the things I admire the most about Friedkin: he’s really never played it safe. The entire car chase sequence and the ambiguous ending of “The French Connection,” having a little girl say all of the heinous shit that she does while possessed in “The Exorcist,” pretty much all of “Cruising,” suddenly killing off the protagonist toward the end of “To Live and Die in L.A.,” refusing to cut “Killer Joe” for theaters which resulted in it getting an NC-17 rating… I could go on but you get the point. Whether you love or hate his movies, the guy deserves credit for having a vision for all of his films and seeing it through to the end.
Friedkin was impressively reverent in the Criterion closet! Give me ten minutes in that closet...Criterion should offer that to a "regular" movie lover. I would definitely watch a contest winner choose movies!
You have to earn an invite to the closet. Not that I don't like the idea of a regular movie lover getting a chance in the closet but those invitations are awarded to achievers who have enriched the culture.
Mr. Friedkin made some of the coolest films back in the day, especially street crime movies. Cant believe he's going to be 80 years old, the man looks fantastic.
For me his The Exorcist and Sorcerer is the oscar worthy creation. Although exorcist got that. But after watching sorcerer i was numb for a moment...What a film.....And what a director he is.
I was very fortunate to meet him about 20 years ago at a rerelease screening of Sorcerer. What an absolute joy to talk to. One of the greatest American directors.
Sorcerer is probably the most underrated movie ever in the history of filmmaking. It's still pretty obscure and almost never talked about after nearly 50 years, partly thanks to it being released next to Star Wars in 1977, but people are rediscovering it.
It's a great movie, but I can't help but feel it was let down by a highly misleading title, keeping many from seeing it at the time (Sorcerer being the name of the truck in the film)
I always enjoy conversations with Billy Friedkin, whatever the topic, but especially on film. A pleasure to see him do his tour of the Criterion closet. Well earned, indeed. Cheers to you, Billy.
Exploring William Friedkin and many filmmakers responding to '8 1/2' (1962). It concerns the degree to which filmmakers -- and audiences familiar to Fellini's early career -- will relate to it. Out of that context, it resonates little, if not not at all. Just as 'Citizen Kane' or 'Psycho' are landmarks not to see first in their respective directors' canon, the wonder of '8 1/2' in Fellini as a creator comes into play. Fellini's 1962 success came after a career spanning about ten years. 'White Nights', 'La Strada' and 'Nights of Cabiria', each conveying a legitimate sense of social awareness, came out in rather quick succession in the early-to mid 1959s, to great and well-earned acclaim in award ceremonies. After about a two-year pause, social concerns as the immediate subject matter in his movies became the unconventional observations of the life of celebrities and leisure in 'La Dolce Vita' in 1959 broke all expectations in Europe and earned Fellini a second Academy Award in 1960. The tribulations of success immediately became inescapable. On both sides of the Atlantic, the media and admirers voraciously demanded a new masterpiece from him. Fellini experienced the expectations that successful artists in art, literature, theater, or in any such fields have known -- filmmakers included -- but cannot deliver. Two more years and, as it was told, nothing came to him, until he conceived exploring the concerns of "Guido", an alter ego with a similar creative quandary. What to do and how to go about making art from it. Mindful of it all, the brilliance of '8 1/2' is how unexpectedly honest it us. Fortunately for Fellini, the cinema allows for more manners of expression than do other arts, with the possible exception of music. It became all about Maestro Federico/Guido living through recollections or projecting unfulfilled fantasies, banal or meaningful. The earliest sequence allows us to find Guido unintentionally suspended in mid air. Further along, it will matter little if places and people are real, because to the artist, they all are authentic: the sum part of his existence, personal or artistic, through a career spanning eight and a half features through 1961. Which might be the reason for which the best in movies are genuinely grateful (and envious) of Maestro Fellini's inspiration out of the creative void.
