William Friedkin talks about Exorcist 2
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- čas přidán 17. 04. 2013
- At the Chicago Critics Film Festival on April 14th, 2013, after a screening of "Sorcerer," Director William Friedkin did a long Q&A in which he discussed (among many other things) the sequels to The Exorcist, particularly The Exorcist II: The Heretic.
- Komedie
Exorcist 3 should not be dismissed, excellent horror.
Agreed. A masterpiece all its own.
You ain't lying.
Absolutely!
I feel the studio really messed up by having "3" in the title. Especially when it was based on the book called "Legion" and William Peter Blatty even suggested calling it "The Exorcist: 15 Years After" and it's filming title was "The Exorcist 1990" to at least not have a number in the title but it wasn't enough to convince the studio. Legion had nothing to do with exorcisms and the studio simply wanted the movie to be marketed as an Exorcist movie.
And funny enough, by the time the prequel came out, Guillermo del Toro made a pitch titled "Exorcist Chapter 4: Verse I" where a young Father Merrin was brought in to investigate the murder of a priest by a possessed child in the Vatican during WW2. It was scrapped because according to Del Toro: "Morgan Creek said 'That's fantastic, but there's only one thing. We want the movie but we don't want there to be an exorcism in it.' So I said 'But it's called The Exorcist.' 'Yeah, but the last movie had an exorcism and it didn't make money. That was the last meeting I took on that one." (Oh the irony. 😅) And although his pitch was never made, he would make The Devil's Backbone instead.
Indeed. Especially thanks to the great acting by George C. Scott and Brad Dourif.
William Friedkin gets up and tells this story like he's been waiting to tell this story for his entire life RIP
He should change his name to Captain Highpants 🤣
It kills me how he gets out of the chair and begins his one man show without missing a beat RIP 🐐
William Friedkin will be missed. A director who’s as interesting to listen to as to watch his movies. Opinionated and a master storyteller, even without a camera.
Man. He just died 5 days ago I had no idea :(
Wow! Billy's died. Sucks I have to hear bad news for other people. Instead of the news.
Yeah but Exorcist 2 was a classic, better than the first one, deserving of an Oscar for originality. I was so scared when I saw it.
A true magician who created to scariest movie of all time period!RIP Billy.
It is said he told Al Pacino to "go f*ck himself". That in itself makes him the "goat" imo 🤭
Forget exorcist 2, Exorcist 3 is actually really underrated. George C Scott is amazing
(2:28) William Friedkin (if he was still alive) at the Blumhouse Studio after watching The Exorcist Believer (2023):
I saw "Exorcist 2: The Heretic" in a packed theater on the first Saturday night of its first run and it was an experience I'll never forget. This movie had so many unintentionally funny scenes in it that I almost thought I was watching a horror spoof! The "Airplane" people couldn't have made a funnier movie!
~~ it's like they figured there is no way they could make it nearly as frightening as the original film - so they didn't even try to make it frightening at all - which made it a pointless exercise.
Linda Blair trying to dance was pretty frightening to me!
When William Peter Blatty saw Exorcist 2 in the theater he said people were howling with laughter: "You'd think we were watching 'The Producers.'"
i dont think its "unintentionally" funny...
As a huge, huge fan of the first film, the existence of Exorcist 2 doesn't bother me in the least. What DOES bother me enormously is how they enventually butchered the original with CGI, director's cut ending, and that ridiculous spiderwalk. The theatrical was perfect. Must be how Star Wars fans felt with what George Lucas did with the original trilogy.
This man could have been a standup comedian, seriously! Watch all his interviews and he'll have you in stitches
I love everything about mr. Friedkin in interviews
Friedkin is hilarious! No matter if there's much truth to this story, Friedkin knows how to tell a great yarn.
He"s a shit disturber nothing else. A Narcissist of the highest level.
He’s got one of those massive personality’s like Orson Welles or John Houston
@@kangaroo3708 he was knows all about purt 2 probably will be there by side effects from home hollywood from home Depot in front of the day
Yeah...Hilariously Fullnof Shit !
I believe it
Exorcist 3 was pretty good though...
The true sequel as said by William Peter Blatty himself. I totally agree.
Still prefer II.
Agreed. Number 3 is very good.
I think I love 3 just as much as I love the original. Both masterpieces in their own ways
3 has one of the best jump scares ever.
This is one of my all time favorite stories and only William Friedkin could tell it in such a hilarious way. Rest in peace.
He is clearly a great story teller.
For some reason this is the first thing I felt motivated to rewatch after hearing about his passing.
Same here.
Was it as bad as he said?
@@gboot2786 Yes
Friedkin visited my university circa 2006 and he told us this exact same story. If it is made up, he certainly knew how to stick to his script.
