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Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist

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Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist

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Summary

A lyrical and spiritual cinematic essay on The Exorcist, exploring the depths of William Friedkin's mind's eye, the nuances of his filmmaking process, and the mysteries of faith and fate that have shaped his life and filmography.

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Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Alan Jones

After deconstructing Psycho's shower scene in 78/52 and exploring a sci-fi classic in Memory: the Origins of Alien, documentarian Alexandre O Philippe puts William Friedkin's controversial 1973 horror masterpiece The Exorcist under the lyrical spotlight. Using a similar approach to the famous Hitchcock/Truffaut interview - Philippe sat down with the director for six days straight to discuss the epic chiller's trials, tribulations and spiritual allusions - much of the stream of consciousness coasts through familiar anecdotes like how Mercedes McCambridge vocalised the demonic Pazuzu and the extreme methods used to get cast reactions. Amongst the lesser known information imparted is the inspiration owed to Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1955 religious drama Ordet. While always interesting and engaging, and interspersed with key recurring clips, the main thrust of what is essentially a glorified DVD extra is to mythologise Friedkin's life, filmography and faith. Fair enough, but for the real cultural-phenomenon deal nothing will ever top scholar Mark Kermode's essential 1998 benchmark, The Fear of God.

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7.6/10

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rolenameWilliam FriedkinWilliam Friedkin

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rolenameDirectorAlexandre O Philippe

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English

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