I love 8 1/2.. haunting, beautiful... but as far as Fellini goes ...La Dolce Vita takes it for me ... La Strada and Nights of Cabiria are great as well
It is stunningly sad and ironic to hear the great Friedkin praise Criterion for showing films as they meant to be seen - only to have Criterion follow Disney's lead and trim a scene showing Popeye Doyle's bigotry from the streaming version of the French Connection. I wonder what William would have said about that.
I don't think that was Criterion's decision. Disney owns the rights to the film. Criterion just shows whatever is given to them by the rightsholders. It's quite possible no one even noticed the changes before putting up. No one has the time to go through every single movie on the platform and make sure it's an exact recreation of the original. That's what physical releases are for.
The first time i watched this one it urged me to see more of the gentleman,i've watched Friedkin uncut, great interview/documentary, check it out with A decade under influence if you never heard, both important outlines on the last greatest decade a cinema of which Mr Friedkin is an important part.
Hands down one of the best closet vids y'all have posted. A true legend. I love how much he appreciates the sheer amount of cinematic preservation being done by Criterion.
One of my favorite directors. Nobody talks about film as eloquently and with as much love and passion as Friedkin does, I could've listened to him talk for hours! R.I.P a legend.
I could listen to him talk about cinema for hours. What an amazing knowledge and quite a cool demeanor, I might add! I was so surprised he pulled Daniel Webster.
What a grand list!! His love of film reminds of a Frank Capra quote that I love "Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone; it bosses the enzymes; directs the pineal gland; plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film."
Strange sort of time compression can be experienced by looking at so many great films on a shelf. Decades of evenings spent in the local cinematheque, at film festivals and repertory theatres all brought back to mind by boxes on a shelf.
What i like about Friedkin is that whenever you see him being interviewed he always calls people by their first name, i love that. He was thr real deal
Has anyone ever mastered a Friedkin impression? He had one of the most unique voices and affects of anyone, along with being a great genius and talent.
Shortly after The Exorcist came out Friedkin did a lecture at the U of DE. My friend and I had been in Georgetown and went to the stairs that were a key part in the film. I put my levi jacket on backwards and lay there like my neck had been twisted around. Took a photo which I laid on the lectern that Friedkin was about to use. He saw it and said, "I guess this is some kind of an omen".
Friedkin's passion of film shines through here, regardless what you think of his movies or the kind of movies he loves there's no doubt he knows his stuff.
It's beautiful to see and hear Mr. Friedkin truly savor these films that catch his eye and heart. As we get older may we all the more deeply appreciate the Art and Beauty humanity has contributed for all of us to enjoy. His ending comments on "8 1/2" and that he won't look at any more titles, how leaving with it on Blu-Ray has made his day, week, possibly his year, brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, sir. R.I.P.
RIP to a legend. Would've loved to of met Billy Friedkin and thanked him for introducing me to so many wonderful, life enhancing films, including his own. Along with Scorsese, Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdanovich, Friedkin's passion for the golden age of cinema is so infectious to listen to.
Delightful video. I might not agree with some of Freidkin's radical methods as a director, but the man knows film and loves it with a clear grace and passion. Great to hear this man talk so lovingly about these classics. I say get Michael Mann in there. That "Thief" Blu Ray was awesome!
His death hit me in a weird personal way. He was a real original. The fact we will never get another Friedkin movie is depressing, but so many if his films are literally timeless classics. I could watch the Exorcist three times in a week and enjoy it every single time.
I was telling an acquaintance of mine how highly I thought of Fellini's 8 and a half. He responded by saying that Fellini was highly overrated, pretentious, and on and on. I hadn't seen the movie for about ten years so I decided to watch it again; I mean, who knows? Maybe the dude was right... Well...All I know is that when the player stopped it was as if I'd been struck on the head. 8 and a half is one of those works that leaves you slack-jawed, glassy-eyed, and wondering what the hell you just saw. Fellini weaves narrative, reminiscence, and surreal imagery together in a way that seems to convey the state of one man's mind (namely, Fellini's) more concretely than one could ever have thought possible. This is art on the level of Bach or Mozart, Shakespeare or Dostoyevsky. The conception is so high as to seem impossible; the miracle is that Fellini actually lands this plane. Umm, well...pardon me this rant, but I was so stoked to hear William Friedkin say that 8 and a half was one of his greatest cinematic experiences. Oh, and that acquaintance I was telling you about? The pretentious fuck had, of course, never even seen the film.