What an impressive sense of theatrics Friedkin demonstrated here. It was beyond good storytelling. The way he went over and put his arm around the fellow who asked the question in a final sarcastic gesture - great stuff! Friedkin was an entertainer even above being a film director. Always a joy to listen to.
Greatly miss Mr. Friedkin, a true artist of cinema.
RIP William Friedkin. That's a great standup routine for Exorcist 2.
3 is extraordinary, another masterpiece
The bit about repossessed at the end was also gold 😂😂
This is a treat. I enjoy watching a filmmaker tell a story in person; a pure, immediate version of what they do in their vocation.
Same here. John Landis is an equally good storyteller. Another director I could listen to all day was Sydney Pollack. Super funny and talked like a regular guy.
Why this hasn't got millions of views? It's one of the funniest shiit I've seen in awhile.
I love listening to William Friedkin talk,,He tell great stories
Friedkin is one of the best storytellers in the history of Hollywood. On screen, sure, but also just chatting. I love pretty much every interview he's given, and this is one of my favorite showbiz anecdotes of all time.
What a fantastic man. What a pity he's gone.
I love this! William Friedkin is such a card!
To John Boorman's credit he did direct "Deliverance".
Every good director has to have at least one 'dog' to keep them humble. John Boorman did some great stuff : Excalibur, Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory.
He also directed Zardoz.
and point blank.
Excalibur, Hope and Glory also
John Boorman ✊
He definitely saw Exorcist III but he was always a good storyteller ❤
I would’ve thought at the very least he would’ve seen 3 considering he was so close to Blatty and that was Blatty’s film top to bottom. I think Friedkin would’ve probably liked it.
Exorcist III:Legion was WAY better. It ignores Exorcist 2 entirely and has some pretty scary moments. And it was directed and written by William Peter Blatty himself.
A completely underrated film. It's very good. No more screaming "PA-ZOO-ZOO!" Exorcist 3 should have retained Blatty's original title, "Legion." Check it out!
Exorcist 3 deserves to be the ACTUAL 2, and the previous 2 needs to be forgotten.
Agreed its actually a pretty good movie. George C scott no less and Jason miller
Not 100%. The camera shots in Georgetown are kept low to not show Regan's house, which was destroyed in the second film.
Legion is THE BEST!!!!!
Thank you, Mr. Friedkin for your sheer honesty and brilliance. Your films have gained a great impact on Hollywood that probably can’t be matched today. We will miss you. RIP
I have never heard Friedkin speak or be interviewed until right now with this video. I had no idea he was this interesting to listen to. I'd only read a few interviews in print before.
Exorcist is an obvious classic..2 is one of the most fascinating failures I’ve ever seen. Visually spectacular and weird as hell like Boorman’s earlier Zardoz. Turn down the sound on EXORCIST 2 and you have a visually amazing movie.
It's also very interesting to compare the two versions of EXORCIST 2 -- The original release and the rushed edit to fix it while in theaters... I must say they really did remove some of the silliest moments and somewhat improved it from at least how it had previously been.
'Heretic' is almost a parody of The Exorcist (one of THE greatest ever films)
RIP William Friedkin
Exorcist 2 was such a shame. The first one is a classic, though.
Wonder why he never viewed the 3rd one considering he was a great friend of Blatty. It is actually for the most part a pretty good sequel.
3 is good. 2 is fuckin atrocious.
@@l00pdigga42 part 2 is TRULEY one of the worst films ever made. I actually felt dumber after watching that from beginning to end, but Part 3, or Exorcist: legion, is a fine follow up and well made and stands on its own.
I love the second one it’s more like avant garde
@@l00pdigga42 Everyone has their own opinion so let them have their own opinion that’s your opinion
@@DemeterPictures no it isn't. it isn't even the worst exorcist sequel.
"Some guy's riding on the back of fucking bumble bee"
That is one of the funniest stories I have EVER heard.
Rest in Peace William Friedkin. August 7, 2023
RIP William Friedkin 😢🙏
but the 3rd one was very good!
3rd is the best one of all
William Friedkin is an excellent director and a reality funby guy telling stories. I do enjoy it!
Surely i good director but his latest works after the movie with Pacino were very bad
@@adamcade604 To Live and Die in L.A. is great. The hell are you talking about?
Killer Joe is one of his best films
such a great storyteller, RIP William Friedkin
The exorcist 3 is an excellent movie
I love the way he says Exorcist Twooo
That’s when I knew that film was bad. I only saw the first exorcist film
I've seen Exorcist II twice, and I still have no idea what the hell it's about. It's the Jaws 4: The Revenge of the Exorcist franchise. No matter how terrible the upcoming Exorcist movie may be, at least director David Gordon Green can be comfortable knowing that he hasn't directed the worst movie in the franchise. If it is somehow worse that Exorcist II, then DGG should never be allowed to direct another movie again. Not after what he did with the Halloween franchise. 2018 was good, but Halloween Kills: Evil Dies Tonight! and Halloween Ends: The Revenge Of Corey Cunningham were complete wastes of time.
