Watch along with me and share your thoughts on the films discussed in the post comments!
The Gambler Within, The Gardener Without
After emerging out of his obscure corner of the sandbox with his most recent searing, anguished portrait of the existential ‘man in a room,’ writer/director Paul Schrader retreated even further into the mind of this character whose seemingly endless roots stretch all the way back to the screenplay for Taxi Driver. Apparently, this formula, which…
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)
In his final feature as a director, William Friedkin’s career comes full circle as he goes back to his television roots and crafts a solid, well-acted, old-fashioned entertainment. Similar to the programs Friedkin helmed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, based on Herman Wouk’s adaptation for the stage from his…
Killer Joe (2011)
Building on his redemptive adaptation of Bug, William Friedkin reunited with playwright Tracy Letts to bring to the screen Killer Joe, an earlier Letts play that in some ways is darker and more sinister than the rampant paranoia and insecurity of their previous collaboration. Unlike Bug, which focuses on lonely and drifting individuals, Killer Joe…
Bug (2006)
Paranoia is a hell of a drug. It feeds on fear and fuels the individual’s thinking that anything and everything can or has been weaponized against them. It never gives its victims release from the tension, rather creating a positive feedback loop of future distrust and disbelief. While this is a well-known phenomenon, rarely has…
The Hunted (2003)
After the sclerotic and emotionally awkward Rules of Engagement, William Friedkin went back to basics. The Hunted is a stripped-down mano a mano plot centered around one of the oldest relationships in drama: the teacher and the pupil who has surpassed him. This leads to predictable but compelling complications between two men that nevertheless are…
Rules of Engagement (2000)
Rules of Engagement represents an ebb in William Friedkin’s protean career. There is nothing here, other than the very common theme of good vs evil, that illustrates his strengths and capabilities. Truly this could have been made by anyone. In many ways, the script owes much to A Few Good Men, except the man on…
Jade (1995)
It is not unusual for a struggling director to attach himself to a project helmed by a currently hot screenwriter or actor in hopes of reviving his own career. This is what William Friedkin did when he came aboard to direct Jade, the latest script by Joe Eszterhas, who became wealthy for writing Flashdance, respected…
Blue Chips (1994)
In an attempt to right his career after the failure of The Guardian, William Friedkin revisited one of the fundamental interests in his life: basketball. In his memoir, Friedkin talks of his love for the game from a young age. Following the failure of Sorcerer, he briefly moved to Boston and became friendly with legendary…
The Guardian (1990)
In his memoir, William Friedkin fails to mention two films: Deal of the Century and The Guardian, despite the latter being aggressively marketed as “the latest horror movie from the director of The Exorcist.” In later interviews he claimed it was because he had very little memory of the production, but that could be an…
Rampage (1987)
Returning to a theme he wrestled with at the beginning of his career, William Friedkin’s Rampage is an intriguing dialectic regarding the moral implications of the death penalty and whether or not such a decision can truly be justified in a court of law. Of course, this idea has been explored in many movies before…
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Sentiments of the Silver Screen 