I knew 8 1/2 was supposed to be the greatest movie ever when I watched it but I didn't like it at all. I know the dubbing put me off. It always does. But it wouldn't have been my thing anyway. I prefer most of Mr. Friedkin's movies to that. By a lot. He has a great voice. There is someone he sounds exactly like. I think it's a DJ or someone else who made their living by their voice. My only guess is Casey Kasem but I don't think that's it. Unless he had a side job doing voice-overs 😄
RIP to a true legend
His Criterion mentions:
- Sunday Bloody Sunday (Schlesinger, 1971)
- The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes, 1976)
- Vampyr (Dreyer, 1932)
- Pickpocket (Bresson, 1959)
- Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952)
- The Devil and Daniel Webster (Dieterle, 1941)
- M (Lang, 1931)
- Brute Force (Dassin, 1947)
- Rififi (Dassin, 1955)
- 81/2 (Fellini, 1963)
Thank you for doing this. So much.
I would love to know your favorite films, and your favorite filmmakers... if willing to share. Also thank you for listing the director/year next to each film.
You dropped "He Who Must Die" (1957) also by Jules Dassin. 👍
Not a Criterion release I suppose but its blu-ray is available.
THANK YOU
He only takes two movies, and yet I still feel like I learned more from this than any other closet video. Legend.
No, Thank you Mr. Friedkin for all the incredible work you have provided to the world of cinema, may you forever rest in peace
The moment I heard the news I immediately thought of this video.
Rest in peace Mr. Friedkin. Thank you for all the emotions you gave us and for your incredible love for cinema, which is on full display here.
I miss him so much but I never knew him. I loved him since his commentary on the redone exorcist dvd that came out in like 2000 or something, when I was a little kid. I was poor and I watched the exorcist probably 50 times as a kid and half the time with his commentary. I will never forget his voice
This man looks great for 80 years old.
Trajce Jovanovski that’s because he’s always looked 80 years old
Besides sheer appearance, his energy alone makes you think of him as far from elderly, at least in these shots.
He looks awesome for his age
Yes
This man age 84 years
This guys must be on some amazing diet and have a stress free life. He looks fucking amazing for 80 years old. I thought he was around early 60's. Fucking full head of hair too.
Yeah. It's strange that that is the same man who brought us the horrifying Exorcist.
+gun1987gunn lol they don't call him Hurricane Billy for nothing, he's mellow now sure, back in the day tho he was all fire and brimstone.
+myautomobilefunk really ?! i have yet to read Hurricane Billy.. i mean i know he could be very direct and he would do things to get the most out of people's acting etc. I know he was i guess bold but heartless ? idk.
do you have a source of him stating that ?
Can't rememeber where but i read information about people who keep intensive intellectual work in old age, like composers, professional mathematics, chessmasters, they look younger.
Friedkin's a devout practicing vegan and (I think) a Buddhist, so that would definitely be a contributor to his youthfulness and longevity, yeah.
RIP Mr. Friedkin, always inspiring generations of cinephiles and filmmakers, always a pleasure to see his films, his masterclasses, just to see him talking about cinema is already a great school - Rest In Power
He is so cool. A true legend.
TGV, I love your channel!
One of my favorite film makers.
Aye, proper 'Commentary' on The Exorcist aswell. Top bloke.
Ellen Burstyn's spine might disagree!
Rest in power ❤
something only horrible people say. What is wrong with peace, exactly?
@@helvete_ingres4717 something wrong with your brain if you think that's a negative thing to say.
@@helvete_ingres4717 what a horrible, needlessly argumentative thing to say- something only an argument-seeking, triggered, horrible person would say. What is wrong with just accepting a nice sentiment on its face, exactly?
