LOS ANGELES: William Friedkin, who achieved cinematic immortality by directing the bleak, gritty 1971 drug-smuggling thriller, The French Connection, and the terrifying 1973 demon-possession blockbuster, The Exorcist, died on Monday at the age of 87.

He died at his home from heart failure and pneumonia, said a spokesperson for Creative Artists Agency.

Friedkin got his start as a director with the mild 1967 musical comedy, Good Times, with the pop duo Sonny and Cher, then spent the rest of his career creating some of the most disturbing, violent and controversial images in film history.

The French Connection won five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Friedkin and best actor for Gene Hackman, who Friedkin initially did not want in the memorable role of New York narcotics detective Popeye Doyle.

The Exorcist shocked moviegoers and offended some people with its unflinching tale of an innocent 12-year-old girl, played by Linda Blair, who undergoes a harrowing Roman Catholic exorcism to free her from possession by a demon. A cultural phenomenon and one of the highest-grossing movies of all time adjusted for inflation, it was hailed by some as the greatest horror movie ever made.

The Exorcist was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Friedkin.

“My films have always been a study of human behaviour at its extremes,” Friedkin told interviewer Tom Huddleston in 2012. “They’re not aimed at young people, they’re aimed at adults. Is there a line I wouldn’t cross? ... I don’t know.”

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2023