Friedkin Uncut

Francesco Zippel's 2018 documentary gets William Friedkin talking at length about his own career. Coming out of documentary work, Friedkin became one of the most influential directors of the seventies with The French Connection and The Exorcist; the commercial failure of Sorcerer and the reaction to Cruising then changed his direction. The film follows those swings chronologically and concentrates on his working method, above all his obsession with the real and his hard relationships with actors. Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Matthew McConaughey and many others speak. The approach is admiring, and criticism of contested works such as Cruising is not opened far enough. Against that, Friedkin's own account is a first-hand record of a period in Hollywood. Who it's for: viewers who like seventies American cinema and portraits of directors. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a critical assessment; the documentary never argues with its subject.