It does sound like something Hitler would say.@@helvete_ingres4717
@@helvete_ingres4717 insane that this dumb comment got 9 likes
William Friedkin is another great master of cinema who has left us, but his work remains. Thank you for the fantastic films he made, Master!
I'll be watching your great works for years to come, rest in power William Friedkin.
Someone should make a T-Shirt of William Friedkin with the 8 1/2 Blu-Ray
I'd buy that!
@@waynej2608 Isn't he holding the dvd version/package?
I'd buy that without a second thought. Somebody, please make this!
With his head spinning.
@@Ihy744ppp That's the Blu-ray
"I guess in this little room you call a closet, is the history of world cinema"
Just four and a half minutes, but his love for the subject overwhelms. Great video clip.
"[...] and if it isn't here, it will be someday"
3:35 when Friedkin says I never thought I would see this again and has that smile on his face. CHILLS
You guys should have Martin Scorsese in here.
+Enrique Godinez He'd lose it if he went in there.
I'd love to see that.
he probably owns all of the Criterion titles
That would turn into an amazing 8-hour documentary, and there's no way Criterion could post only 4 minutes of it...
If only...
He'd probably have a heart attack. I don't wanna see that.
This is one of the best DVD Picks videos. Only wish it was longer, because I can listen to Friedkin for hours. He and Scorsese always talks so passionate about films.
who's Scorsese?
Martin Scorsese: the director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, to name a few. Those films ring a bell?
*****
no they don't, maybe i should watch them.
abacus912 can't tell if being sarcastic...
velocirapta ...or in for a transformative experience....
Friedkin is one of the great American filmmakers. To me, he's right up there with Scorsese, Coppola, etc. He had some serious balls to do what he did. His films went places that few other directors in the world would have the courage to go to. Very happy to see him in this series.
And what a freaking level of consistency!
His worst flicks are better than MANY "bests" of lesser filmmakers
His last 3 films (so far) are fantastic too, which is rare for a master at his age.
Truth.
That’s one of the things I admire the most about Friedkin: he’s really never played it safe. The entire car chase sequence and the ambiguous ending of “The French Connection,” having a little girl say all of the heinous shit that she does while possessed in “The Exorcist,” pretty much all of “Cruising,” suddenly killing off the protagonist toward the end of “To Live and Die in L.A.,” refusing to cut “Killer Joe” for theaters which resulted in it getting an NC-17 rating… I could go on but you get the point. Whether you love or hate his movies, the guy deserves credit for having a vision for all of his films and seeing it through to the end.
Watching movie people collect movies like this standing amongst shelves of movies is a weird ASMR for me.
The Flying Lion ASMR?
music4now Autonomous sensory meridian response, look up videos. People making quiet noise.
same here! every time
me too
Definitely!
RIP William Friedkin.
Your movies will be remembered for years to come.
The power of Criterion compels you!
You ever pick a film in Poughkeepsie?
boredom245 Haha!!!
Literally lol’d
You'll sew your mama's socks in hell!
Well said!
I love how Billy is so moved by these great films. Speaks to how enamoured he was with the art form. RIP William Friedkin.
Friedkin was impressively reverent in the Criterion closet! Give me ten minutes in that closet...Criterion should offer that to a "regular" movie lover. I would definitely watch a contest winner choose movies!
Awesome idea!
You have to earn an invite to the closet. Not that I don't like the idea of a regular movie lover getting a chance in the closet but those invitations are awarded to achievers who have enriched the culture.
+Paul Beauparlant Currently that's what they've chosen to do...they could change that.
contest winner would go in there with a trolley and wipe the shelves off, let's be honest
velocirapta
A trolley? I'd run in there with an empty HDTV box: thin enough to fit through the door, big enough to fit 80 blu-rays easy.
R.I.P William Friedkin. No one could have directed "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist" like you.
The Sorcerer
Mr. Friedkin made some of the coolest films back in the day, especially street crime movies. Cant believe he's going to be 80 years old, the man looks fantastic.
well he's 86 now
And thank you to you dear Billy Friedkin.
This is my favorite closet vid. The passion and intelligence just flows out of this man. And The Exorcist deserves its place in the Collection.