When he said he saw a guy riding on the back of a bumblebee, that probably killed it for him and a lot of others. Still, there's some good things in Exorcist II, like Linda Blair helping an autistic child out. It diverted though greatly from the aura of the first movie, which is why it wasn't received well. Exorcist III is great!
it was not suppose to be anything like the first one.the first one was about her bein possessed.this one was about her tryin to live her life and tryin to make people believe she didnt remember that night but she did.she had to live with the guilt of killin 3 people
He should see 3
I agree. It's a fine horror film that stands on it's own. Nowhere near as good as the original, but it's still a very good horror movie that's worth viewing.
BandfromtheBand I actually prefer 3 to the original, but I understand why most wouldn’t think that.
Exorcist 3 is the best of the franchise
The funny thing is that Friedkin and Boorman are rather similar in their directing styles. Take for instance "The Emerald Forest" by Boorman. It could have easily been made by Friedkin.
I believe John Boorman didn't wanted the sequel to be a horror movie
yeah, john boorman didn't want the sequel to be a lot of things, and what he did want didn't work. i don't agree that it's terrible like people say but it's definitely the most ill conceived thing he ever did.
@@plasticweapon ...ever seen Zardoz? The Emerald Forest? Excaliber?! Boorman has a whole bunch of turds.
It wasn't horror... it was just HORRIBLE!
Rip to a good man
He is such a great storyteller. But I don't think that's surprising for a filmmaker of his caliber.
This is actually a better story than Exorcist II! I will say I do love Exorcist III, though.
LOVE the third film
I have met Peter Blatty and he Said Friedkin was on the set of Exorcist III. So I assume he has seen it. It's on par with the original.
Exorcist 3 is a superb stand alone film, with a cool link to the first. Somebody should have told him.
Exorcist 3 is the best sequel
@@PRHILL9696 no debate on that. The one just released was awful imo.
Yeah I have heard nothing but bad things about the new one. As soon as I heard David Gordan Greene was involved I knew it would be bad@@benrichards399
I find it hard to believe that he didn't watch Blatty's Exorcist 3, which is the true sequel to the original.
best sequel and yes only true sequel
hahaha..."The people who made this piece of shit are in this room!" "WHERE?! Where are they??" haha.
If you're watching this, please watch Exorcist III. It's really really good!
Shame he didn't check the third one. It's genuinely a fantastic horror movie. I prefer it to the first one aswell.
He probably did and didn’t like it but didn’t want to say so because William Peter Blatty was his friend.
Exorcist 3 is the best of the franchise
@@octagonseventynine1253if he didn’t it’s again the studio’s fault, they tore that movie to shreds for the theatrical release
Love this guy...
I agree that Exorcist II Grows on you. My opinion is that at first we all expected something similar to the first film. Anyway, i like this movie and i also like the 3rd movie. I haven't scene the prequel though.
The prequels were worse!
@@austinwillcut4919 they totally are in my opinion!
Agreed, people can't separate out their assessment from their initial disappointment. I couldn't understand, watching Red Letter Media trash the film, complaining about the visuals of the psychiatrist's office. Like, yeah, Boorman went with something visually striking rather than plausible, it's a movie.
What a legend
Exorcist III is an underrated picture.
I actually liked exorcist 2 and think it gets more hate than it deserves, the first is such a masterpiece that any succeeding film is gonna be looked at harshly.
Rest in peace GOAT
RIP to Friedkin man absolute legend and fantastic filmmaker love this video of him so much displays his sense of humour and honest spoken self so well this part here were he stands up dissing on Exorcist 2 00:30 🤣
I fuckin loved this guy. Brilliant and entertaining. Really mellowed out in his later years, and was hilarious.
God I miss him! Lmao!
So I seen the first a while ago and liked it. Then I heard good things about 3 and enjoyed it just as much. Recently I bought the extended directors cut of the first and loved it, I also watched Exorcist the beginning and Dominion which was an odd experience and now I'm very conflicted on whether to just bite the bullet and finish it all and watch the second 😂😂
This is a really funny story, priceless.
At this point, it's known that very few sequels are worth filming such as Godfather.
2:24 wish we had someone like that for when the exorcist believer was made
When it’s not completely boring exorcist 2 has some unintentionally hilarious moments
Shame because John Boorman did direct some great stuff like excalibur and deliverance.
0:10 look at the guy just shaking his head as soon as he heard the question
I like how Repossessed is thrown in there. 🙂 Bill Friedkin was awesome, plus a great storyteller.