For me his The Exorcist and Sorcerer is the oscar worthy creation. Although exorcist got that. But after watching sorcerer i was numb for a moment...What a film.....And what a director he is.
William Friedkin recommended, Kuroneko (1968), in one of his film's commentaries. It is now one of my favourite movies!
I was very fortunate to meet him about 20 years ago at a rerelease screening of Sorcerer. What an absolute joy to talk to. One of the greatest American directors.
Sorcerer is probably the most underrated movie ever in the history of filmmaking. It's still pretty obscure and almost never talked about after nearly 50 years, partly thanks to it being released next to Star Wars in 1977, but people are rediscovering it.
It's a great movie,
but I can't help but feel it was let down by a highly misleading title, keeping many from seeing it at the time
(Sorcerer being the name of the truck in the film)
I always enjoy conversations with Billy Friedkin, whatever the topic, but especially on film.
A pleasure to see him do his tour of the Criterion closet. Well earned, indeed. Cheers to you, Billy.
Exploring William Friedkin and many filmmakers responding to '8 1/2' (1962).
It concerns the degree to which filmmakers -- and audiences familiar to Fellini's early career -- will relate to it.
Out of that context, it resonates little, if not not at all.
Just as 'Citizen Kane' or 'Psycho' are landmarks not to see first in their respective directors' canon, the wonder of '8 1/2' in Fellini as a creator comes into play.
Fellini's 1962 success came after a career spanning about ten years. 'White Nights', 'La Strada' and 'Nights of Cabiria', each conveying a legitimate sense of social awareness, came out in rather quick succession in the early-to mid 1959s, to great and well-earned acclaim in award ceremonies.
After about a two-year pause, social concerns as the immediate subject matter in his movies became the unconventional observations of the life of celebrities and leisure in 'La Dolce Vita' in 1959 broke all expectations in Europe and earned Fellini a second Academy Award in 1960.
The tribulations of success immediately became inescapable.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the media and admirers voraciously demanded a new masterpiece from him. Fellini experienced the expectations that successful artists in art, literature, theater, or in any such fields have known -- filmmakers included -- but cannot deliver.
Two more years and, as it was told, nothing came to him, until he conceived exploring the concerns of "Guido", an alter ego with a similar creative quandary.
What to do and how to go about making art from it.
Mindful of it all, the brilliance of '8 1/2' is how unexpectedly honest it us. Fortunately for Fellini, the cinema allows for more manners of expression than do other arts, with the possible exception of music.
It became all about Maestro Federico/Guido living through recollections or projecting unfulfilled fantasies, banal or meaningful.
The earliest sequence allows us to find Guido unintentionally suspended in mid air. Further along, it will matter little if places and people are real, because to the artist, they all are authentic: the sum part of his existence, personal or artistic, through a career spanning eight and a half features through 1961.
Which might be the reason for which the best in movies are genuinely grateful (and envious) of Maestro Fellini's inspiration out of the creative void.
Not only a great director, but a great film aficionado.
There's the day before you see 8 1/2 and then there's the rest of your life.
Javier Carmona I agree!
I love 8 1/2.. haunting, beautiful... but as far as Fellini goes ...La Dolce Vita takes it for me ... La Strada and Nights of Cabiria are great as well
He and Kubrick have some of the greatest films of all time--- it's hard to pick their best when they are all perfect.
Well said.
And there's the long, extended moment you are watching 8 1/2.
It is stunningly sad and ironic to hear the great Friedkin praise Criterion for showing films as they meant to be seen - only to have Criterion follow Disney's lead and trim a scene showing Popeye Doyle's bigotry from the streaming version of the French Connection. I wonder what William would have said about that.
I don't think that was Criterion's decision. Disney owns the rights to the film. Criterion just shows whatever is given to them by the rightsholders. It's quite possible no one even noticed the changes before putting up. No one has the time to go through every single movie on the platform and make sure it's an exact recreation of the original. That's what physical releases are for.
The first time i watched this one it urged me to see more of the gentleman,i've watched Friedkin uncut, great interview/documentary, check it out with A decade under influence if you never heard, both important outlines on the last greatest decade a cinema of which Mr Friedkin is an important part.
Hands down one of the best closet vids y'all have posted. A true legend. I love how much he appreciates the sheer amount of cinematic preservation being done by Criterion.
Love the fact that this makes his day, week and year!
One of my favorite directors. Nobody talks about film as eloquently and with as much love and passion as Friedkin does, I could've listened to him talk for hours!
R.I.P a legend.
I could listen to him talk about cinema for hours. What an amazing knowledge and quite a cool demeanor, I might add! I was so surprised he pulled Daniel Webster.
Really inspiring & heartfelt. Thanks for this.
I want to be in that room. My God.......
I agree.
Become a filmmaker :)!
I wanna make a room like that.
What a grand list!! His love of film reminds of a Frank Capra quote that I love "Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone; it bosses the enzymes; directs the pineal gland; plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film."
Great quote from Capra. Actually, I could envision David Lynch saying that, too.
Strange sort of time compression can be experienced by looking at so many great films on a shelf. Decades of evenings spent in the local cinematheque, at film festivals and repertory theatres all brought back to mind by boxes on a shelf.
Bill seems so humble and mellow, and has great taste in films, whether obscure or mainstream.
8 1/2. I'm there with you William, that opening sequence, the stares...
The flight
Two people came here expecting him to walk outta there with Troll 2.
What a classy guy...
Outstanding American director, The Exorcist , The French Connection, To Live and Die in LA.
RIP William Friedkin, an absolute titan of cinema!
What i like about Friedkin is that whenever you see him being interviewed he always calls people by their first name, i love that. He was thr real deal
Friedkin was a perfect choice to do something like this - he's great! and a lovely tribute to "8 1/2," too
Friedkin's vast knowledge of film and subjects in general is so impressive. He's great.
What a charismatic guy
Closet Picks marathon drinking game: drink every time 8 1/2 comes up
Even to this day Mastroianni is one of the coolest guys ever in 8 1/2....the clothes, the sunglasses- everything!
RIP to one of the world's greatest directors. What a legend that will be missed.
Rest in Peace William 💔💔💔
Farewell to one of the greatest of all time. RIP
Has anyone ever mastered a Friedkin impression? He had one of the most unique voices and affects of anyone, along with being a great genius and talent.
You can listen to him talk film all day.
One of the greats and a man who ALWAYS spoke his mind.
A rare thing on his industry.
What a class act.
When he said I'd thought I would never see this again, that should be the slogan of Criterion. That is my thoughts on Speedy's upcoming release.
Shortly after The Exorcist came out Friedkin did a lecture at the U of DE. My friend and I had been in Georgetown and went to the stairs that were a key part in the film. I put my levi jacket on backwards and lay there like my neck had been twisted around. Took a photo which I laid on the lectern that Friedkin was about to use. He saw it and said, "I guess this is some kind of an omen".
Friedkin's passion of film shines through here, regardless what you think of his movies or the kind of movies he loves there's no doubt he knows his stuff.
I watch that ending every now and then when I need to cheer up a little. Friedkin is a treasure. And so was Fellini.
And now I'm sad. Rest in peace legendary Friedkin!
RIP to a legend! Thanks for the art, Bill.
It's beautiful to see and hear Mr. Friedkin truly savor these films that catch his eye and heart. As we get older may we all the more deeply appreciate the Art and Beauty humanity has contributed for all of us to enjoy. His ending comments on "8 1/2" and that he won't look at any more titles, how leaving with it on Blu-Ray has made his day, week, possibly his year, brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, sir. R.I.P.
Brute Force is on my DVR right now.
RIP Billy. Stone legend 🙏
Back in the good old days of dual format... :(
Agreed, nothing will ever top 8 1/2! It perfectly encapsulates the art of cinema and all it has to offer
RIP Mr Friedkin 🖤
8 1/2 makes so many of these lists. RIP Friedkin, one of a kind.