LEGION written also by WPB & it’s a incredible book & film ! Watched it again recently it’s outstanding
Ah I love how much pride Freidkin had for The Exorcist, which extends to his complete contempt and disregard for the sequels using his trademark irascible charm
I’m surprised he didn’t see part 3 considering him and Blatty were good friends.
The Exorcist II: The Heretic
Based on the novel "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty Starring Linda Blair Richard Burton & James Earl Jones producers Art Linson & Gary Kurtz music by Enico Morricone screenplay by William Peter Blatty adapted by John Boorman directed by John Boorman
You'd think he'd have given The Exorcist III / Legion a whirl, though, given Blatty's involvement.
R.I.P. Good sir...
Exorcist 2 is a movie that kind of grows on you. It's so bad, it's good!
Hannibal Lecter "...the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."
Kinda grows on you, like a rash
@@huck638 there's no need to be nasty
@@CSS-Tails_Forever Sorry but I love being nasty.
@@huck638 ok then.
"The people who made this pos is in this room!"
When I heard that since ive seen this movie got me dead laughing
Of the main reason the original is legendary is because of this man's vision and his way to make the amazing book come to life...
Love his Movies
Great Story!
Rip Billy such a natural story teller. I loved Repossessed 😂
2:20 - 3:24 Amazing story.
he's a bit of a showman too, great fun, like a skit
the cinematography of exorcist II is not visually perfect but the underlying meaning is profound,. i loved it. it's not just a movie, it's relevant to our reality
Whatever dude!
😂😂😂😂😂
Care to elaborate on that?
Bruh it's just his opinion.
There are only two Exorcist films; The Exorcist and Exorcist III
A la edad de 12 años fui con mi madre y hermana a ver la pelicula, y me gusto despuès mi hermano mayou me regalo el libro y me fascino, lo lei varias veces pues esas cosas del mal y el demonio me tenian intrigado. El Sr. Friedkin hizo una excelente pelicula basada en un hecho real que le sucedio a un niño, el Sr. William Peter Blaty hizo un estupendo libro. Creo que el Sr. Friedkin exagera en su soberbia y ego, ademàs critica la pelicula El Hereje con demasiado dureza, fue un buen intento, sin embargo la pelicula esta llena de simbolismos, y situaciones extrañas, sobre todo al comùn de la gente. A mi me gusto por volver a ver A Linda Blair me encanta Ennio Morricone,
Although many wondered what were his thoughts on the other sequels, he would later mention in a 2017 interview about it...
"I never saw any of the Exorcist films, not even Bill’s [William Blatty, author of “The Exorcist” novel]. I saw a few minutes of “Exorcist II,” but that was only because I was in the Technicolor lab timing a film that I had directed - I forget which one - and one of the color timers at Technicolor said, hey, we just made a print of “Exorcist II,” would you like to have a look at it? I said OK. I went in, and after five minutes, it just blasted me. I couldn’t take it. I thought it was just ridiculous and stupid. But that was only five minutes, so I can’t make an ultimate judgement about it. It just seemed to me to have nothing to do with “The Exorcist.” I have no idea about ["Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist"]. I know Bill Blatty did one, which was not meant to be called “Exorcist III.” It was from another novel he’d written called “Legion.” I had no interest. I loved Bill Blatty. I dedicated my documentary to him and we remained close friends to his death. But I know that he had to make a lot of compromises - he had to put an exorcism scene in there, which he never intended, so that the producers could call it “Exorcist III." I haven’t seen it [the TV show], either. They bought the title from Blatty, and I don’t disrespect that. I know this: Before he died, he had never seen an episode of it. He died during the first season of it and he called me. The last call he made to me, shortly before he died, was, “Billy, have you seen it?” And I said, “No, Bill.” He said, “Neither have I.” And that was the extent of our conversation about it."
Friedkin made this movies: The Boys in the Band; The French Connection; The Exorcist; Sorcerer; To Live and Die in L.A.; 12 Angry Man (TV version); Bug; Killer Joe. He knows something about filmmakig. William Friedkin is a great and brave director, who has a great sense of humour. And he has right: Exorcist 2 is unbelievable bad.
And the youngest in oscar history to win best director Oscar for the French connection
István Legeza-Kazai uh.....he made 2 gay movies, boys in the band and cruising!!!
And Boys In The Band and Cruising are both excellent.
My dad worked at the technicolor lab!
friedkin is well know for stretching the truth and adding a few fairy tales onto a story to make it sound better.
Eh, what do you expect.
If it’s entertaining, he’s doing his job. ;)
Who isn't?
I tried watching Exorcist 2, fell asleep and woke up at the climax.
Great story!
That's a great story.
This video clip ranks higher than the Heretic on Rotten Tomatoes list of best movies ever made