Oh Holy shit! The guy. THE guy. The Exorcist.
I'm moved by his reverence in the presence of these films. Here is a man who loved cinema. RIP, Billy.
This is exactly what i miss these days....browsing in a physical shop and talking about movies I love with friends...
I love that he and Nathan Lane both mentioned Rififfi. Or as Nathan Lane calls it, the neighbors poodle.
His knowledge and love for film is heartwarming. What a great man.
You can’t find directors like friedkin anymore. He pushed his actors and crew to create his visions.
the most European American filmmaker, and it's a compliment. Truly a legend, RIP Mr Friedkin
I love this guy. He's like a cinema encyclopedia.
Criterion please put out Sorcerer and get Freidkin to talk about it while he's still alive. PLEASE!!!!
It's been done, but not by Criterion. Get the UK or French Blu-ray release.
RIP to a legend. Would've loved to of met Billy Friedkin and thanked him for introducing me to so many wonderful, life enhancing films, including his own.
Along with Scorsese, Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdanovich, Friedkin's passion for the golden age of cinema is so infectious to listen to.
I should consider Billy Friedkin as my teacher of Cinema's History
I love Billy. He’s so damn pragmatic, I feel as though he could do your taxes and direct a good movie about it.
Wow. What a finale!
The Blu-ray's best line ever. legend.
Delightful video. I might not agree with some of Freidkin's radical methods as a director, but the man knows film and loves it with a clear grace and passion. Great to hear this man talk so lovingly about these classics. I say get Michael Mann in there. That "Thief" Blu Ray was awesome!
Rest in Peace Mr Friedkin ❤🙏🏼
For a guy who directed such dark movies, he seems pretty wholesome
Apparently this guy was a fan of The Simpsons, so the writers wrote in a reference to his film Sorcerer in the classic episode Mr Plow just for him
I haven’t seen a genius like him! A lot of horror/mystery/slasher junk we see on steaming apps these days could use a little help from this lagend!
His death hit me in a weird personal way. He was a real original. The fact we will never get another Friedkin movie is depressing, but so many if his films are literally timeless classics. I could watch the Exorcist three times in a week and enjoy it every single time.
Agree but we will be getting another Friedkin movie, as he just finished an adaptation of The Caine Mutiny earlier this year.
He's seems like such a cool guy, I would honestly love to have him just stand on a corner in my house and just mumble about film for 5 hours
I was telling an acquaintance of mine how highly I thought of Fellini's 8 and a half. He responded by saying that Fellini was highly overrated, pretentious, and on and on. I hadn't seen the movie for about ten years so I decided to watch it again; I mean, who knows? Maybe the dude was right...
Well...All I know is that when the player stopped it was as if I'd been struck on the head. 8 and a half is one of those works that leaves you slack-jawed, glassy-eyed, and wondering what the hell you just saw. Fellini weaves narrative, reminiscence, and surreal imagery together in a way that seems to convey the state of one man's mind (namely, Fellini's) more concretely than one could ever have thought possible. This is art on the level of Bach or Mozart, Shakespeare or Dostoyevsky. The conception is so high as to seem impossible; the miracle is that Fellini actually lands this plane.
Umm, well...pardon me this rant, but I was so stoked to hear William Friedkin say that 8 and a half was one of his greatest cinematic experiences. Oh, and that acquaintance I was telling you about? The pretentious fuck had, of course, never even seen the film.
Thank you for this, lovely story and a great read!
To Live & Die in L.A. needs a Criterion version. I love his voice and remarkable filmmaker
love him
I knew 8 1/2 was supposed to be the greatest movie ever when I watched it but I didn't like it at all. I know the dubbing put me off. It always does. But it wouldn't have been my thing anyway. I prefer most of Mr. Friedkin's movies to that. By a lot.
He has a great voice. There is someone he sounds exactly like. I think it's a DJ or someone else who made their living by their voice. My only guess is Casey Kasem but I don't think that's it. Unless he had a side job doing voice-overs 😄
Just him browsing and commenting is a masterclass.